(a) After a public hearing, the State Board of Education shall consolidate, annex, or reconstitute the school district in fiscal distress to another school district or school districts upon a majority vote of a quorum of the members of the state board as permitted or required by this subchapter.
(b) The state board has exclusive jurisdiction to determine the boundary lines of the receiving or resulting school district and to allocate assets and liabilities of the school district.
(c) The decision of the state board shall be final with no further right of appeal except that a school district may appeal to Pulaski County Circuit Court pursuant to the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq.
(d) If the Commissioner of Education assumes authority over a public school district in fiscal distress under subsection (a) of this section, the state board may pursue the following process for returning a public school district to the local control of its residents:
(1) During the second school year following a school district's classification as being in fiscal distress status, the state board shall determine the extent of the school district's progress toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress;
(2) (A) If the state board determines that sufficient progress has been made by a school district toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress, but the school district has not yet resolved all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress, the commissioner, with the approval of the state board, may appoint a community advisory board of either five (5) or seven (7) members to serve under the supervision and direction of the commissioner.
(B) The members of the community advisory board shall be residents of the school district and shall serve on a voluntary basis without compensation.
(C) The Department of Education shall cause to be provided to the community advisory board technical assistance and training in, at a minimum, the areas required in § 6-13-629.
(D) The duties of the community advisory board include without limitation:
(i) Meeting monthly during a regularly scheduled public meeting with the state-appointed administrator regarding the progress of the public school or school district toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress;
(ii) Seeking community input from the patrons of the school district regarding the progress of the public school or school district toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress;
(iii) Conducting hearings and making recommendations to the commissioner regarding personnel and student discipline matters under the appropriate district policies;
(iv) Working to build community capacity for the continued support of the school district; and
(v) Submitting quarterly reports to the commissioner and the state board regarding the progress of the public school or school district toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress.
(E) The members of the community advisory board shall serve at the pleasure of the commissioner until:
(i) The school district is returned to local control and a permanent board of directors is elected and qualified; or
(ii) The state board annexes, consolidates, or reconstitutes the school district under this section or under another provision of law;
(3) (A) By April 1 of each year following the appointment of a community advisory board under subdivision (d)(2) of this section, the state board shall determine the extent of the school district's progress toward correcting all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress and shall:
(i) Allow the community advisory board to remain in place for one (1) additional year;
(ii) Return the school district to local control by calling for the election of a newly elected board of directors if:
(a) The department certifies in writing to the state board and to the school district that the school district has corrected all criteria for being placed into fiscal distress; and
(b) The state board determines the school district has corrected all criteria for being placed into fiscal distress; or
(iii) Annex, consolidate, or reconstitute the school district pursuant to this title.
(B) If the state board or commissioner calls for an election of a new school district board of directors, the school district shall reimburse the county board of election commissioners for election costs as otherwise required by law;
(4) (A) If the state board calls for an election of a new school district board of directors pursuant to subdivision (d)(3)(A)(ii) of this section, the commissioner, with the approval of the state board, may appoint an interim board of directors to govern the school district until a permanent school district board of directors is elected and qualified.
(B) The interim board of directors shall consist of either five (5) or seven (7) members.
(C) The members of the interim board of directors shall be residents of the school district and otherwise eligible to serve as school district board members under applicable law.
(D) The members of the interim board of directors shall serve on a voluntary basis without compensation.
(e) (1) If, by the end of the fifth school year following the school district's classification of fiscal distress status, the school district in fiscal distress has not corrected all issues that caused the classification of fiscal distress, the state board, after a public hearing, shall consolidate, annex, or reconstitute the school district under this section.
(2) The state board may grant additional time for a public school or school district to remove itself from fiscal distress by issuing a written finding supported by a majority of the state board explaining in detail that the public school or school district could not remove itself from fiscal distress during the relevant time period due to impossibility caused by external forces beyond the control of the public school or school district.
(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the department or the state board from taking any of the actions listed in § 6-20-1909 or this section at any time to address a school district in fiscal distress.
Section: Previous 6-20-1902 6-20-1903 6-20-1904 6-20-1905 6-20-1906 6-20-1907 6-20-1908 6-20-1909 6-20-1910 6-20-1911 NextLast modified: November 15, 2016