The move disbands the school board and places Dexter Suggs, the current superintendent, in an interim role and under the authority of state Education Commissioner Tony Wood. Additionally, the measure calls for creation of a citizen’s advisory council to give input regarding needs and changes in the district.
Board Chairman Sam Ledbetter cast the deciding vote to break a tie between the other eight members.
The board’s action is prompted by six schools in the Little Rock School District having been placed on a list of academically distressed schools. Those six schools are Baseline Elementary School, Cloverdale Aerospace Technology Center, Henderson Middle School, Hall High School, J.A. Fair High School and McClellan Magnet High School.
A school may be placed on the list of academically distressed schools if more than half the students fail to achieve or exceed proficiency standards on state mandated tests in math and literacy.
Before voting to take over the school, the board deadlocked 4-4, with Ledbetter not voting, on a compromise that would have created a partnership between the state board and the school district but would have left the administration intact initially — with provisions for immediate dissolution of the Little Rock School Board and dismissal of the superintendent if the district failed to make significant progress.
After the meeting, Ledbetter said his decision to cast a vote in favor of a takeover was motivated by his belief that the current situation, with six schools in the district declared to be in academic distress and test scores declining in others, demanded a strong response from the board.
