School-board group in state sets key vote

Meeting to look at schism with national organization

The Arkansas School Boards Association is on the verge of ending its decades-old membership in the National School Boards organization.

The proposal is to be presented for a vote to the Arkansas association’s board of directors and then to the delegate assembly for ratification at an annual meeting Wednesday in Little Rock, Tony Prothro, executive director of the Arkansas School Boards Association, said in an interview last week.

The Arkansas proposal comes after long-standing concerns about the operations of the national group, Prothro said, culminating in the national organization’s Sept. 29 letter to President Joe Biden asking for federal law enforcement help in defending against what it said were threats to local school boards and educators that equate to domestic terrorism and hate crimes.

Prothro said he has had doubts and concerns about the national organization’s finances, governance, service to members and communications since becoming the chief executive officer for the state association nine years ago.

The problems and concerns had continued to the point that the Arkansas organization declined this past summer to pay its “significant” national dues on the July 1 due date, he said.

That decision was made even before the letter calling for help from the FBI and other law enforcement agencies became an issue that has prompted more than a dozen states to pull away from the national group. Those include Missouri and Georgia.

“As far at the letter goes, we don’t mind a reach-out because we want all parties protected,” Prothro said, but he objected to the way the letter came about.

He said this state has been working to advance communication from patrons and the contents of the letter seemed “to stifle that.”

Additionally, he said the letter — signed by the organization’s president and now former interim executive director and has since been the subject of an apology — was sent without being vetted by the organization’s governance board and without prior notice to Arkansas and other state organizations, Prothro said.

“Can you imagine me sending a letter to the governor asking him to send out the troops without my informing my board or my member districts? That tells you about the problems,” he said. “I tell people that the letter is only a reflection of the inherent issues within NSBA.”

The Arkansas organization’s board of directors on Wednesday will decide whether to delete from its bylaws reference to the National School Boards Association. That decision will be submitted later in the day to the delegate assembly — made up of one representative from each of the state’s school districts — for a ratification vote.

Affiliation with the national group could be terminated immediately, depending on the outcome of the votes, Prothro said.

Asked whether the severed ties would result in loss of benefits to the state affiliate and its members, Prothro said that the national organization’s annual conference was typically liked and valued by the Arkansas af- filiate members. He suggested a new national organization might be formed — in part to host such conferences.

Arkansas has about 1,500 school board members who are elected to unpaid terms of office.

The top leaders of the National School Boards Association sent the six-page letter to Biden saying that public schools and their leaders are under an immediate threat and need immediate assistance.

The letter asked for collaboration of local, state and federal law enforcement officers to prevent further disruptions to educational services and school district operations, including help with investigating, intercepting and preventing threats and acts of violence.

“NSBA specifically solicits the expertise and resources of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, and its National Threat Assessment Center regarding the level of risk to public schoolchildren, educators, board members, and facilities/campuses,” the letter said.

“We also request the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to intervene against threatening letters and cyberbullying attacks that have been transmitted to students, school board members, district administrators, and other educators.”

The letter listed more than a dozen news accounts of disruptions to school board meetings across the country over face-mask requirements, other covid-19 policies and critical race theory.

“As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes, ” the national organization’s letter stated.

It asked for expedited review, training and technical assistance from a wide range of federal agencies.

In an Oct. 22 follow-up letter, the national organization apologized to its members, saying that while safety of school board members, educators and students is the top priority, “there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter.”

“We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance,” the Oct. 22 letter said. “We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations.

“As we’ve reiterated since the letter was sent, we deeply value not only the work of local school boards that make important contributions within our communities, but also the voices of parents, who should and must continue to be heard when it comes to decisions about their children’s education, health, and safety.”

Prothro in his email to Arkansas organization members last week wrote: “Associations should, as one aspect of their inherent goals, exist to serve and meet the needs of its membership. They should model the policies, practices, and governance they wish their members to replicate. However, I feel that NSBA has not fulfilled this essential requirement.”

“The recent letter to President Biden has raised major controversy for state associations,” he wrote. “While most state associations would agree on a desire for all parties (students, staff, board members, parents, and patrons) to be safe in any meetings or interactions, the letter went too far in asking for federal intervention on behalf of states and local boards of education.”

Asked last week if he was aware of any Arkansas school boards or educators who felt they were in danger or jeopardy, Prothro said that “we haven’t had reports like that.”

“We have had some very heated discussions. There are some very controversial issues that come before boards,” he said. “But we’re not typical of places you might see across the U.S. when it comes to politics. We are a very rural state. We know each other. We’re neighbors. As far as harm coming to board members, that’s not an experience we’ve had.”