Gould School District

Last updated

The Gould School District was a school district that operated public schools in Gould, Arkansas. Its territory is now a part of the Dumas School District.

Contents

It previously served children who were dependents of staff living on the property of the Cummins Unit. [1]

History

The Gould School District stated that in September 1964 Gould became the first previously segregated school district in the United States to completely racially integrate. [2] The Encyclopedia of Arkansas stated that the district integrated in September 1967. [3] In 1968, when the Gould School District started a night program at the Cummins Unit, an Arkansas Department of Correction prison. [4]

Prior to 1991 the Gould School District, which by then had an almost completely black student body, had a transfer policy which allowed area residents to attend other schools. About 100 White children in the district boundaries used the policy to attend other schools. In 1991 the school board unanimously voted to end the program and ruled that students must attend Gould schools beginning in the fall of 1991. Many White parents protested the decision; some threatened to take legal action and some said that they would never send their children to Gould schools. Some area parents feared that the decision would lead to White families moving out of the school district and crippling the district's tax base. Alan Minor, the president of the Gould school board, said that it had no choice because the Arkansas State Board of Education withheld $200,000 ($447398 when adjusted for inflation) in bond revenues since the state believed that the Gould district was promoting segregation. Sharon Streett, the Arkansas Department of Education's chief legal counsel, said that the state does not want to be perceived to be promoting racial segregation. Minor said that he did not expect for very many additional White students to be enrolled in the fall of 1991, because he heard some parents state that they would move. [5]

In 2004 the Arkansas Legislature approved a law that forced school districts with fewer than 350 students apiece to consolidate with other districts. [6] A March 1, 2004 board meeting, board member Norvell Dixon advanced a resolution for consolidating with the Grady School District under the Provisions of Act 60. Another board member, Lee Dale, seconded the motion, which was carried. Another motion, advanced by Dale, stated that the new school board should be named the Lincoln County Special School District and that it should have five board members. Dixon seconded the notion, which carried. [7] In May 2004 the state board of education rejected the voluntary proposal to consolidate the Grady district with the Gould district, because both school districts were majority African American and the merger would have violated federal desegregation laws. [8]

Ronald S. Laurent, the superintendent of the Gould school district, said that merging with the Dumas School District was the board's second choice, because most Gould residents traveled to Dumas on a daily basis and had a familiarity with the Dumas community. Laurent argued that merging with Dumas was preferable to merging with the Star City School District, because Gould was 9 miles (14 km) from Dumas, while the distance between Gould and Star City is at or over 18 miles (29 km). Laurent argued that the closer proximity would make it easier for Gould parents to be involved in their children's education. JoNell Caldwell, the chairperson of the state board of education, was in favor of the merger because she did not support an alternative arrangement of the Gould students traveling 20 miles (32 km) by school bus to their school. [8] Thomas Cox, the superintendent of the Dumas district, opposed the merger; in May 2004 he told the Arkansas Board of Education that it would increase the racial imbalance in the school district as African-American percentage of the Dumas district would increase from 64% to 68%. The former superintendent of the Gould district became an assistant superintendent of the Dumas district. [6] Luke Gordy, a state board of education member from Van Buren, also opposed the merger out of concerns with the racial makeup. Rhonda Mullikin, the superintendent of the Star City School District, opposed merging the Gould district with the Star City School District because Star City was already taking in students of the Grady school district and Mullikin said that she feared that the Star City school district could not handle the influx of students from another school district. [8]

One week after the state voted down the proposed Gould-Grady merger, the state board of education narrowly voted in favor of consolidating the Gould district with the Dumas district. Caldwell broke the tie, voting in favor of the merger. [8] On July 1, 2004, the Gould district was merged into the Dumas district. [9] At the time of the merger, according to a June 30, 2004 audit report, the Gould district had a $322,873 deficit ($520828.96 when considering inflation). The Dumas district inherited the Gould district's deficit. [6]

Demographics

At the time of the district's closure, in the 2003–2004 school year, the Gould district was 99% African-American. [6] In 1991 the district, almost entirely African-American, had about 350 black students. [5]

Schools

In 2003 the district had Gould Elementary School (K-4), Gould Middle School (5-8), and Gould High School (9-12). [10] The three divisions were on two campuses. [2]

Wash Coleman and Albert Rash opened the first school for black students in a former saw mill cabin. The first school for whites opened in 1918 at a site now occupied by the First Baptist Church. In 1923 the district built a three-story brick building that was later occupied by Gould Elementary. In the 1956–1957 school year the building burned. In 1964 another elementary school building opened next to the Gould High School. [2]

Uniforms

From the 2002–2003 school year to its final school year of existence, the school district required its students to wear school uniforms in all grades. [11] The school district began enforcing the rule in August 2002. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln County, Arkansas</span> County in Arkansas, United States

Lincoln County is located between the Arkansas Timberlands and Arkansas Delta in the U.S. state of Arkansas. It is also within the Pine Bluff metro area, and on the outer edge of the Central Arkansas region. The county is named for President Abraham Lincoln. Created as Arkansas's 65th county on March 28, 1871, Lincoln County has three incorporated cities, including Star City, the county seat and most populous city. The county contains 46 unincorporated communities and ghost towns, Cane Creek State Park at the confluence of Cane Creek and Bayou Bartholomew, and nine listings on the National Register of Historic Places to preserve the history and culture of the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gould, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas, United States

Gould is a city in Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 663 at the 2020 census, down from 837 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gould is a farming community. It was named after the American railroad magnate Jay Gould.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grady, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas, United States

Grady is a city in Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 305 at the 2020 census, down from 449 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cummins Unit</span> Unincorporated community in Arkansas, United States

The Cummins Unit is an Arkansas Department of Corrections prison in unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region. It is located along U.S. Route 65, near Grady, Gould, and Varner, 28 miles (45 km) south of Pine Bluff, and 60 miles (97 km) southeast of Little Rock.

Dollarway School District No. 2 (DSD) was a school district headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. With over 1,600 students and employing more than 300 educators and staff, the district had three active school campuses at the end of its life.

Grady Public Schools was a school district with its headquarters in Grady, Arkansas. Its territory is now within the Star City School District.

Star City School District is a public school district headquartered in Star City, Arkansas, United States. The district serves Star City and Grady as well as multiple unincorporated areas.

Dumas Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Dumas, Arkansas. It serves territory in Desha and Lincoln counties, including Dumas, Gould, Mitchellville, and Winchester. It also serves Arkansas Department of Corrections prison property.

McGehee School District is a public school district headquartered in McGehee, Arkansas. The school district encompasses 499.14 square miles (1,292.8 km2) of land, in Drew and Desha counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arkansas City School District</span> Defunct school district in Arkansas, United States

The Arkansas City School District was a school district of Arkansas City, Arkansas. Its territory is now in the McGehee School District.

The Delta Special School District was a school district of Rohwer, unincorporated Desha County, Arkansas, USA. Its territory is now in the McGehee School District. It also included Watson.

Dollarway High School was a comprehensive public high school in northwest Pine Bluff, Arkansas that serves grades 9 through 12. It was one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and was a part of the Pine Bluff School District effective July 1, 2021. Prior to that point it was the only high school managed by the Dollarway School District. Within the state, the school is often referred to as Pine Bluff Dollarway. It closed as of fall 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star City High School</span> Public school in Star City, Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States

Star City High School is a comprehensive public high school for students in grades 9 through 12 located in Star City, Arkansas, United States. Star City High School is the only public high school in Lincoln County and the only high school of the Star City School District.

Dumas High School (DHS), formerly Dumas New Tech High School, is a comprehensive public secondary school located in Dumas, Arkansas, United States, for students in grades ten through twelve. Dumas is one of two public high schools in Desha County and is the sole high school administered by the Dumas School District.

Emerson–Taylor-Bradley School District (ETBSD) is a public school district headquartered in Taylor, Arkansas, United States. The school district supports more than 950 students in prekindergarten through grade 12 in the 2015-2016 school year by employing more than 250 faculty and staff on a full time equivalent basis for its six schools.

Norphlet School District 50 was a school district in Norphlet, Union County, Arkansas, United States. The district had more than 400 students in prekindergarten through grade 12 and employed more than 75 teachers and staff for its two schools and district offices.

Smackover-Norphlet School District No. 39 (SNSD), formerly Smackover School District 39, is a school district based in Smackover, Arkansas. It has territory in Union County, Ouachita County, and Columbia County.

Hughes School District 27 was a public school district based in Hughes, Arkansas, United States until it closed in Summer 2015 due to declining enrollment.

Stephens School District 13 was a school district in headquartered in Stephens, Arkansas, serving sections of Ouachita, Columbia, and Nevada counties. It served Stephens and McNeil.

Paron High School was a high school in Paron, an unincorporated area in Saline County, Arkansas. At the time of its closure it was a part of the Bryant School District and it served grades 6-12; the school closed in 2006 and consolidated into Bryant High School.

References

  1. ↑ "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Lincoln County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download) - See "Cummins State Convict Farm"
  2. 1 2 3 "History" (). Gould School District. Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Lincoln County." Encyclopedia of Arkansas (Central Arkansas Library System). Last updated December 31, 2010. Retrieved on March 8, 2011.
  4. ↑ "History And Description Of The Arkansas Correctional School Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine ." Arkansas Correctional School. Retrieved on March 7, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Arkansas black school district ends liberal transfer policy." Associated Press at the Bangor Daily News . AM Line Weekend. Saturday-Sunday January 19–20, 1991. 19. Retrieved from Google News (114 of 187) on March 8, 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Dumas inherits Gould district’s deficit." () Arkansas News. May 11, 2005. Retrieved on March 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ "A MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF THE GOULD SCHOOL DISTRICT." (Archive) Gould School District. Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Board approves more consolidations." () Arkansas News . May 18, 2004. Retrieved on March 7, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Consolidation/Annexations of LEA's (1983-2010) Archived 2010-09-24 at the Wayback Machine ." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ "2002-2003 Arkansas Education Directory." Arkansas Department of Education. 68-69 (74-75/157). Retrieved on March 6, 2011.
  11. ↑ "2003-2004 Student Handbook." (Archive) Gould School District. 11 (11/42). Retrieved on March 7, 2011.
  12. ↑ "2003-2004 Student Handbook." (Archive) Gould School District. 12 (12/42). Retrieved on March 7, 2011.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.