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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Efforts by a northeast Arkansas town to keep its school district failed in 2010, but residents hope a new state law will help resurrect their school system as a K-12 agriculture academy.
The creation of such agriculture schools for elementary and secondary students is authorized under a state law that was passed this legislative session, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/1HBsGBx ) reported. The Weiner School District was combined with the larger Harrisburg School District in 2010 due to declining enrollment.
Supporters of the plan to re-establish the former Weiner district as a home to an agriculture academy want the Arkansas Board of Education to schedule a special election on the question of the detaching from the Harrisburg district. The state Education Board is set to consider the matter Thursday at its regular monthly meeting.
"We are passionate about our school and about agriculture, especially in our area," Greta Greeno, one of the Weiner school district planners, said last week. "We feel like this agriculture school is going to be a perfect fit here."
Planners already have developed a list of courses, including crop production, beef and equine science and welding, among the more typical high school courses of English and geometry. They hope for the special election to be held November at the earliest and for the academy to open for the 2016-17 school year.
State Rep. Mary Bentley, one of the law's sponsors, said agriculture academies can serve a dual purpose of building up the state's agricultural workforce while helping preserve rural school systems.
The bill calls for designers of the agriculture academies to partner with local universities and farming-related businesses to plan for the operation of the schools.
"It's a huge undertaking," Bentley said of establishing an academy. "It's going to have to be in a community that's really involved in agriculture. Weiner has done its homework. They have huge support with Arkansas State University and with the agriculture industry. If they can make it work, I think it will be great."
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.arkansasonline.com
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