Alumni say goodbye to Dollarway district

The public outpouring of sentiment for the Dollarway School District on Sunday was touching. Scores of people came together, some from several states away and some who hadn’t been back to campus in decades, to turn out the lights, so to speak, on the 107-year-old district.

We had wondered if such a loyal base even existed. Back before the end of the year, the state Education Department reached out in various ways over a lengthy period of time in an attempt to talk to Dollarway patrons. The department wanted to get their thoughts on the district and a possible annexation with the Pine Bluff School District. No matter how department officials tried to elicit local comment, few people responded.

Would input from everyone who came together on Sunday have changed the fact that on Friday, the Dollarway School District will be no more? It’s hard to say, but it might have strengthened the Dollarway hand had they responded. Or not.

As it stands, on paper, there will be only the Pine Bluff School District going forward. The record for that “going forward” part isn’t great.

Way back when, there were numerous school districts across the river in and around Jefferson County. One by one, those districts melted away, some collapsing under their own weight, some hurried along by demands from the state to meet standards.

We recall the Wabbaseka-Tucker and Altheimer-Sherrill districts were the last two standing. It was obvious that the Altheimer district was the stronger of the two, and officials in that district pleaded with those from Wabbaseka not to spend themselves down to their last dime and then show up on the Altheimer doorstep, penniless, wanting Altheimer to take them in. Which is what happened.

Then Altheimer itself folded and had to be taken in by another district, and Dollarway was chosen for that task. So Dollarway has its Pine Bluff students, but it is also the sum total of all of those other poor districts. And now that all falls at the feet of the Pine Bluff district, which itself is under state control.

Then there’s Watson Chapel, which is saying goodbye to Superintendent Jerry Guess, who is thanked for saving enough expense and getting academics up high enough that the state didn’t have to take it over, too. Barely surviving is not exactly the model of school district excellence, but of Pine Bluff’s three districts, barely hanging on is suddenly an enviable position.

Barbara Warren, superintendent of both the Dollarway and Pine Bluff districts, has been toiling away, trying to improve the districts to the point that the state could turn them back over to local control. That effort fell short for Dollarway, and now Pine Bluff has only until 2023 to make sufficient improvements that the state can return it to local control. Otherwise, that district will have to be joined with another district. Watson Chapel? White Hall? The choices are limited.

We’ll hope for the best for Warren. For now, it’s nice to bask in the warmth of all of the nice things the Dollarway alumni are saying about their old district. The choir. The academics. The athletics. The pride.

Go Cardinals! You will not be forgotten.