Wednesday, July 20, 2011
DECATUR — Appeals to the school board to allow students to transfer to neighboring districts were denied, causing anger, disappointment and tears.
Three of the four school board members present at Monday's board meeting, voted to deny the requests of seven students to transfer out of the Decatur School District.
Other than physically relocating to a district of choice, a transfer approved by the school board remained the only option for Decatur students who were denied school choice transfers on the basis of their race.
The Arkansas School Choice Law of 1989 allows students to apply for a transfer to another district of choice up until July 1, but a stipulation in the law does not allow students to transfer to a nonresident district in which the enrollment percentage of the student's race exceeds that percentage in the student's resident district. An exception is made when both school districts are in the same county and have a ratio of white to minority students which falls within an acceptable average range as determined by the state for the county.
The acceptable range for white students in Benton County is between 58.99 and 75.84 percent. Decatur recently fell below that range to 57.17 percent white students. The acceptable range for Hispanic students in Benton County is between 20.48 and 26.33 percent. Decatur has 30.71 percent Hispanic students.
Other races - such as Asian, African American, Native American and Pacific Islander - are not affected by the law because they account for less than 10 percent of the overall population.
Thirteen Decatur students applied for school choice transfers and district superintendent Larry Ben estimated that six to nine had beendenied. He explained that he would not necessarily know who had been accepted or denied since it was the responsibility of the receiving district to inform the students.
Five of the seven students who appealed to the board on Monday to be granted schoolto-school transfers had beendenied school choice transfers because of their race, Ben said.
Ben asked the board to consider the students on a case-by-case basis. Most of the applications included a letter of appeal from the parents to the school board. In every case, school board members Darleen Holly, Aaron Owens and Ike Owens voted to deny the transfers.
School board member Kevin Smith did not get to voice a vote and board member Justin Thompson was not present.
Ike Owens, who presided over the meeting, never askedthe board if there were any votes opposed to denying the transfers. Smith said, following the meeting, that he would have voted no if given the opportunity.
More than 17 community members attended, including several students. One child began crying upon hearing the school board's decision.
Reasons cited by parents on applications requesting the transfers included low academic test scores, a high college remediation rate, programs not capable of meeting their child's needs and personality conflicts with school staff. Others offered reasons such as a parent employed at another district, or a child who had attended in a neighboring district since kindergarten and had recently moved into the Decatur School District with the understanding he or she would still be able to attend the same school under school choice. One student was a senior who failed to graduate last year whose parents felt he had a better chance in another district.
“We have a shared responsibility to educate the students in our community and to do what is in the best interest of the students. I feel that we do have a good school and can provide for the educational needs of these children,” Ben said.
“If parents don't want their children to attend our school, I think it’s a little bit strong-armed to tell them they have to ... We don't want to force people to bring their students to our school if it's not the best choice for them,” said Smith, explaining that unhappy parents and an unhappy community were not a good thing for the school.
“Lets just open the door and let everybody go then,” Holly retorted.
While students who legally transferred to Gentry under school choice in years past are safe, students who went to Gravette could be forced to come back to Decatur because of Gravette’s much higher ratio of white students, Ben said. Ben said he is investigating - with the help of the school district’s attorneys - whether those students can be made to come back to the Decatur School District.
Improving Test Scores
The good news for Decatur students is that state standardized test scores in the Decatur School District appear to be improving in most areas though yet remain stagnant in others.
Test data presented by Ben and principals Leslie Sharp and Bobby King show a marked improvement over the past few years in many areas. Other test areas, such as Algebra, remained unchanged or lost ground.
If parents don't want their children to attend our school, I think its a little bit strong-armed to tell them they have to ... We don't want to force people to bring their students to our school if it's not the best choice for them.
News, Pages 1 on 07/20/2011