RESTRUCTURING TO OCCUR IN LOCKESBURG SCHOOL DISTRICT; ALTHEIMER COULD FOLLOW

"The General Assembly should enact legislation which re-structures, effective school year 1999-2000, Arkansas's existing 311 school districts into not more than 134 "administrative units" where an administrative unit is defined as 'one superintendent and an associated superintendent's staff" (Murphy Commission, "Streamlining and Cost-Savings Opportunities in Arkansas's K-12 Public Education System," September 1998)

(June 2006) Administrators in the Lockesburg School District in Sevier County will be restructured into the DeQueen district, a recommendation first advanced in 1998 by the Murphy Commission, a Policy Foundation project, as part of a proposal to save tax dollars by eliminating K-12 administrators.

The Altheimer School District in Jefferson County could also face restructuring. The commission recommended administrative restructuring for the Altheimer and White Hall districts in 1998.

The state Board of Education approved the Lockesburg restructuring at its May meeting. The restructuring means Arkansas will have 246 K-12 districts. There were 311 districts in 1988 when the Commission released its recommendations

The action follows Board actions to restructure the Eudora, Black Rock, Elaine and Devalls Bluff districts in February and March.

The administrative restructuring proposed by the Murphy Commission does not imply a reduction in classroom instruction or elimination of sports teams. The Policy Foundation emphasized administrative restructuring in its 1998 report, noting, "Every school can keep its mascot, football and basketball team and preserve long-standing rivalries with other schools."

The Policy Foundation estimated its 1998 administrative restructuring plan would save taxpayers $175 million over a 10-year period.

The 1998 report, "Streamlining and Cost-Savings Opportunities in Arkansas' K-12 Public Education System," is available for free at www.reformarkansas.org