Little Rock officials want local control of school district
LITTLE ROCK — Little Rock leaders recently approved a resolution asking the state to restore local control over the city’s public schools, but the possibility of a school board election actually taking place and how much local control could be returned are up in the air.
City officials passed the resolution earlier this week, asking for an election to be held later this year after a new law regarding school districts that are under state authority takes
effect. The state took over the Little Rock School District in 2015 after it was deemed to be in academic distress.
Three of the district’s six schools are no longer classified as in distress and the education commissioner says the district is progressing, but no timeline has been established for local control to be returned.
Casteel named director of Arkansas alcohol agency
LITTLE ROCK — According to Moore, the Arkansas constitution says the secretary’s duties include overseeing election laws, registering businesses and keeping up the state Capitol grounds. Moore says the nearly $8,400 trip doesn’t appear to be part of those responsibilities.
Martin’s office says such a determination “is in direct violation of the separation of powers clause of the (Arkansas) Constitution.”
A spokesman says Martin hasn’t taken an agriculture-related trip overseas paid by the state since Ghana.
Audit questions Arkansas secretary of state’s trip to Ghana
LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas secretary of state’s trip to Ghana on a U.S. Department of Agriculture trade mission is under scrutiny from an audit.
Deputy Legislative Auditor Jon Moore told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Thursday that Mark Martin’s trip in November 2015 to expand export opportunities might not have been within the scope of his office’s duties.
According to Moore, the Arkansas constitution says the secretary’s duties include overseeing election laws, registering businesses and keeping up the state Capitol grounds. Moore said the nearly $8,400 trip doesn’t appear to be a part of those responsibilities.
Management in Martin’s office said they believe the state’s legislative branch was incorrectly interfering with how a constitutional officer travels on behalf of the state.
“Our only disagreement (with legislative auditors) was whether or not Secretary Martin should have taken the trip,” said Kelly Boyd, chief deputy secretary of state. “We feel that is a decision best made by Secretary Martin and we stand by the comments we made.”
Arkansas Legislative Audit legal counsel Frank Arey said the audit has reported findings for other constitutional officers in the past, so there is no legitimate question about whether the audit is a valid exercise of legislative oversight.
Martin hasn’t taken an agriculture-related trip overseas paid by the state since Ghana, said Chris Powell, a spokesman for the secretary of state.
Prosecutors won’t seek death penalty in Searcy cold case
SEARCY — Prosecutors say they won’t seek the death penalty for a man charged in the death of a Searcy man who disappeared more than 20 years ago.
Brandon Lee Wheeler is charged with capital murder and abuse of a corpse in the death of Jarrod Green.
Police say Green was reported missing in October 1994. A court affidavit says that detectives received information late last year about the possible location of Green’s body, and Wheeler was arrested last month in Ohio.
The Daily Citizen reports that a judge set Wheeler’s bond at $100,000 at a hearing Thursday. Wheeler’s attorney had argued that his client had no criminal history and that he believed a conviction was unlikely in the case.