Legal Battles Continue as Arkansas Districts Merge

By Alan Richard

Arkansas’ decade-long court battle over school finances may finally be over, but the larger legal and political dogfight over money for rural schools and the consolidation of rural school districts is just beginning to get fierce.

Supporters of small rural districts have filed lawsuits in recent weeks challenging a new state law that forces dozens of the state’s smallest districts to merge with neighbors.

The legislature passed a law in January that forced the district mergers as part of the state’s strategy to meet an Arkansas Supreme Court decision from 2002 that required improvements in poor rural schools. ( "Court Orders Arkansas to Fix K-12 Funding," ...