News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Arkansas education board dissolves Blytheville school board

Published

3 months ago

May 29, 2025

arkansasadvocate.com – Antoinette Grajeda – 2025-05-29 13:47:00

by Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate
May 29, 2025

The Arkansas State Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to dissolve the Blytheville School Board and place the district under a Level 5-Intensive Support classification due to ongoing academic, financial and administrative issues.

The board authorized Education Secretary Jacob Oliva to assume the board’s duties, appoint a superintendent and pursue the possibility of a transformation contract, a provision of the LEARNS Act that allows struggling public schools to partner with an open-enrollment public charter school or another state board-approved entity to create “a public school district transformation campus.”

Education secretary to recommend increased support for east Arkansas school district

Oliva notified the board on May 8 of his intent to recommend the state’s highest support classification. He initially alerted the board to his concerns with the Northeast Arkansas school district last July.

Over the last year, the Arkansas Department of Education has provided on-site support to the district, ADE Deputy Commissioner Stacy Smith said at the state board’s special meeting in Blytheville Thursday.

The district is one of the lowest-performing in the state, struggles with declining enrollment and has financial issues, Smith said. Fiscal year 2025 revenue is down by about 15%, and the district has spent $1.5 million that was not budgeted, she said.

Teachers and administrators have been receptive to the state’s help, and Blytheville has “a bright future,” but more assistance is needed, Smith said.

“People are showing up, but this is a district that is in need of a lot of support to be able to get them out of the hole that they’re currently in,” she said.

Oliva notified the Blytheville School District of his recommendation of a Level 5-Intensive Support classification and the state board’s special meeting via a letter dated May 14. An ongoing lack of a permanent superintendent, delayed staffing decisions and stalled hiring processes have led to “organizational instability, weakened strategic planning efforts, and impeded the district’s capacity to effectively support students and staff,” according to the letter.

In addition to an “absence of coherent leadership,” the letter also cited “inconsistent governance structure” and “chronic student underachievement.”

The district appealed the recommendation in a May 21 letter, which prompted a hearing at Thursday’s special meeting. The letter, signed by Interim Superintendent Jennnifer Blankenship and board President Desmond Hammett, argued the district has “worked tirelessly” to implement the education department’s recommendations and “demonstrated both measurable academic progress and consistent good faith efforts to comply with all directives.”

Specific actions include hiring a school improvement consulting firm, increasing the number of fully licensed educators and assigning mentors to novice teachers, the district leaders wrote. The letter also rebuts “chronic student underachievement,” noting that one school improved from an “F” ranking to a “C” ranking in one academic year.

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Additionally, the district’s letter takes issue with Oliva’s past characterization of it as a “failure factory,” which “undermines the morale of educators and students,” its authors said.

“It is difficult to accept the designation of Level 5-Intensive Support while actively doing everything we were advised to do,” the letter states. “Rather than punitive reclassification, we respectfully submit that BSD’s path would be better supported by continued partnership, encouragement, and recognition of its progress.”

The letter’s authors said they also “strongly disagree” with Oliva’s comments about a lack of “coherent leadership” and “inconsistent governance.”

Blytheville has had two full-time superintendents and three interim superintendents since 2018, Smith said at the state board’s May 8 meeting. Blankenship was appointed as the current interim superintendent on June 12, 2024. She also served in the interim role from July through December 2021.

After the previous superintendent was officially terminated last August, the board reviewed candidates in late November and decided to keep Blankenship. A consulting firm hired in February presented two of 13 applicants in late April, but the board declined to interview them and reposted the position, Smith said.

According to the district’s letter, the board voted to delay interviews because it hadn’t received certain requested information.

“Unfortunately, the ADE observer left the meeting without seeking clarification, which may have inadvertently contributed to subsequent misunderstandings about governance stability,” the letter states.

At Thursday’s meeting, Hammett said the board didn’t refuse to interview the two candidates, but instead extended the application deadline by two weeks to gather a larger pool of applicants.

Arkansas education board removes Lee County’s fiscal distress status

Smith confirmed that Blytheville’s school board decided at its May 22 meeting to interview three applicants. One interview was scheduled for Thursday, and Smith said she “would be embarrassed” to interview a superintendent on the same day that the state board is considering whether to dissolve the school board.

“While it may be embarrassing to some,” Hammett said, the board was committed to continuing its work. Blytheville has only been working with the state for a year, Hammett said, and he believes the district can continue to improve.

The state board’s discussion of Blytheville’s circumstances at its May 8 meeting was “disappointing and discouraging,” but the school board “rose to the challenge,” he said.

“We didn’t tuck our tails, we didn’t run away from the challenge,” he said. “We became more committed, more engaged to show that we’re not dysfunctional, that we’re willing to do the work.”

Much of Thursday’s discussion centered on frustration with the board’s actions, or lack thereof. Oliva discussed “frustration of how much we have to babysit the people that are elected to govern the district.”

Meanwhile, members of the public like Blytheville native Bradley Ballard requested the state board dissolve the school board “before more damage is done.”

“This [mess] is the result of a board that is too prideful to lead and too fractured to function,” Ballard said. “We cannot keep pointing fingers while our children fall through the cracks. Today you have the power to stop this. You can cut through the chaos and bring order, accountability and hope back to our schools.”

The state board granted his request and voted to dissolve Blytheville’s school board and give the district a Level 5-Intensive Support classification. Blytheville joins four other districts that already have the state’s highest support classification — Earle, Lee County, Helena-West Helena and Marvell-Elaine.

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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.

The post Arkansas education board dissolves Blytheville school board appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This article provides a factual and balanced account of the Arkansas State Board of Education’s decision to dissolve the Blytheville School Board due to academic and administrative failures. It includes statements from both state officials advocating for intervention and district representatives defending their progress, offering multiple perspectives without apparent editorializing. The tone is neutral, focusing on governance, accountability, and educational outcomes without promoting a particular political ideology or partisan framing. Overall, the content adheres to straightforward reporting on policy and administrative actions within public education.

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Hackett student arrested after shooting threat

Published

4 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-09-02 17:15:16

SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.

Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.

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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.

Published

14 hours ago

September 2, 2025

Staff Editor

arkansasadvocate.com – Jennifer Shutt – 2025-09-02 07:40:00

by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025

WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.

Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.

But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.

The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.

President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.

“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.

“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.

“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.

“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”

Another failure

Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.

The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.

The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.

The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.

The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.

Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.

The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.

Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.

Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”

Last shutdown stretched 35 days

It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.

A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.

The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.

Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.

Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.

Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.

Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.

On to the stopgap

Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.

That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.

So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.

Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.

Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.

Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.

Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.

The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.

The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.

News from the South - Arkansas News Feed

Arkansas Fall forecast: Warmer temperatures and drier conditions expected as drought persists

Published

1 day ago

September 1, 2025

Staff Editor

www.youtube.com – 40/29 News – 2025-09-01 11:27:47

SUMMARY: Arkansas is expected to experience a cooler and more fall-like September, starting meteorological fall on September 1st. The last week of August was among the coolest on record, and early September will continue with below-average temperatures. A cold front later next week will bring further cooling, making the second weekend of football season comfortable. Mid-September temperatures will remain fairly mild, with highs dropping from mid-80s to mid-70s in Northwest Arkansas and from low 90s to low 80s in the River Valley by month’s end. Fall colors should appear earlier than last year, likely peaking from late October to early November.