The Huckabee tree

Dear editor:

Article 14, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution states in part: “Intelligence and virtue being the safeguards of liberty and the bulwark of a free and good government, the State shall ever maintain a general, suitable and efficient system of free public schools and shall adopt all suitable means to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education. … ”

In his 2014 book, “God, Guns, Grits and Gravy,” former Gov. Mike Huckabee brags: “I am a product of the public schools.” He goes on to proudly say that his three children attended public school from first through 12th grade. He concludes by saying he was the first governor in 50 years that could say his children went to public school exclusively.

When Mike Huckabee’s daughter became Arkansas governor, her first instinct was to echo her father’s pride in Arkansas public schools by declaring, in effect: “Bring me a bill that helps teachers and I will sign it.” Shortly thereafter, SB149, the RAISE Act of 2023, was placed before newly elected Gov. Huckabee Sanders.

Senate Bill 149 sets a minimum teacher salary at $50,000. Grants every teacher an immediate $10,000 raise. Keeps the traditional step pay for experience and additional degrees. And gives staff a minimum salary of $15 per hour. Knowing that presently Arkansas is close to the bottom of states with its $36,000 minimum salary for teachers (thank goodness again for Mississippi), Gov. Huckabee Sanders refused to follow through with her pledge. Instead, she has leaked out her own LEARN plan for education.

From what we know now, with the exception of adopting the $50,000 base from the RAISE Act of 2023, the LEARN plan appears to be a scheme to create a second, publicly funded, school system in Arkansas. The governor’s omnibus bill would take the lid off the number of charter schools and offer public tax dollars to fund vouchers for private schools. Dollars that would otherwise go to fund the public schools. In addition, charters would not be held to the same standards as the public schools and could discriminate in choosing and keeping students.

Finally, the governor’s bill would remove all job protection for teachers. In effect making teachers “at will” employees, meaning they could be dismissed at any time for good reason, bad reason or no reason at all.

It is often said that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” It appears in the case of the Huckabee tree, the younger rolled a long way in terms of public education. All the way from rural Arkansas to Washington, D.C., in 2016 and back again. Steven Rittenmeyer Hot Springs Village