1 F
8 Ds
4 Cs
0 Bs
1 A

On the State’s most recent A-F grades for public schools, the 14 schools among the four districts seeking to exempt from the State’s law on inter-district school choice achieved a cumulative 1.43 GPA.

Camden Fairview 1.4
Hope 1.6
Junction City 1.0
Lafayette County 1.5

And yet, Allen P. Roberts, PA, lawyers for the four districts, will go to U.S. District Judge Susan O. Hickey’s Court in El Dorado at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 1st and accuse parents of being motivated by race in seeking transfer from their resident districts. Nevemind that their districts have failed and are failing their children academically. In Roberts’ increasingly shrinking, isolated world, defense of government monopolies’ racial percentages trumps equal opportunity for all every time.

Just two weeks before the start of school, Roberts et al., aided by John Walker, are seeking Temporary Restraining Orders to halt previously approved transfers. Whether or not the TROs are granted should depend on who would be hurt the most if the transfers are allowed or halted. The math on that should be easy. If the transfers are not stopped, only the resident districts could conceivably be “hurt.” While districts will eventually lose the transferring students’ state funding, they will retain 100% of local funding, so their per pupil spend will actually go up. Conversely, if the TROs are granted, the parents, students and the receiving districts that planned for their enrollment will be hurt.

Here’s how each school performed:

Fairview Primary K-1: C (68.46)
Ivory Primary 2-3: C (67.7)
Camden Fairview Intermediate 4-5: D (59.86)
Camden Fairview Middle 6-8: D (62.31)
Camden Fairview High 9-12: D (60.43)

Clinton Primary K-4: D (64.65)
Beryl Henry Elementary 5-6: C (68.22)
Garland Learning Center P-8: A (82.58)
Yeager Middle 7-8: D (60.96)
Hope High 9-12: F (50.44)

Lafayette County Elementary: D (62.65)
Lafayette County High 7-12: D (59.05)

Junction City Elementary K-6: D (64.99)
Junction City High 7-12: C (65.38)

May Judge Hickey rule on the very narrow issue – do the districts’ ancient federal orders, none of which contemplated inter-district school choice, conflict with State law? Or do they not? The liberty of families and academic opportunity of students await.