Focusing on Education

Rob Moritz just posted an article on the Springdale Morning News site an hour ago outlining conversations he had with Rep. Mike Kenney (R-Siloam Springs), Chairman of the House Education Committee, and Speaker Petrus over the weekend.

As stated in the article, it looks like we'll begin seeing filings and recommendations this week on specific educational funding numbers, including:

(1) foundation funding on a per pupil basis;
(2) categorical funding and figures;
(3) facilities' funding and its source (revenue surplus); and
(4) expansion of pre-kindergarten funding.

House Democrats have made all of these a part of the caucus legislative package, and we're anxious to see if we can incorporate Governor Beebe's additional $19 million recommendation over and above the Adequacy Committee's recommendation (I think a mere $28 increase per student in the first year of the next biennium would be a mistake). This would be a good start to getting us out of Lake View (taking into consideration the $132 million we appropriated in the 2006 special session). It would do the legislature some good if the 19-page report of the attorneys involved in Lake View were to be distributed among the membership.