On February 27th, Senator Eddie Joe Williams filed SB587 which aligns school elections with the general, the second Tuesday of each November. The bill was assigned to the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs and received a DO PASS on Thursday, March 7th.

Arkansas Learns strongly supports SB587 as it would create a more fair representation of voters’ wishes in the governance of their public schools.

Arkansas Learns members wishing to take action on the bill (tracking, voting, commenting, writing legislators), should click here and register for Arkansas Learns’ legislative action site, powered by Votility. For convenience, register using your same login and password as ArkansasLearns.org.

Arkansas has…

468,066 students

in 239 public school districts and 18 open enrollment charters

funded by $5.3 billion in total investment,

including $2.3 billion from the state,

accounting for 46% of all general revenue,

producing an 80.7% graduation rate,

with 47.8% requiring post-secondary remediation,

generating a 22.2% two-year college graduation rate (20th in U.S.)

and 38.7% four-year college graduation rate (48th in U.S.),

resulting in 27.9% of Arkansans with at least a two-year degree,

18.7% with a four-year degree (49th in U.S.),

and 6.7% with a graduate degree (50th in U.S.),

governed by 1,432 local school board members

elected, not by 66% of registered voters, as in the last general election,

but by .66% in the separate school election.

That’s 100 times less voter turnout.

Parental and community involvement and leadership in our schools must begin with the elections of those who govern them.

Until we move school elections to the general, there will continue to be…

No Education without Representation.

Nothing suppresses votes more than holding an election NOT on election day.