Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropped by Texarkana Friday to listen to Arkansas School District officials' concerns and ideas regarding school campus safety as well as teacher recruitment and retention.
Hutchinson spent an hour listening to not only Arkansas School District officials but also officials from the Fouke. Ark., and Genoa, Ark., School Districts.
"Every school district is unique and what works for one school district may not necessarily work for another and that's why we are here," Hutchinson said. "We're here to find out what we need from each district."
In the wake of the shooting deaths of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., earlier this year, Hutchison signed an executive order forming the Arkansas School Safety Commission back in March. The commission eventually came up with 19 recommendations. These recommendations focus not only on increased school safety measures, which include armed personnel present on campus, but also the closer monitoring of student mental health issues through the use of more school resource officers.
"To focus more on school safety measures, I created this commission, which recommends not only law enforcement measures but it also takes a closer look at the mental heath side of the problem," Hutchinson said.
Besides armed safety personnel and more focus on mental issues, some of the other commission recommendations include the need to have a designated school safety coordinator for each district, school building floor plans submitted to emergency management officials and implementation of an evidence-based, anti-bullying programs.
Other recommendations include enhanced student access to mental health and reporting of suspicious activity and behavior on campus.
Beside school security, Hutchinson's visit also focused on teacher recruitment and retention measures.
Hutchinson said he wants to raise the state's current minimum teacher annual salary from the present $31,000 level up to $36,000 annually.
"By increasing the salary, we also want to encourage more college graduates to seek careers in teaching," Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key said.
Fouke School District Superintendent Jim Buie said that, since Miller County is located near a border state, the districts in the county face a unique situation whereby retired teachers from the Texas-side go across state lines to teach in Arkansas as a retirement supplement.
Since the Arkansas School District faces competition from Texas regarding salaries, District Superintendent Becky Kessler said that her district already pays its teachers a $37,500 annual starting salary.
Robin Hickerson, Arkansas School District superintendent of secondary education, said that the district will soon have 15 teacher positions to fill owing to upcoming retirements.
"Filling these positions, especially in the areas of math and science, will be difficult," she said.
Following some additional comments, Hutchinson said he will likely be back for some more input later this year.