Evening Capitol Report: August 23, 2022

August 23, 2022

The Arkansas Legislative Council – PEER Subcommittee approved the following Department of Education Requests for American Rescue Plan Appropriation for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund Grants during its meeting this morning:

Pulaski County – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Cave City – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Lincoln – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Hoxie – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Perryville – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Carlisle – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Armorel – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Mountain Home – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Bismarck – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Riverview – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
West Fork School District – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Nettleton – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Fountain Lake – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Helena/West Helena – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Danville – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Ashdown – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Conway – plan meets recommendations of ALC
De Queen – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Prescott – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Premier High School of Arkansas – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Premier High School of North Little Rock – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Premier High School Springdale – plan meets recommendations of ALC
Hamburg – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Arkansas Virtual Academy – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
South Pike County – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Pea Ridge – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
South Conway County – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Lamar – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Lavaca – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Academics Plus Charter Schools, Inc. – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Jacksonville North Pulaski – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Lee County – modified plan to meet the recommendations of the ALC
Earle – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Prairie Grove – plan does not meet the recommendations of the ALC and they provided justification
Pine Bluff – plan meets recommendations of ALC

In July the ALC voted to expunge the vote by which they approved $500 million spending authority for the Arkansas Department of Education – Division of Elementary and Secondary Education undre ARP ESSER, and recommended:

That the school districts utilize available ESSER funds to provide retention and recruitment bonuses to teachers in the amount of $5,000 each, full-time classified school district staff in the amount of $2,500 each, and part-time classified staff in amounts that are half of those awarded to their full-time counterparts.
The Arkansas Department of Education will bring to the ALC-PEER Subcommittee specific plans for each school district’s use of the funds as recommended by ALC, and if the school district is unable or unwilling to meet those recommendations, a comprehensive statement as to why the school district is unable or unwilling to utilize the ESSER funds in this manner.

Each school had to answer the following questions:

Does the district’s current ARP ESSER Use of Funds plan meet the recommendations of ALC?
If not, has the district revised the ARP ESSER Use of Funds plan to meet the recommendations of ALC?
If the plan does not meet the recommendations and has not been revised to meet the recommendations, districts must submit a justification as well as a link to their current ARP ESSER Use of Funds Plan.

A spreadsheet of the responses from the school districts listed above can be found online at https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Calendars/Attachment?committee=020&agenda=25062&file=M.+DOE+ARPA+Request+2.pdf.