PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. — Legislation backed by Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson would fund a pilot private school voucher program for low-income students in Arkansas' largest county.
Senate Bill 620 includes ideas tried by GOP lawmakers for several legislative sessions, but this new plan gets a boost with the way it targets a small number of students in four of the biggest districts in Little Rock and its suburbs.
“The best path out of poverty is a good education,” said co-sponsor state rep. Carlton Wing (R – North Little Rock). “Education and hard work and you can do anything.”
The plan would offer about 500 scholarships to low-income students in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Jacksonville-North Pulaski and Pulaski County Special School Districts. They would be paid for with $3.5-million from the governor’s discretionary fund.
To qualify, students would have to be eligible for free and reduced lunch programs, which according to state records, means almost 33,000 kids.
“This targets those kids who are really stuck,” said co-sponsor Mark Johnson (R- Little Rock). “All kids are different, and this is all about the individual student getting a choice and not the bureaucracy or the district.”
“Every student deserves the opportunity to reach his or her potential,” said the governor in a statement. “This bill will help them do just that.”
The governor alerted lawmakers from the county on Monday.
The lead sponsors, senator Blake Johnson (R- Corning) and state rep. Ken Bragg (R- Sheridan), have been working on a school choice concept over the last couple sessions. As one of the few counties in the state with both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, their proposal got a cool reception from some here especially considering the troubled history for some of the schools here.
“In the last several years we've had an influx of charter schools and this just seems like the further dismantling of the public school system in Little Rock,” said state rep. Tippi McCullough (D- Little Rock) who taught in both public and Catholic schools for three decades before running for office.
Another feature of the proposal offers participating students with at least a 2.5 GPA a shot at a $5,000 scholarship to any of the Pulaski County higher-ed schools like UA-Little Rock or Philander Smith.
Advocates stress that this is just a five-year pilot program and that Pulaski County has enough private schools to offer an array of choices.
“By doing it this way we are going to get some great market feedback,” said rep. Wing. “This will be the kind of data that businesses pay millions for.”
But others questions whether pilot programs every really come in for a landing.
“Five hundred doesn't seem like a lot across the county but this is a start,” rep. McCullough said. “Pilot programs often turn into programs that are instituted and put into practice.”