A little over 1,400 locally elected officials govern the state’s 239 traditional public school districts, determining the return on investment of $5.3 billion in local, state and federal funding for K-12 public education in Arkansas. That includes 46% of all the state’s general revenue and approximately 2/3 of local property taxes.
Public school districts are also the largest local government entities in the state, generally dwarfing their respective city and county budgets. And yet, because our effort at the legislature to move school board elections to the general was unsuccessful, the men and women who govern these districts continue to be elected on a date (third Tuesday of September) with no other elections and are generally decided by a 100 times (10,000%) fewer voters than the general election.
Further, these low turnout elections are dominated by employees of the respective districts, rather than parents, employers, and property tax paying citizens.
And what is the return on investment of this adult self-interested, insider system:
- 80.7% graduation rate,
- 47.8% post-secondary remediation rate,
- 38.7% four-year college graduation rate (48th in U.S.)
- 18.7% with a four-year degree (49th in U.S.)
- 6.7% with a graduate degree (50th in U.S.)
With talent being the new driver of economic development, nothing is more important to the present and future of our families, communities and state than the delivery of excellent public education. With nearly $150,000 invested in each student during their 13 years in the K-12 system, we must elect and re-elect leaders who demand these fundamental business principles in the governance of our public schools:
- Students (Customers) First Focus
- Accountability
- Transparency
- Innovation, Best Practices & Choice
- Return on Investment
The filing period to run for school board opens June 9, 2013, with a noon, July 9, 2013 deadline to file. Please consider leading your community by running for your local school board. Here’s how:
- Visit the county clerk’s office to get a packet of material about running for office.
- June 9, 2013 is the first day candidates may circulate a petition (available from the Secretary of State’s Office). Candidates need 20 signatures of qualified registered voters from his/her zone on petition.
- July 2, 2013 is the first day a candidate may file a petition of candidacy (available from the Secretary of State’s Office), the political practice pledge, and the affidavit of eligibility with the county clerk.
- July 9, 2013 at noon is the deadline for a candidate to file a 1) petition of candidacy, 2) the political practice pledge, and 3) the affidavit of eligibility with the county clerk.
- Deadline to register to vote for the School Election is August 19, 2013.
- Deadline to register to vote for the School Election Runoff is September 9, 2013.
- The School Election is Tuesday, September 17, 2013.
- If needed, runoff will be held three weeks later (October 8, 2013).
To run for school board, candidates must:
- be a qualified elector of the school district served whose name has been filed and certified by the county clerk of the county in which the school district is domiciled for administrative purposes;
- be a U.S. citizen;
- be an Arkansas resident;
- be a resident of the district and respective electoral zone if elected from zones;
- not be an employee of the district served;
- not claim the right to vote in another county or state;
- not presently be adjudged mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction;
- never have been convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime.
Get involved. Lives, families, and the present and future of your city, region and state depend on it.
School District Zone Maps
Little Rock School District (Zones 2, 4, 6 are up for election this year)
Resources