Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Education not the only issue assembly faces

Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series about a public meeting held by State Representatives Tommy Roebuck and Chris Thomason concerning problems the state faces during this legislative session. This article deals with Roebuck's take on the issues.

There are no quick fixes or easy solutions to the state's problems.

This is what State Representatives Tommy Roebuck and Chris Thomason told a crowd of Nevada County citizens Saturday, Feb. 8.

The two agreed education is the most important issue of the 84th General Assembly, but not the only important issue the state faces.

Roebuck opened the meeting saying there were two basic issues the legislature is dealing with this session: education and the proposed changes and reorganizing state government.

These issues, he said, will affect everyone in Arkansas.

"We're all concerned about education," he said. "We have a lot of small schools in the state, and Prescott and Emmet are examples of the kind of education our children are getting. My concept is we don't need to base education on an arbitrary number."

According to Roebuck, a measure has passed the House and is now in the Senate to form a committee to define what an adequate and equitable education is. Once a definition has been agreed upon, it will be sent to the Arkansas Supreme Court for its approval in the hope to avoid yet another lawsuit over education.

There are currently three different plans out concerning education. One is Gov. Mike Huckabee's idea of having school districts with a student population of 1,500. Another would form supervised districts of 5,000 students, but not consolidate any students. Under this plan, sponsored by Betty Pickering, administrative changes would be made. The third plan would require districts to have 500 students.

"I don't like any of the three completely," Roebuck said.

He pointed out the federal government has mandated no child is to be left behind educationally.

The "No Child Left Behind" program went into law Jan. 1, 2002. Under it, Arkansas was supposed to receive $431 million, though this never happened.

What people weren't told about the plan, he said, is for every $1 the federal government put into the program, the state was required to put in $7.

"We haven't got the money from the federal government to do the job," he said. "The No Child Left Behind program stresses accountability on the schools, parents and students."

Prescott High School Principal Carroll Purtle asked if the adequacy study will focus on courses to be offered by school districts and whether or not it would include the issue of buildings and other facilities.

Roebuck said the ASC's ruling was on seven points, with buildings and structures included in the mix.

"It's all connected," he said. "To get the results we want, we have to discuss everything. The educational environment is important."

Another problem the state faces, he said, is a teacher shortage. Last year 1,354 students graduated with teaching degrees. Of this, half didn't get certified, and a third left the state.

Under the court's ruling, he said, Arkansas needs to produce 2,000 new teachers a year to meet the demands and replace those who retire or otherwise leave the profession.

To do this, he continued, salaries must be examined and increased, while paperwork required by teachers is reduced to allow them to do their jobs.

The problem, he said, basically boils down to money. It's going to cost the state to correct the problems, but, as yet, no one knows how much or where the funds will be coming from.

Money, he said, is needed to give teachers the raises they need and to provide the technology the state will require to meet the new standards.

Roebuck agreed with members of the audience that not all students should be directed toward college prep courses, as not everyone is college material and not everyone wants to go to college.

The country, he said, still needs auto mechanics, plumbers and electricians.

People in these trades, Roebuck said, have a good standard of living and are productive citizens. "We need to push these things (vocational training)."

Approximately 20 percent of high school seniors in Arkansas graduate college, he said. The national average is 24 percent.

If Arkansas attained the national average, according to Roebuck, the state's revenue would increase about $21 billion.

However, it's going to be difficult to do this, he said, as the state has cut its financial aid for students with its budget reductions.

One of the ways to help alleviate the problem, he said, is for students to attend two-year colleges, such as the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope.

Students with two-year degrees, he said, make about $1 million more over their working lives than those with only high school diplomas.

And, he added, 42 percent of those who graduate from a community college go on to a four-year school.

Part of the current problem, he said, and it's a big part, is the Arkansas Department of Education hasn't done its job.

In 1995, the state legislature mandated the ADE to do an study to determine what constituted an adequate education in Arkansas. The ADE never did the study.

Also in 95, he said, a program was established to help schools distressed academically and financially.

Those districts not meeting the requirements were to be required to consolidate or be closed. This, Roebuck said, turned out to be another instance of the ADE not doing what it said it would do.