• Welcome to Fearless Friday Bulletin Boards. Please login or sign up.

 FF is powered by:        Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Hughes has been forced to consolidate with WEST MEMPHIS

Started by Lions84, April 09, 2015, 02:45:53 pm

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Lions84

http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/apr/09/hughes-school-district-consolidated-west-memphis/?f=news-arkansas

The Arkansas Board of Education voted to consolidate the Hughes School District into the West Memphis School District on Thursday despite calls from Hughes officials, supporters and students who said the St. Francis County community would be better served by keeping its local school.

The consolidation, approved in a 7-1 vote, goes into effect by July 1.

Arkansas law required the board to consolidate the school because its student population fell below a 350-student threshold for two years in a row at its kindergarten-through-12th-grade facility.

But Hughes officials said a law passed with an emergency clause in the recently ended legislative session — House Bill 1263 — allowed schools with fewer than 350 students to seek a waiver allowing them to remain open if they are not under fiscal or academic distress.

An attorney for the Education Department noted that Hughes is under fiscal distress and thus the waiver isn't applicable.

MarionBlueDevil


Coach Venny Slocombe

Below 350 and in Fiscal distress...they should be consolidated...

HorseFeathers

Quote from: Coach Venny Slocombe on April 09, 2015, 05:02:25 pm
Below 350 and in Fiscal distress...they should be consolidated...

I'm against small school consolidation...but on this I can agree, if you can't pay your bills then you shouldn't remain open...

Dogg


MomaLion

I was just talking with a Hughes parent earlier this week and she said they had 3 years before consolidation...guess she didn't know what she was talking about.

Jacketman65

Sad that this has to happen, but if you can't run your business it is time to go!  For those of you that read, we see this every Monday morning in the newspaper!

Lions84

Sad and we will see if the Courts over rule the SBOE on this.

HorseFeathers

Quote from: Lions84 on April 10, 2015, 09:24:03 am
Sad and we will see if the Courts over rule the SBOE on this.
why would they? The school has money issues and a decreasing enrollment....

mustang12

About time, Hughes is a dump and needs to be put with a school that can help the kids. Kids go and do what they please...most of y'all have never been there to see how bad it is.

big E

I figured ghey would end up at West Memphis , Forrest city was dealing for them for a long time I never thought the state would send them to another district in distress but dogg hit the nail on the head Earle will get alot of those kids and west memphis will get the bills.

HorseFeathers


Dogg

Hughes fiscal distress issues was not money they are projected to carry over around 1.4 million dollars. Their fiscal distress issues were a result of accounting code errors and failure to segregate duties as it relates to the bookkeeping department. The north end of the Hughes district is only 11 miles from Earle so we are warming up the bus now!

Tigerdad2

I think this makes Gus's coaching story even more unbelievable, he was able to win at a school that will no longer exist

Jacketman65


Tigerdad2

Probably turn back into a cow pasture , it's a sad story for Hughes

bleudog

Anybody who wants to see the ADE agenda attachment take this link and then click on attachments: 

http://edboard.arkansas.gov/ItemAttachments.aspx?itemid=4074&meetingid=233

Warning:  the attachment has more pages than Hughes has students.


From the link in the original post:  "An attempt by Hughes to voluntarily consolidate with Forrest City fell through at a board meeting last month when Forrest City pulled out; the Forrest City superintendent told the board Thursday that concerns it previously had had been addressed and it was "absolutely open" to take in Hughes."

What's the deal with Forrest City?

MomaLion

I think Forrest City is already under academic distress.  I can't imagine them absorbing another school.

Lions84

Don't know but I was told that new law that was passed to stop the 350 rule was retro active and that the State BOE would have to wait and let Hughes file their appeal before just declaring it to be closed.

Dogg

If you're already on the fiscal or academic distress list you can't apply for the waiver.

birddawg1986

Quote from: Dogg on April 16, 2015, 05:18:33 am
If you're already on the fiscal or academic distress list you can't apply for the waiver.
You are correct. That why they are sending them to W. Memphis because Forrest City & Earle were also on fiscal distress. 

bleudog

Quote from: birddawg1986 on April 16, 2015, 07:50:34 am
Quote from: Dogg on April 16, 2015, 05:18:33 am
If you're already on the fiscal or academic distress list you can't apply for the waiver.
You are correct. That why they are sending them to W. Memphis because Forrest City & Earle were also on fiscal distress. 

Forrest City and Earle might be on academic distress, but neither were on fiscal distress per this list:

CLICK HERE

They may have been placed on fiscal distress after October 1, but that's the most recent list posted by the ADE.

CLICK HERE



Merging two schools on fiscal distress could create a more stable economic postion.   

Merging a smaller school into a larger school on academic distress probably wouldn't help either school.

big E

Forrest city was taken off fiscal distress but are still on academic distress in the jr high and sr high.

Dogg

Quote from: birddawg1986 on April 16, 2015, 07:50:34 am
Quote from: Dogg on April 16, 2015, 05:18:33 am
If you're already on the fiscal or academic distress list you can't apply for the waiver.
You are correct. That why they are sending them to W. Memphis because Forrest City & Earle were also on fiscal distress.
Earle is not on fiscal or academic distress

Lions84


HorseFeathers

Quote from: Lions84 on April 17, 2015, 02:27:56 pm
It sounding like a full blown shaft job to me.

How? They fell below the 350 Student enrollment minimum and don't qualify for the new law because they are on the fiscal distress list....

Remember I've argued against Consolidation on here with other folks on other threads, but from reading the facts about it, this one will probably give the kids a better opportunity at W. Memphis/Earle or anywhere else they end up..

WPWells

Please explain to me in what form, fashion, or wat Hughes got shafted

big E

Hughes is just like most small towns in the Delta nobody is moving there nothing there for them to move to unless you work for a farmer. That's the biggest problem in the Delta. People have to go where they can make money and kids go with them.

Tigerdad2


Okieback

350 rule,
Is that enrollment for high school?
Or
Total school enrollment ?

green-eagle

Quote from: Tigerdad2 on April 20, 2015, 08:46:20 am
Is PW picking up those Hughes athletes?

Why would student from Hughes go to PW or even Earle...Forrest City and West memphis are closer and with better road....as school district go...Hughes school district is some 11 miles from Earle who to say these kids are not currently going to Earle..

Tigerdad2


HorseFeathers

Quote from: Okieback on April 20, 2015, 10:47:54 am
350 rule,
Is that enrollment for high school?
Or
Total school enrollment ?

Total K-12 Enrollment..

Tigerdad2

So what's happening to the coach they hired, to bring back football to Hughes

big E

My guess is he becomes part of the west Memphis coaching staff.

Tigerdad2


Jimbo Morphis

Quote from: big E on April 20, 2015, 05:23:43 am
Hughes is just like most small towns in the Delta nobody is moving there nothing there for them to move to unless you work for a farmer. That's the biggest problem in the Delta. People have to go where they can make money and kids go with them.
and with all the new equipment farmers employ about one third of the employees they did 20 years ago.

Pick_DA_EAGLES

Quote from: Oldman on April 22, 2015, 01:21:56 pm
Quote from: big E on April 20, 2015, 05:23:43 am
Hughes is just like most small towns in the Delta nobody is moving there nothing there for them to move to unless you work for a farmer. That's the biggest problem in the Delta. People have to go where they can make money and kids go with them.
and with all the new equipment farmers employ about one third of the employees they did 20 years ago.

This ^^^^^ and a lot of them are now bringing in Mexicans as seasonal workers putting even more hands out of work.

big E

Quote from: Tigerdad2 on April 21, 2015, 08:44:31 pm
Thought he might go to PW
We don't fill football positions at PW until the last minute it seems like but with Havner leaving and Wells being promoted to A D and Dean of students we are gonna need 2 PE teachers.

AmSycho

Quote from: Tigerdad2 on April 20, 2015, 08:22:25 pm
So what's happening to the coach they hired, to bring back football to Hughes

The original coach they were going to hire last summer didn't take the job since the Dept of Ed didn't approve the restart of football.

Tigerdad2

Just a sad story, they have so many athletes just walking around

Lions84

Sad to see Hughes close and Folks the Shafting is the fact our Preacher Governor pulled that number out of thin air.

WPWells

Obviously something else was wrong besides the number. Otherwise they would have been able to get a waiver and stay open. No one was shafted here

big E

The High-school received a C on there. Benchmark scores the elementary received a F.

Cheek

As sad as it is, it will continue to happen, and there will be many more to consolidate. 

big E

Survival of the fittest. It could very we'll have been PW not that many years ago.

HorseFeathers

so....hughes was failing at academics, and in fiscal distress....doesn.t sound like a shaft job to me.....

big E

The 7-12 wasn't failing just k-6 but they were in fiscal distress. There high-school scores were better than Forrest City they got a F.

mtindian42

Sad to see this. Another small town shutdown. wow...

Lions84

The Blue Devils fight BACK!

http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/04/27/hughes-school-district-challenges-state-consolidation-order

Hughes contends its enrollment is above the 350-student threshold for consolidation. But it also challenges a "fiscal distress" determination by the board, citing a growing fund balance and coming release of funds held in escrow because of lawsuits by former employees that have been decided in the district's favor. The suit says Hughes has been treated differently than other districts

Most interesting of all, though, is Hughes' invocation of Act 377 of 2015, which provided a waiver from consolidation based on enrollment when districts are not in distress. Rep. Charlotte Douglas, sponsor of the bill, told the state board of Education that the bill's emergency clause was included to help Hughes.
  GO HUGHES!!!!

Fox 16 Arkansas Fox 24 Arkansas