LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Department of Education Secretary Johnny Key released a proposed timeline for the Little Rock School District Board of Directors election Friday, Nov. 1.
"This is yet another step toward returning a unified Little Rock School District to local governance," Key said. "This timeline provides the patrons of the district with certainty about the process of implementing the nine board zones and when interested citizens can begin filing for positions on the new board."
In September, the board voted to adopt a framework that returns local control to the LRSD through a nine-member board of directors to be elected in November 2020.
In October, the framework was amended to clarify there will be a full return of a unified district to local control.
The November election follows the precedent established by the board in 2016 when the Pulaski County Special School District and Helena-West Helena School District held November board elections after a five-year period of state authority.
According to LRSD, the timeline proposed timeline is:
November 14, 2019 – State Board review of board member zone establishment process and proposed map
December 2019 and January 2020 – Community Advisory Board (CAB) shall review draft map of proposed board member zones and host public comment sessions
February 2020 – CAB shall submit suggested revisions to Commissioner based on public feedback
March 2020 – Map and legal description approved by Commissioner must be submitted to the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners for approval, then submitted to the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office
May 3, 2020 – Candidates may begin collecting signatures
July 27, 2020 – Candidate filing period begins
August 3, 2020 – Candidate filing period ends
November 3, 2020 – School Board election
December 1, 2020 – Runoff election, if necessary
The timeline will be discussed at the State Board of Education meeting on November 14, 2019.