A decision on the Blytheville School District's participation in the Arkansas school choice program is expected during a special meeting set for 6 p.m. Monday at the district administration building.
The district is facing a Tuesday deadline to opt in or opt out of the program. The board had originally planned to make a decision during its March 17 meeting, but instead voted to table the issue until Monday, giving board members more time to give the issue greater consideration.
Last year, the board voted unanimously in favor of a recommendation from Superintendent Richard Atwill to opt out of school choice for the 2013-14 school term. The state law creating school choice allows districts that are subject to an ongoing desegregation order to exempt themselves from the program. Citing a pair of local court cases, as well as the federal Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the Blytheville School Board took the exemption.
That move prompted a lawsuit from a group of local parents, who claimed the school board exercised an "unlawful and unconstitutional" refusal to allow its students to take part in the state program.
In recent weeks, the school board has come under significant public pressure, with the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce, Blytheville Unlimited and Great River Economic Development all writing letters to the school board urging the district to opt in to the school choice program. The letters argued that the availability of school choice would provide an economic benefit to the community, and that the district's refusal to participate in school choice is perceived as a sign of weakness, perpetuating negative stereotypes about the district.
Also, last week, the attorney representing the parents suing the district over school choice, sent a letter to the school district's attorney, offering a "no-strings-attached" settlement. Under the proposal, the parents will drop the lawsuit if the board votes to opt in to school choice for the 2014-15 school year, thus alleviating the risk of any potential monetary damages that would be paid by the district if it loses the lawsuit.
Last year, Blytheville was the only school district in Mississippi County to opt out of school choice, and one of only a couple of dozen across the state to claim the exemption.