By John Lyon
Arkansas News Bureau

LITTLE ROCK — The state Board of Education voted 5-2 Monday to allow the Pulaski County Special School District to issue up to $81 million in bonds to pay for construction of a new high school in Maumelle and a new middle school in Sherwood.

The board voted last month to reject an earlier proposal by the district, with some board members objecting to the district’s plans to make personnel cuts to help repay the bonds.

Acting district superintendent Rob McGill said Monday the district had come up with a new proposal that would rely in part on revenue from increased property assessments to repay the bonds.

According to the proposal approved Monday, funds the district will have available annually for second-lien bond payments include $3.5 million from property assessments that were increased in 2008, $2.8 million from the district’s building fund and $190,000 from reduced administrative expenses.

District officials told the board the district has lost students to private schools in recent years, in part because of the run-down conditions of Oak Grove High School and Sylvan Hills Middle School. The new high school to replace Oak Grove High would be built in Maumelle.

“It’s a constant fight and battle to try to convince people to stay in our district because of our buildings. Those are the two worst buildings in the district,” McGill said.

“So you do think these two new facilities will lure students back?” asked board member Sherry Burrow of Jonesboro.

“Oh yes,” McGill said, eliciting a burst of applause from district residents in the audience.

Board member Ben Mays of Clinton, who cast one of the two votes against the plan, said it seemed overly optimistic to count on property assessments not declining in the current economic climate.

State Rep. Ed Garner, R-Maumelle, spoke in support of the district’s plan. Garner said Arkansas weathers economic storms better than most states, and Maumelle in particular has a strong and growing tax base.

“If it’s based on Maumelle, I would say you’re going to see rates continue to increase,” Garner said.

Also Monday, Paul Hines of the Benton County Charter School Organization presented a report on the financial status of the Northwest Academy of Fine Arts in Rogers. Hines said the charter school expects to end the fiscal year with a positive balance of $90,000.

Hines also said the organization’s board has voted to consolidate the school with the Benton County School of the Arts, another Rogers charter school founded by the nonprofit group, pending approval by the state Education Board. The organization will present a formal proposal at the state board’s June meeting, he said.

Consolidating the schools “will allow us to pool our fiscal resources together into one school system,” Hines said.

Frank Wimer of the state Department of Education’s Standards Assurance Unit told the board the unit discovered earlier this year that the Hughes School District in St. Francis County had a person teaching a class despite not being licensed to teach that subject. The violation resulted in the district being placed on probationary status for a third consecutive year, Wimer said.

“I take full responsibility for this error,” Hughes Superintendent Ray Nassar told the board. “I entrusted other individuals at the school to check this and report to me, and this particular one was not reported to me.”

State Education Commissioner Ken James told board members they had a variety of options, including consolidating or taking over the Hughes district. The board voted to direct the Education Department to make a recommendation regarding the district’s future at the board’s June meeting.

The board also approved a recommendation by the state Professional Licensure Standards Board that two years of classroom teaching experience be a requirement to obtain a license in school library media and school guidance and counseling, and a recommendation to create a “professional” level of licensure for teachers with master’s degrees.

The board approved several disciplinary actions against teachers, as recommended by the Professional Licensure Standards Board, but the board rejected a recommendation that teachers with suspended licenses be prohibited from participating in activities sponsored by the Arkansas Activities Association.

Beverly Williams, the Education Department’s assistant commissioner for human resources and licensure, said the recommendation was made after parents complained that a teacher with a suspended license was serving as an umpire at ball games.

“Where would you stop?” asked board member Brenda Gullett of Fayetteville. “Maybe this person … teaches Sunday school too.”

Education Department lawyer Tripp Walter said the department would do more research to determine whether the board had the authority to ban teachers from AAA events.