The state of Arkansas is at a crossroads in regard to its commitment to assure a brighter future for the citizens of our state. Continuing to improve educational outcomes for our children is absolutely critical to our state’s well being. If we don’t make a commitment to continuous improvement of our state’s educational delivery system now, none of us will like the way our state…or our nation…looks in 20 years, in that it will be a completely bi-polar society, with a complete elimination of the middle class. We want to ask you for your assistance and your help in assuring a brighter future for our state.
As a result of our state’s educational delivery system being declared unconstitutional in regard to both adequacy and equity due to the Lakeview Decision, the legislature passed Act 35 in 2003, accompanied by the largest tax increase in our state’s history. This initiative was a combined effort of the business community, various educational constituencies and legislators from both parties to not only bring our educational delivery system into compliance from an adequacy and equity standpoint, but also for Arkansas to make an unwavering commitment to hold the educational delivery system accountable for the results it is producing. Act 35 has provided a framework of accountability for this state’s educational delivery system that not only led our state’s educational delivery system to be declared constitutional by the Arkansas Supreme Court, but has also provided a framework for remarkable progress in our state’s educational delivery… moving from a ranking previous to its passage by the nationally reputable publication Education Week of 49th in overall educational delivery to a ranking of 10th in the nation in the quality of our educational delivery system. But there is much work left to do.
The purpose of the Coalition is to broaden the visible corporate support across Arkansas to preserve and protect the tenants of Act 35 through the establishment of a blue-ribbon group of Arkansas corporate leaders. We are soliciting the support of our state’s most influential business/community leaders to become supporting members of the Arkansas Education Accountability Coalition. These business leaders are being asked to lend both their names and their support, individually and corporately, to the preservation and protection of our state’s accountability law…Act 35.
Founding Coalition members are...
Jim Walton, Chairman, Arvest, Bentonville
Walter Hussman, Publisher, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Little Rock
Claiborne Deming, President and CEO, Murphy Oil Corporation, El Dorado
Steve Stephens, Chairman, ExOxemis, Little Rock
Vicki Saviers, Founder, Little Rock Public Education Foundation
Other commitments, thus far, include...
Hugh McDonald, President of Entergy, Little Rock
Bob East, Chairman of East-Harding, Little Rock
Charles Nabholz, Chairman of The Nabholz Group, Conway
Bill Fisher, President of Paragould Light and Water, Paragould
Archie Schaffer, Tyson Foods, Springdale
Don Tyson, Tyson Foods, Springdale
John Tyson, Tyson Foods, Springdale
Ernest Cunningham, Cunningham Consulting, Helena
Mack McLarty, The McLarty Companies, Little Rock
Stacy Sells, Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, Little Rock
Rett Tucker, Principal, Moses Tucker Real Estate, Little Rock
Mike Wilson, Attorney, Jacksonville
Phil Baldwin, President and CEO, Southern Development Bancorp, Arkadelphia
Eddie Drilling, President, AT&T Arkansas, Little Rock
Susan Chambers, Senior Manager, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville
Randy Zook, President, Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, Little Rock
Dr. Carl Johnson, Physician, Member, University of Arkansas Board of Trustees
We have just begun the establishment of the Coalition and many others will be added.
