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Dec 20, 2010

ADE and removal of a school board

Posted by Ean Bordeaux, pro per 12/20/2010 12:01:00 PM

An article from savepcssd.org-

Wish you all the best of luck in "saving" pcssd:


ADE and removal of a school board

by DAWN JACKSON on DECEMBER 16, 2010 · 10 COMMENTS
Dr. Hopson’s reported statement that he will ask the Arkansas Department of Education to remove the entire school board prompted me to research the cases in which the ADE could take such an action.
The ADE can remove the entire school board and/or superintendent of a school district that is declared “in fiscal distress.”  The PCSSD has been warned, but has not yet been declared “in fiscal distress.”  Dr. Kimbrell of the ADE has stated that he will make the decision in January of whether to do so.  If that happens, it is possible that the ADE could remove the entire school board AND Dr. Hopson.
One thing is for certain, though, the ADE will NOT take such an action based on personal agendas and questionable motives.  If Dr. Hopson goes to the ADE with such a request, I hope that the ADE will request copies of any e-mails or other communications sent to the board during and after the last regular school board meeting, during which the board went into executive session to discuss “personnel matters” in the legislative audit.  I understand that Dr. Hopson was FURIOUS that the board went into executive session and berated them for it.  It appears that it embarrassed him.  Based on that and other recent conflicts that have arisen between the Superintendent and the board, any request to have the board removed could be viewed as improperly motivated.
Here is the text of the relevant statute regarding potential ADE actions in cases of fiscal distress:
6-20-1909.  Department fiscal distress actions.
(a) In addressing school districts in fiscal distress, the Department of Education may:
(1) Require the superintendent to relinquish all administrative authority with respect to the school district;
(2) Appoint an individual in place of the superintendent to administratively operate the school district under the supervision and approval of the Commissioner of Education and to compensate nondepartment agents operating the school district from school district funding;
(3) Call for the temporary suspension of the local school board of directors;
(4) Require the school district to operate without a local school board of directors under the supervision of the local superintendent or an individual or panel appointed by the commissioner;
(5) Place the administration of the school district over to the former board of directors or to a newly elected school board of directors; or
(6) Take any other action allowed by law that is deemed necessary to assist a school district in removing criteria of fiscal distress.
(b) The department may impose various reporting requirements on the school district.
(c) The department shall monitor the fiscal operations and accounts of the school district.
(d) The department shall require school district staff and employees to obtain fiscal instruction or training in areas of fiscal concern for the school district.
HISTORY: Acts 2003, No. 1467, § 18.
Seems that Dr Hopson has an anger issue
Timmy has company December 16, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Temper – You are so right! He and Tim Clark. They both need to go. Sooner rather than later.
Fed-up! December 17, 2010 at 7:36 am
There’s a name for Hopson and Clark’s condition……LITTLE MAN SYNDROME!
Ratchell December 17, 2010 at 9:54 am
Hate to say it but PCSSD needs major wake up call and the “Holier Than Thous” need to go!! It has been all about padding pockets and giving trinkets instead of the safety and education of our children. They even created a problem to fix and just screwed everything up in the process. Their focus was on wasting money really. Lets take advantage of the dollars we receive shall we?
Hobson's Horrible Behavior! December 17, 2010 at 9:55 am
So let me get this straight…..Hopson rolls in here in his new Buick decked with chromed rims (paid for by the district), shames the school board and threatens to walk if the school board doesn’t hire the Pacific Educational Group (who hate white people) to straighten this bunch of racist PCSSD teachers out, gets his transmission repaired on his personal car and charges it to the district, not only HIRES his brother but pays his brother and two other people before they’re on contract, hires a board secretary for his administrative assistant, begs the school board to hire another consulting firm to tell us about aligning our curriculum (a topic we’ve been inserviced on repeatedly since the 1990s) at the tune of $40,000 plus, ignores the PNA and changes the bell schedule and creatively leases/purchases buses without the board’s approval, and then announces that he doesn’t want to be here when he’s getting his hand slapped!
Sounds like an overpaid, fit-throwing child who needs to return to where he came from….oh wait….he can’t do that because Portland discontinued his job when he left. I wonder if they miss his Superintendent’s Corner blabber?
If you are like me and have had enough of this man’s antics….PLEASE contact your school board member and beg him or her to shove this pathetic leader to the unemployment line.
concerned parent December 17, 2010 at 1:43 pm
am in agreement that it is time for a parent driven petition to remove Dr. Hopson. He has become an embarrassment to PCSSD that we just can not afford….literally. The consultant group he brought to PCSSD is devisive and at times, racist. We took back our school board. Now let’s take back administration. There are actually several who need to go bye-bye immediately. PCSSD administration has forgotten that they work for the kids and parents. The district office does not exist to provide high paying jobs to the “select few”. It should exist only to ADMINISTRATE the education of students and the decisions made by a COMMUNITY ELECTED BOARD period! If our concerns are not taken seriously, maybe we should band together and go to the Department of Education ourselves and DEMAND action against the current administration.
Danny Treadway December 17, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Today I drove out to Maumelle just to look at the New Maumelle High School. I am absolutely awe struck at the size of this thing. I am also absolutely embarrassed by it too. Understand that this was done by the previous Board led by Tim Clark. If you drive out there and look for yourself you will see how easily two or even three schools could have been built in place of just one. I truly believe Fiscal Distress was what Tim Clark was hopeing for and Dr Hopson is his puppet on a string. I also looked into Pacific Educational Group and found it to be Racially Motivated group that has cost other school districts through out the US millions of dollars trying to meet racial equity that was never achieved but promoted a totally opposite effect. People, we helped clean up the last board and now it is time to clean out the nepotism and good ole boy administration that Dr Hopson has created around himself. He needs to be shown that he is a HIRED Hand that serves at the will of the ELECTED BOARD not the other way around. He also has no business meeting behind closed doors or by texting with Tim Clark. That agenda needs to be put in it’s place once and for all.
Ratchell December 18, 2010 at 9:50 am
I have not read the article of the Jacksonville Leader, but thanks to all of us we are reasonably up to snuff on this situation. I will be reading it shortly.
First question is, who is Hopson to have this authority? Second question is, had the ADE even Realized we have a HUGE problem here? Somewhere I read that this all started with McGill, but that is NO EXCUSE to CONTINUE to make the mess bigger. I am in the process of going in the WayBack machine and seeing what it takes for Jacksonville to become their own school district (and to have others follow suit). Common sense dictates PCSSD has gotten too big for their britches and now that they know what size they are, the pants are falling down around their ankles. We need to stage a Mutiny of sorts and Show Them How Its Done.
Third Choice December 18, 2010 at 10:18 pm
This is what happens when you have the THIRD choice for Supt as the leader of the PCSSD. Tim Clark has ruined the PCSSD for years to come. We are an embarrassment to the state. State takeover would be a blessing. It would do Dr Hopson goos to distance himself from Tim Clark, but appears they are hitched at the hip.
me December 19, 2010 at 6:52 am
What the people of Jacksonville don’t understand is that the world class educators are in with Tim Clark. They say they want what’s best for Jaclsonville but no one ask the whole community. Its a small group of people who only want credit for what they do. They don’t care about the kids or the parents. We would be in the same boat if we got our own district. Who is going to pay for the schools and would the buildings be in any better shape if we had our own district? Don’t see money comming in to repace all the buildings we have now from anyone in Jacksonville. We as a community could have been working on these schools along time ago even though they belonged to the district if we were truly concerned about them. Everyone wants someone els to do it. If the “community leaders of Jacksonville put haft the money into the school that they put into the football field every year we would have a state of the art highschool that looked so much better today and that would show PCSSD we don’t need them. That hasn’t happened yet. Who is going to pay for Jacksonville to have their own district?