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Senate education panel hears history of Arkansas school funding, bureau warns problems persist despite higher spending
Summary
Bureau presenters traced a century of adequacy work and the Lakeview-era policy changes that shaped Arkansas' foundation funding matrix, warning that per-pupil spending rose but many outcome indicators remain weak. Lawmakers pressed for demographic breakdowns, waiver lists and targeted analyses of teacher pay and career-technical outcomes.
The Senate Education Committee received a broad history of Arkansas school funding and adequacy work on Monday, with bureau staff saying the state has reworked its funding tools over decades but continues to fall short on many student outcome measures.
Elizabeth Feinham of the Bureau of Legislative Research told the committee the bureau separated the historical analysis because the adequacy story spans decades, beginning with early state studies in the 1920s and moving through major court decisions and legislative responses such as Dupree v. Alma and the Lakeview litigation.…
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