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Legislators rally behind education funding plan Sunday, Apr 2, 2006 By Aaron Sadler Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The Legislature convenes a special session on education Monday to stamp an agreement to provide $132.5 million in additional state to Arkansas public schools. Gov. Mike Huckabee issued the call for a special session Friday, after legislative leaders brokered a last-minute Senate consensus on a compromise plan to give districts $94.3 million this school year and next term offset inflation, with another $38.2 million dedicated to teacher retirement system contributions. House leaders said all last week they had the votes to pass an earlier proposal to earmark even more new money for the state's 251 school districts. The accord is the state's response to a December ruling by the state Supreme Court that declared Arkansas' school funding system unconstitutional, in part because the Legislature froze base funding for districts this year at last year's levels. "I hope we can do our business and adequately address the education issues and not get into contentious debate," Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, said. "Wouldn't that be nice?" The last special session on education, in 2004, lasted six weeks. Sen. Paul Miller, D-Melbourne, said the General Assembly came together last week either because legislators supported education proposals or felt resigned to back them. "We might not like it, but we realize we need to do it," Miller said. "We don't like the Supreme Court mandating to us these things." Huckabee said this week's special session may finally put to rest the long-running Lake View school funding lawsuit, filed in 1992 by a tiny eastern Arkansas district that no longer exists. "(The session can) end a nearly 20 year-old court case that's gone over three gubernatorial administrations. I'd say the real legacy to be won here is on the part of the legislators," Huckabee said. House Speaker Bill Stovall, D-Quitman, said consensus in the House is to back the legislative package recommended by House and Senate education committees. The committees met five times over the last two months to formulate recommendations for more than $138 million in additional funding for schools. House members support the compromise proposals that were necessary for a majority of senators to support the education plan, Stovall said. The compromise includes limiting the amount of school facilities aid available for districts this year at $50 million and requiring Legislative Council oversight of facilities allocations. Another compromise plan adds about $13 million to assist districts with declining enrollment or extremely rural, isolated schools. Huckabee, and apparently several House members, agreed to go along with the extra $13 million in order to reach consensus. "It's a mixed reaction," Stovall said. "We have some people reluctantly supporting this in the spirit of consensus." Huckabee said he did not support the additions, but realized that lawmaking was a give-and-take process. "I think what of a lot of legislators will do when it comes to some of these bills ... they're going to accept it because they know that getting something done is better than getting nothing done," the governor said. Huckabee's call includes some non-education proposals, including a workplace smoking ban and a $1.10 hike to the state minimum wage. Among the committees' recommendations are proposals to strip the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System board's authority to increase employer contribution rates from 14 percent to 15 percent of payroll; to require uniform language in superintendents' contracts and parity in employer benefit contributions to all employees; and to increase funding for the Department of Education's professional development and statewide school accounting systems. Huckabee has proposed capping the amount of money districts may spend on central office administrations at 8 percent. Tom Kimbrell, president of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, said his organization opposes Huckabee's administrative expense plan. The governor said the proposal forces elements of accountability and transparency on school districts. After the court ruling in December, he said efficiency, transparency and accountability would heretofore be required of districts. Kimbrell's association, along with the Arkansas School Boards Association and the Arkansas Education Association, supported the overall education plan before the Legislature adjusted the spending amount down from $138 million to $132.5 million because of a mathematical error. Kimbrell's group planned to meet Monday to consider endorsement of the latest figure. "We feel like with expediency we can get this money into the hands of schools," he said. "It's a good first step in getting back to where we need to be with (educational) adequacy." David Matthews, a Lowell attorney representing the Rogers School District in current Lake View litigation, said adequate school funding is his chief concern. He said he was pleased to know the major education lobbying groups backed the plan. The Rogers School District successfully petitioned the Supreme Court to reopen the school funding case after the Legislature last year failed to increase minimum state aid to schools beyond the $5,400-per-student level set in 2004. "There's nothing my client wants more than to be out of court and just worrying about educating kids," Matthews said. Brad Beavers of Forrest City, who represents the Barton-Lexa School District and 32 of the other 48 districts that joined the Rogers petition, said the Legislature's meeting this week is a positive step. "The Legislature is seriously addressing all the issues raised by the court mandate," he said. "That's all my clients ever asked." |
