On Tuesday, Pine Bluff School District (PBSD) Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree joined Talk Back Live with Floyd Donald to talk about the district’s progress since being under state control.
Donald mentioned that a millage is in place for the community to vote on later this year for the construction of a new high school for the district, which could help get the district back under local control.
He asked Barbaree why it is necessary to have the mileage and she went on to explain the breakdown of why the district is under state control.
Barbaree went on to say that the biggest concern for the district is academics and since the district has been under state control students have shown yearly progression.
Donald asked where the district is academically since 2018 when they were first taken under state control.
On the subject of fiscal distress, Barbaree was asked where the district is fiscally and said that when Dollarway School District was annexed with PBSD they did not cut back staff to properly balance funds.
Barbaree was then asked to explain the process the district went through to renew or not renew contracts with teachers to help the district financially.
She went on to explain that those that did not have a license were the teachers that were non-renewed.
