Latest Plan Has Merit (Editorial)

Gov. Mike Huckabee’s latest education reform plan called LEARN (Leadership for Education Accountability and Reform Now) carries a $368 million price tag. He said he’ll seek a 1-cent sales tax increase to pay for it, which would raise about $375 million annually.r

Arkansas’ public school system now costs about $2.9 billion to fund. r

The new cost is a far cry from the $800 million to $1 billion originally projected to bring the schools up to standard. But it won’t offer as much as the higher priced-proposals, either.r

The governor has bent over backwards to come up with a “legally defensible” compromise. It may or may not get Supreme Court approval. But the trick will be getting legislators to accept it. r

The latest plan is not as good as the first since it doesn’t consolidate as many schools. We still think the best solution is one school district per county — a political impossibility, unfortunately. But logic has been absent since the crisis began.r

Neither Huckabee plan has much of a chance really, since rural lawmakers continue to place their reelection chances above the future of the state’s children. They’ve shown no sign of being willing to bend and continue to defend the indefensible. r