Arkansas education board removes Lee County’s fiscal distress status

The Arkansas State Board of Education on Thursday voted to remove the Lee County School District from its fiscal distress status, but state officials will continue to monitor the district’s finances for the next three years. 

Superintendent Michael Stone told the Advocate he felt great about the board’s decision and said his Delta district has implemented systems and procedures “to keep us out of trouble fiscally.”

“Just keep doing what we’re doing,” Stone said. “Celebrate this moment and then get back to work.”

One of those new processes is a financial procedures manual. Stone, who’s finishing his second year with the district, said they didn’t previously have standard operating procedures for financial tasks written down. 

Additionally, Stone said the district has found ways to cut spending and will save between $900,000 and $1 million through attrition (not replacing four retiring employees) and through “rightsizing” staff. Stone said the district won’t offer contracts to six or seven staff members for the 2024-2025 academic year to better align staff size with student enrollment.

Arkansas Department of Education Associate Deputy Commissioner Eric Saunders described Stone as “a heavy recruiter and a staunch supporter of the school district” as a product of the community himself. District enrollment steadily decreased from 620 in 2020 to 576 in 2023, but increased to 617 in 2024. Stone said increased enrollment will also help finances because it means more state funding. 

“Putting those systems in place like that, putting the focus back on the kids and what the kids need is what we’re doing to not only move the needle on academic success, but I think they play a tandem to each other — academic, fiscal — I think it works together because whatever you do fiscally should impact what we do academically,” Stone said. 

Although the Board of Education is removing the fiscal distress designation, the state education department’s Fiscal Services and Support Unit will keep monitoring Lee County. State officials will also continue providing wraparound services as a district classified as needing Level 5 – Intensive Support. The district requested the support in May 2021 after facing academic and financial challenges.

The state assumed authority over Lee County in March 2019 for violating standards of accreditation and designated the fiscal distress status two months later. The fiscal distress status is set to expire on June 30. 

There are four districts currently under state authority — Lee County, Earle, Marvell-Elaine and Helena-West Helena. Last June, the state board released Earle from its fiscal distress status and approved a gradual release from state control.

Arkansas school districts offer affordable teacher housing as recruitment tool

The day-to-day operations of Marvell-Elaine are being managed by a charter management organization under the state’s first transformation contract. A provision of the LEARNS Act, the contract permits public school districts with a “D” or “F”-rating or in need of Level 5 – Intensive Support to partner with an open-enrollment public charter school or another state board-approved entity to create “a public school district transformation campus.”

Sheila Whitlow, an associate deputy education commissioner who’s been working closely with the district, told the Advocate she’s “ecstatic” that Lee County is being recognized for its hard work.

One of the district’s successes is its affordable teacher housing project. In February, Lee County celebrated the groundbreaking of construction on four duplexes at a former Marianna elementary school site. 

The $3.9 million project, which is being funded using American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money, will be used as a recruitment and retention tool. 

Stone said Thursday the duplexes are expected to be complete by July 1, just in time for school to start on July 25 at this district, which follows a year-round calendar.