Gov.: School turmoil hurting Little Rock

Gov.: School turmoil hurting Little Rock

	Published : Fri, 06 Apr 2007 20:39 By : Agencies Print this Story

LITTLE ROCK (AP) - Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday that turmoil in the Little Rock School District and fighting over the future of its superintendent is hurting economic development in the area.

'It's bad for the school system, it's bad for the kids and obviously that kind of turmoil hurts economic development opportunities and the opportunities for Little Rock to be able to attract folks who want to live here,' Beebe said Friday on Arkansas Radio Network's monthly 'Ask the Governor' show.

The Little Rock School Board is expected to meet Friday afternoon to consider the employment future of superintendent Roy Brooks. The board deadlocked Thursday over whether to meet in private to discuss Brooks' employment.

Beebe said he has not intervened in the superintendent fight, but said he was concerned about the public nature of the debate over the 27,000-student district. Beebe said both sides in the battle over Brooks' job need to tone down their public comments.

'That's the approach I would like to see taken and that is to stop the public rhetoric,' Beebe said. 'People need to back up and sit down behind a desk and behind a table so they can all sit down and reason with one another without throwing barbs at each other out publicly.'

The fight in the state's largest school district comes after a federal judge released it from federal supervision. U.S. District Judge William R. Wilson Jr. issued a ruling last month that found that the district was substantially complying with a 1998 desegregation plan.

Teachers and some school board members are unhappy with Brooks' management style and decisions, but the superintendent also has widespread support among some school district supporters. Beebe did not say Friday whether he believes Brooks should stay in his position.

'It's very difficult to move a state forward and to attract people in a given area, whether it's retention of current economic activities or whether it's new economic opportunities, if there is division and turmoil in a school system,' Beebe said. 'What we have to do is get people to back off the rhetoric, slow down and remember that the number one issue and the number one goal here ought to be what's best for the kids. ... I don't know where this thing is going, but it's not pretty for anybody.'