Little Rock School Board members need a couple of weeks to come to terms with the heart attack-inducing rise in construction costs for a promised new high school campus out west.
Longtime child welfare advocate and mom of two Anna Strong came through with plenty of votes Tuesday to secure a spot on the Little Rock School District Board.
The Little Rock school board voted Thursday night 6-2 to move the West School of Innovation to Hall High School — a move that is bound to be controversial among some parents. But the consolidation is a necessity for the district as it grapples with shrinking student enrollment.
Plaintiffs attorney Ali Noland blasted the decision, saying the various concurring opinions used "various legal gymnastics to get to [the] desired outcome."
"The fact that the Arkansas General Assembly is choosing to use the same unconstitutional process now is an intentional act of defiance against the Arkansas judiciary and the Constitution," Attorney Ali Noland said.
Ali Noland can speak from experience about the LRSD's unforgiving political culture. "When we’re running off candidates within the first 48 hours, before anyone has talked about substantive issues or debated policy, that’s a problem," she said.
Teachers who offer an AP African American Studies course may be breaking the law, the state education department said. The department pulled the course from its recognized offerings the Friday before school was set to begin.
A judge's order Friday would seem to have halted implementation of LEARNS. But the AG said the ruling "doesn’t order the [Education] Department to halt anything."