Citizen Portal
Sign In

LRSD budget update: Hall High conversion model could cut staff and yield $2M–$2.5M in savings

Little Rock School District Board of Education · February 13, 2026

Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts

Subscribe
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Superintendent Dr. Wright told the board the draft budget reductions include a Hall High School convergent-charter staffing model that could lower FTEs at the school from about 61 to 30–40 and save an estimated $2.0–$2.5 million if the state approves conversion; the district has identified roughly $5 million in reductions so far and plans further position-specific recommendations for a Feb. 26 agenda.

Little Rock School District administrators presented a revised budget-reductions planning document on Feb. 12 that added two significant line items: an estimate tied to a proposed Hall High School convergent-charter staffing model and the planned elimination of a program partnership run by an external provider.

Dr. Wright said the Hall conversion is not yet approved by the state but that, based on the model and current enrollment interest (just under 200 students selecting the model), the district estimates full-time-equivalent staffing could fall from roughly 61 FTEs to between 30 and 40, depending on final enrollment. He estimated that staffing change could generate $2.0 million to $2.5 million in savings if the conversion is approved and implemented.

Separately, administration identified a program-partnership reduction (an external provider) estimated to save about $369,000. Together with other previously identified cuts, Dr. Wright said the district has calculated about $5 million in reductions so far and will continue to refine numbers.

Administrators said they will pull proposed position and contract-length recommendations into a separate agenda item for the board to consider on Feb. 26. Dr. Wright also requested that additional potential savings — for example the fiscal impact of litigation and voucher-driven enrollment declines — be added to the planning document as estimates for the board to review.

Board members asked for further detail on the operating cost of the school and pressed administration to provide the name of the external program slated for elimination; administration said the program name would be added to the public document the following day. Members also sought the financial effect of voucher-related enrollment losses and the cost of ongoing litigation.