Little Rock, Arkansas – A dramatic drop in student enrollment over the past two years, according to Little Rock School District officials, is making school board members make some difficult choices.
State financing is also declining as a result of the enrollment decline. LRSD has lost $12 million in financing in the past two years. The school board is now suggesting closing Brady Elementary and merging Carver and Washington Elementary Schools.
Many parents expressed their opposition of the idea during the school board meeting. One parent, Anisha Brooks, stated that this is not the first time her child has been placed in this situation.
Since starting school in 2019, my oldest daughter has undergone three transitions, according to Brooks.
She claimed that her daughter had suffered emotionally as a result of switching schools.
“She loses her friends, her community, and the teachers who care about her every time there’s a transition,” Brooks remarked.
Many educators concurred with Brooks and other parents, such as Latoya Morgan, who stated that the school district is searching in the wrong place for answers.
Morgan stated that “you would start having more conversations with the parents if this district is truly intentional about, I guess, getting students back.”
