Jacksonville North Pulaski board votes to apply for district conversion charter to bring Lighthouse campus into district

The Jacksonville North Pulaski School District Board voted unanimously to move forward with applying for a preK–12 district conversion charter that would bring Lighthouse Academy under the district and begin implementation with a fifth–sixth campus and a seventh–eighth campus.

Doctor Owek, a district staff member presenting the plan, told the board: “The proposal that we have for you all, tonight board, is the pathway to success.” The presentation framed the conversion as a way to create a middle-school model tailored to the developmental needs of fifth through eighth graders and to align those grade-level focus areas with high school academies.

Board members asked staff about timing and feasibility. Staff said the charter office set a late-April deadline for application materials and that the State Board of Education would review authorizing panels in May–June; staff noted final implementation would require State Board approval. “Yes, sir. We would have to wait until June,” a district presenter said when asked whether work on the building could proceed before state approval.

Why it matters: district staff stressed that middle school performance predicts high school success and argued a dedicated instructional model for grades 5–8 could improve transitions, attendance…