Secretary Jacob Oliva and the entire state Board of Education:
We have made public comments at the state Board of Education for the past three months in support of the return of the Pine Bluff School District to local control, but the denial of the district a democratically elected board undermines the complete local control of the district and is discriminatory in that other state districts elected all seven board of directors in a single election.
Our chairperson of the NAACP Pine Bluff Unit of the Education Committee visited with Attorney General Tim Griffin concerning the denial of the Pine Bluff School District an elected board in a single election.
Griffin gave our chairperson a copy of the recent Senate Bill 364, which clearly states that a public school district classified as in need of Level 5 Intensive Support demonstrates to the state board that the district meets the criteria established shall be returned to local control as well as a democratically elected public school district board of directors during a school election — not staggered elections for the next five years.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
One of the duties of our committee is to seek to eliminate discriminatory practices in public education, to keep informed of school conditions and strive to correct abuses when found. We are concerned when the appointed limited board was established in December 2022 that they did not have the authority to hire or fire the superintendent in that they were not a democratically elected board.
During the Nov. 27, 2023, Pine Bluff School Board meeting, it was surprising that the state-appointed superintendent with a contract that ends June of 2024 was coaching or prepping the appointed limited school board for her a contract beyond June 2024.
Once a state appointment is over, the individual should relinquish their control and allow the position to be legally advertised and all qualified applicants should be able to apply and interview, which would be difficult without a democratically elected school board in the Pine Bluff School District unless a spring 2024 election is allowed.
We are soliciting your support in supporting a spring 2024 election of all seven Pine Bluff School Board members to correct the discriminatory practice and the violation of Senate Bill 364 that was made on Sept. 15 with the denial of a democratically elected school board.
A spring 2024 election as well as the removal of the state-appointed superintendent after her appointed contract ends would give the district complete local control.
The staggered elections for the next five years allow the state to continue its authority as well as allow your appointed superintendent to remain, and the state-appointed limited board, which undermines the return to complete local control of the Pine Bluff School District for the next five years. That would be a total of 10 years, which is illegal.
But it is not surprising in that the former Dollarway School District annexed with the Pine Bluff School District remained under state authority a total of seven years.
Charline Wright is a Pine Bluff School District stakeholder and member of the education committee of the Pine Bluff Branch of the NAACP.