Blog

AGENCIES ADOPT STRATEGIC PLANS  

  “Agency Strategic Plans. Only five state agencies post a strategic plan … Each agency should have a strategic plan and post it online so it is accessible to citizens.”  Policy Foundation Efficiency Project, October 2016   (May 2018) Sixteen state agencies reviewed by the Efficiency Project in 2016 have adopted Recommendation No. 3, which called on agencies […]

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MODIFIED DISTRIBUTION Education Department: Twice as Many ‘A’ High Schools in Arkansas

“Eighteen Arkansas school districts earned A’s or A-minuses, and 14 other systems received failing marks in the latest in a series of Arkansas Policy Foundation studies.”  Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sept. 28, 2008   (April 2018) A new Arkansas Department of Education School Index report assigns twice as many ‘A’ grades to traditional high schools as failing (‘F’) […]

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COUNTY BUDGET TRANSPARENCY

(April 2018) Only eight Arkansas counties post annual budgets online for citizens while others publish an annual appropriation notice in the paper of record, a legal requirement. Every county should post its budget in an easily-accessible format. This lack of transparency can be illustrated by comparing Arkansas counties with those with similar names in other […]

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529s & Middle-Class Arkansas Households

“I’ve been told this isn’t going to help anybody unless your income is $100,000 a year.” State Rep. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette “Question: Could you tell, since you indicated that perhaps Rep. Hendren’s fig 529s & MIDDLE-CLASS ARKANSAS HOUSEHOLDS “I’ve been told this isn’t going to help anybody unless your income is $100,000 a year.” State […]

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THE POLICY FOUNDATION AND SCHOOL CHOICE  

“The most callused aspect of the current education monopoly in Arkansas is that it willingly and deliberately forces children–except those whose parents have wealth–to attend bad schools.” Policy Foundation report,11998   (March 2018) The Policy Foundation was established in 1995 as a nonpartisan, 501(c)(c) non-profit think tank.  For nearly a quarter-century the Foundation has advanced market-based ideas to […]

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OPENTHEBOOKS: SALARIES TOTAL $38.9 MILLION IN SIX ‘LOW-PERFORMING’ EAST ARKANSAS DISTRICTS  

“School Improvement Coordinator Ms. Tiah Frazier said there were 28 districts with transitional support plans.” Minutes, State Board of Education, December 14, 2017 “PA930 of 2017 requires districts with schools labeled under the state’s previous school accountability system to work with the Arkansas Department of Education to develop “transitional support plans” that will move the districts and […]

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GOV. HUTCHINSON PROPOSES INCOME TAX CUT; EFFICIENCIES TO PAY FOR REDUCTION

“Scarce resources can be allocated toward fiscal goals … when government does more with less.”  Policy Foundation, Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 20161   (February 12, 2018) Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson proposed using efficiencies and savings from the transformation of state government to reduce the top state individual income tax rate from 6.9 to 6.0 percent in 2019.   […]

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PULASKI COUNTY SCHOOL CHOICE MARKET NEARS 19,000 STUDENTS

(January 2018) Records show the school choice market in Pulaski County totaled nearly 19,000 K-12 students in 2017. This niche educational market includes students eligible to participate in public school choice programs, capped at three percent (3%) of enrollment; and homeschooled, private and charter students.   The Arkansas School Choice Market   School choice has […]

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