Group aiming to repeal LEARNS to gather in Arkadelphia

This post was updated Tuesday at 9:20 a.m.

By JOEL PHELPS | The Arkadelphian

Arkadelphia will be one of few Arkansas towns where a statewide group hoping to repeal the Arkansas LEARNS Act will assemble this week.

Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES), which formally organized earlier this month, are slated to gather at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 27, at Feaster Park, located on North 23rd Street across from the Community Family Enrichment Center.

The rally will feature speakers and training sessions; food trucks will also be at the site. CAPES will be hosting rallies throughout the state Thursday evening, but Arkadelphia is the only location in South Arkansas where a rally is scheduled. Other cities where they’ll assemble are Little Rock, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Jonesboro, West Memphis, Searcy and Pine Bluff.

CAPES hopes to repeal the newly passed educational reform which, among other aspects, will raise minimum teacher salaries from $36,000 to $50,000. 

While CAPES supporters assert that the LEARNS Act will do more financial harm than good to rural school districts and their communities, state education officials have been busy in past weeks touring regional cooperatives, including the Arkadelphia-based Dawson Education Cooperative, to inform district leaders on how to deploy facets of the act. Local school leaders admit that there are many unanswered questions and unknowns regarding the LEARNS Act, but none have been vocal as to whether they support the measure.

READ MORE: Arkadelphia School Board formalizes LEARNS salary increases

As Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders touted her educational overhaul at Jonesboro’s Arkansas State University campus Monday evening, a group of nearly two dozen ASU students protested outside the venue.

The process to repeal the act requires petitioners to gather signatures from 6% of the total votes cast for governor of the preceding general election, or slightly more than 54,000 signatures this cycle, according to Arkansas Advocate. Organizers have 90 days after adjournment of the state legislature to file their petition. Lawmakers are slated to officially adjourn the legislative session on May 1.

Newly passed state laws, however, have placed additional hurdles for citizen-led ballot initiatives.

And despite Attorney General Tim Griffin’s rejection Monday of the LEARNS Act referendum title, CAPES organizers say Thursday’s events are still on go, statewide.

Steve Grappe, the organization’s director, said CAPES is “committed to building a statewide volunteer base to educate and engage everyday Arkansans about the damages that the LEARNS Act will do to rural economies, public school districts, and state budgets.

“Our goal is to mobilize citizen volunteers to overturn or veto the LEARNS Act before public school closures and consolidations become the norm. CAPES calls out to fellow teachers, parents, students, former students, and concerned citizens to join in building a grassroots movement to save Arkansas public schools and ensure a brighter future for our children and future generations.”