Arkansas State Board of Education denies petition to close Umpire campus

Arkansas State Board of Education voted to deny Cossatot River School District’s petition to close the Umpire campus.

One state board member stated he felt it would a travesty if Umpire lost it’s school. He said Umpire was a ‘model’ school and he felt something special was happening on the Umpire campuses.

The Arkansas State Board of Education considered the petition because the vote to close the Umpire campus was not unanimous during the October meeting of the Cossatot River School Board. The vote was 4 to 2.

Superintendent Tyler Broyles spoke on behalf of the district and informed the state board that he was trying to do what was best for 90 percent of his district. He reported the Umpire campus had been operating at a financial deficit for the past several years. However, an audit revealed that most of that deficit was the result of purchasing buses for the entire school district. The Umpire campus receives funding for being an isolated school district for transportation needs.

State board members suggested the district consider other options such as closing the high school and keeping the K6 campus open in Umpire, exploring charter school network options or allowing the Umpire campus to withdrawal from the Cossatot River School District and consolidate with either the Dierks or Kirby school districts.

Linda Kitchens spoke on behalf of the residents of Umpire and she said the community felt the Cossatot River School District no longer had the best interest of the students at Umpire at heart.

One state board member stated they did not feel the Umpire campus was a financial burden to the Cossatot River School District and praised the Umpire campus for its high academic performance.

The Umpire District consolidated with the Wickes School District in 2001. In 2011, the Wickes School District consolidated with the Cove and Vandervoort school districts to form the Cossatot River School District.