Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Support Of Education Rises In 35 Years

Arkansas made significant progress over the last 35 years in supporting public education, according to a report recently released by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.

Educating Arkansas: Public School Funding in the 1990 is based on a comprehensive review of public school funding in Arkansas and includes options for making Arkansas's funding system sound and equitable.

"Public school funding in Arkansas is a major concern, not only because it affects the education of our children, but also because it represents an immense investment of tax dollars," Sybil J. Hampton, the foundation's president, said.

The current school funding formula was ruled unconstitutional in 1994, because of inqequities in the distribution of funds to local schools. Efforts to increase the sytems's equity, including Amendment 59, Acts 916 and 917 and Amendment 74, are reviewed in the study.

School funding systems in other states, state and national funding trends and court rulings concerning the constitutionality of the Arkansas system are also discussed.

The study was initiated and funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and conducted by Histecon Associates, Inc., of Little Rock.

To request a copy of the summary report, contact the Foundation at 501-376-6854.