Campus Talk: Lottery Overhaul Bill Filed

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SEN. HICKEY WANTS LOTTERY UNDER HIGHER ED CONTROL
Sen. Jimmy Hickey, R-Texarkana, has pre-filed a bill to abolish the Arkansas Lottery Commission and establish control of the lottery’s operations under the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.

SB7, an 85-page bill you can read here, would create a lottery division in the ADHE and put the lottery under the control of the executive branch of government. Currently the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, which was passed by voters in 2008, is governed by an independent commission of nine members.

Last month, a consultant’s report recommended more gubernatorial control over the lottery. UK-based Camelot Global Services said the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is experiencing declining revenue because it offers too many games and is negatively perceived by potential customers. Richard Bateson, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Camelot, says Arkansas should reduce prize payout and better promote the lottery.

“One of the reasons the majority of adults aren’t playing, when you take out religious belief and you take out cultural values, is because it is confusing. They don’t trust and they don’t really understand and comprehend what is being offered by the lottery. Add in to that negative publicity and you have a very difficult consumer buy for players,” said Bateson.

VON GREMP TO STAY ON UA BOARD UNDER HUTCHINSON
Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson made an early announcement in Rogers on Monday night. Touring the state in advance of next week’s inaugural, Hutchinson told a pre-inaugural BBQ crowd that he planned to reappoint Jim Von Gremp to the UA Board of Trustees.

Von Gremp’s term doesn’t expire until later this spring, but Hutchinson told the Northwest Arkansas crowd that he wanted to ensure stability on the board as it grapples with a variety of education and jobs-related changes in his first term.

“I wanted to make this announcement earlier because of the critical work that the U of A Board is currently undertaking and to provide stability for that work to continue,” the Governor-elect said.

“Jim has been a good friend and great leader in the Northwest Arkansas community for years, which is one of the many reasons why I am pleased to reappoint him to the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees. Jim understands my commitment to higher education – including technical degrees – and the important role it plays in a thriving economy, and I look forward to working with him, as well as the rest of the Board of Trustees to reach our goals as a state,” Hutchinson added.

Von Gremp is currently the chairman of the University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees. Prior to that, he served as Chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission and he served as Executive Director of Government Operations under former Gov. Mike Huckabee from 1996 to 1997.

Von Gremp is a former State Representative. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri and earned his MBA from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION TO REVIEW LITTLE ROCK SCHOOLS
The Arkansas State Board of Education is scheduled to meet on Wednesday (Jan. 7) to review the Little Rock School District’s progress addressing its six schools in academic distress. Little Rock School Board member Leslie Fisken recently sent a letter to State Board of Education member Vicki Saviers describing the local school board as “dysfunctional.”

Other school board members have contested Fisken’s characterization. State Board of Education president Sam Ledbetter says while a state takeover is one possible solution to the problem of academic distress, the state has alternative methods to help districts. Read what some of those options are here.