The Sanders administration's proposal to cut funding to 15 educational service cooperatives in Arkansas has cooperative directors concerned about the impact on students, especially those in smaller school districts.
Fourteen cooperatives will receive $4.3 million less in state funding next fiscal year under the Department of Education's proposed 2025 budget, according to estimates provided to The Advocate by cooperative directors.
The Northwest Arkansas Educational Services Cooperative did not respond to a request for comment, and ADE did not disclose the total funding amount.
Created by Act 349 of 1985, cooperatives assist school districts by providing a variety of services, including special education, professional development, and technology.
Benny Weston, president of the DeQueen Mena Educational Services Cooperative, said cooperatives are especially beneficial to small districts that may not otherwise have the funds to provide these services. .
“Large school districts may have a lot of people who do things like this together, but smaller districts don't, and they rely entirely on co-ops for services. So there's an impact. “Maybe, but that depends on what the state does,” Weston said.
More than 50 employees will be affected by the education department's reallocation of funding to content specialists. ADE officials told co-op directors at their monthly meeting March 5 that only one math specialist, one science specialist and one dyslexia/literacy specialist will receive funding next year.
At the March 7 Joint Budget Committee meeting, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said co-ops and districts need to know that if they don't see a return on investment, there will be deeper discussions about their funding positions. Stated. He said co-ops should not expect any guarantees of funding as this was “not an appropriation of rights”.
“We are going to re-evaluate how these districts are being supported because the reality is that literacy and numeracy data has not improved in the last 10 years and we are going to take money out the window. Because we just provide that,” Oliva said. “So, we formally informed them that we may not be able to give you these dollars the way you have been receiving them in the past. We have reevaluated and decided what is best for our students.” We're going to see if it's having a significant impact.”
Data from the National Assessment of Education Progress shows that in 2002, 26 percent of fourth-graders in Arkansas scored at or above reading comprehension. 32% in 2013 and 30% in 2022, the latest available.
Mr Weston said the province would take over literacy and the co-op would focus on dyslexia. But smaller co-ops that aren't large enough to need someone 100% dedicated to dyslexia are likely to need some level of literacy, he said.
Gifted and Talented (GT) specialists will also be moved to state control. The co-op previously received $30,000 each to support one GT employee, but Weston said the province will now have five regional specialists.
Gerald Cooper, president of the North Central Arkansas Educational Services Cooperative, said his biggest concern with these changes is the impact on children. Cooper said she knew from an early age that she needed a good education to lift herself out of “near poverty,” but she worries about whether students will have the same opportunities.
“I'm really more worried about what the kids are going to lose than I am about what the co-op is going to lose,” he says. “People are going to lose their jobs and that's bad, but I think what I'm most concerned about is the kids and the school district because some people are in the same situation as they were 60 years ago.”
South Central Service Cooperative Director Karen Kay McMahen said the co-op supports charter and private schools in addition to traditional public schools. Co-ops are service organizations and “one size does not fit all,” so each co-op offers a variety of services tailored to the needs of the district, she said.
As the co-op weathers the funding shift, some board members are talking to affected employees about applying for jobs remaining at the co-op or state jobs such as literacy coaches.
No matter what happens next, Weston said he is committed to supporting the district.
“We're going to continue to serve the district and we're going to continue to do the best we can,” he said. “We still have many employees, so we will move forward with caution. We will continue to work from a positive position and provide services.”
student achievement
Co-op officials said the state justified the funding cuts because there wasn't a large enough impact on student outcomes. Cooper said he was surprised he hadn't received any complaints from his district, but the situation wasn't completely unexpected.
“We kind of saw this coming, especially since we started hiring literacy coaches and deploying them around the state. So this is a logical next step,” he says. “So I wasn't shocked, but I was surprised because it was a situation where the co-op experts and the district were happy.”
one of the many provisions of The Learning Act, which makes several changes to the state's education system, provides literacy coaches to K-12 teachers in “D” or “F” rated schools.
The coach is expected to cost $6.2 million annually, according to the financial impact report. Last May, the Arkansas Legislature approved $6.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the effort.
The governor is proposing a 1.76% increase in the state budget for next year, with the largest increase going to education. The proposal includes an increase of approximately $100 million to support provisions of the LEARNS Act, including a $65 million increase to the state's private school voucher program and $34 million for other initiatives. .
ADE's Office of Elementary and Secondary Education sent $55.2 million in state general revenue to the co-op last year for various programs, spokeswoman Kimberly Mandel said.
The highest amount was $20.5 million for the Better Chance program. $11 million for literacy, math, and science professionals. $6 million in operating expenses. $4 million for distance education. and $4 million for teacher licensing instruction.
Other programs such as professional development, talent, special education services and technology grants will receive less money, she said.
Oliva told lawmakers that funds previously used for content specialists at co-ops will be reallocated to support their intended literacy, science and math initiatives, as has been done historically. He said that there is a possibility that they will not be supported in the same way.
“What's happening is we're just giving money to co-ops, and that money is being watered down and not being used for what it's supposed to be used for,” Oliva said. “I think we're going to make sure that these funds are used as intended and that we're actually increasing the support that we give to districts in a more consistent way rather than a disjointed and uncoordinated process.” What we have been following. ”
Sen. Jim Petty, R-Van Buren, said at the meeting that he represents a district with smaller schools, which tend to rely more on co-op services than larger schools, so where should the funds be reallocated? He said he looked forward to discussing the matter.
“I'm a big believer in educational cooperatives,” Oliva said, adding that as Florida's superintendent, he believes in educational cooperatives himself. However, he said smaller school districts must meet the same state and federal requirements as larger districts.
“They need to rely on co-ops, but co-ops also need to be effective in the support they are providing to districts. “We’re looking at how we can support them and at the same time hold them accountable for student performance,” he said.
The Arkansas Advocate is part of State Newsrooms, a network of newsrooms supported by a coalition of grants and donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. This article was published with permission from the Arkansas Department of Legal Advocacy. If you have any questions, please contact editor Sonya Alvarado. [email protected]. Follow Arkansas Law Defenders on Facebook twitter.