Stephens School District 13 was a school district in headquartered in
Stephens, Arkansas
Stephens is a city in Ouachita County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 891 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Camden Micropolitan Statistical Area. Stephens was incorporated in 1889.
Geography
Stephens is located at ...
, serving sections of
Ouachita,
Columbia, and
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
counties.
It served Stephens and
McNeil.
The district's final superintendent was Patsy Hughey. The district was dissolved effective July 1, 2014, with portions in each of the counties given to the
Camden Fairview School District
Camden Fairview School District No. 16 (CFSD) is a public school district based in Camden, Arkansas, United States. The school district encompasses of land including all or portions of several Ouachita County communities.
It service area inc ...
, the
Magnolia School District, and the
Nevada School District
Nevada School District 1 is a public school district based in Nevada County, Arkansas. Based in Rosston along U.S. Highway 278, the school district encompasses of land in the county, supports more than 400 students, and employs more than 80 ed ...
.
Its schools were Stephens Elementary School and
Stephens High School, serving grades Kindergarten through 6 and 7 through 12, respectively. In 2009 these schools had 190 students and 158 students, respectively, with a combined total of 348. At the time the district had 75 employees, including 39 certified employees and 32 classified employees.
History
On July 1, 2004, the
McNeil School District consolidated into the Stephens School District. According to the Stephens school district's attorney, Clay Fendley, there was, in the words of Mike McNeill of the ''
Magnolia Reporter
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
'', "bitterness" resulting from the McNeil consolidation.
[
]
Dissolution
In the 2010–2011, 2011–2012, 2012–2013, and 2013–2014 school years, respectively, the district had 355, 333, 344, and 314 students.See preview
/ref> Under Arkansas law it was required to be shut down and consolidated into a larger district because it had fewer than 350 students for two consecutive years.
Findley stated that the Stephens district failed to find another school district that was willing to consolidate with Stephens. The Stephens district had until March 1, 2014, to voluntarily consolidate.[ Since no voluntary merger was arranged, the ]Arkansas Board of Education
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...
was to determine whether and how the Stephens district would be consolidated or dissolved.[ Findley asked the board to have the district consolidated with the Nevada County School District in an effort to keep the Stephens School campus open.][ Whitney Moore, a lawyer representing the ]Camden Fairview School District
Camden Fairview School District No. 16 (CFSD) is a public school district based in Camden, Arkansas, United States. The school district encompasses of land including all or portions of several Ouachita County communities.
It service area inc ...
, the Magnolia School District, and the Nevada School District
Nevada School District 1 is a public school district based in Nevada County, Arkansas. Based in Rosston along U.S. Highway 278, the school district encompasses of land in the county, supports more than 400 students, and employs more than 80 ed ...
, instead advocated for breaking the Stephens district into three parts and giving one part to each of those three districts.[ The state board opted against keeping the Stephens district together and instead pursued a plan to break the district into three parts; this meant the Stephens School would not have enough students to remain open.][ McNeil residents favored the split-up proposal since their children could go to school in ]Magnolia
''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
, which is closer to McNeil than Stephens
Stephens is a surname. It is a patronymic and is recorded in England from 1086.
Notable people with the surname include:
*Alexander H. Stephens (1812–1883), Vice President of the Confederate States of America
*Alison Stephens (1970–2010), Brit ...
.[
In April 2014 the state education board voted 5–2 to dissolve the Stephens School District,][ with Alice Mahoney and Toyce Newton opposing. One board member, Joe Black, was not present for the decision.][
The district was divided along county boundaries,][ with assets and debts given according to the area that the property was located in.][ The portion of the district in Ouachita County was assigned to Camden Fairview, which took ownership of the Stephens School District facilities in Stephens. The portion in Columbia County, serving McNeil and the surrounding area, was given to the Magnolia district. The portion in Nevada County was assigned to the Nevada county district. The numbers of students moved to these districts were about 140 and about 160 for the first two, respectively, while the number of students in Nevada County was smaller.][ The district was dissolved on July 1, 2014.][ According to Mike McNeill, the expected outcome was that the Camden Fairview district would give the Stephens school property to the Stephens city government.][
]
References
Further reading
; Census Bureau maps
*
*
*
; State of Arkansas maps
2004-2005 School District Map
Map of Arkansas School Districts pre-July 1, 2004
*
Download
*
Download
*
Download
External links
*
Stephens School District consolidation plan
Financial audits:
Stephens School District No. 13 Ouachita County, Arkansas Regulatory Basis Financial Statements and Other Reports June 30, 2011
Stephens School District No. 13 Ouachita County, Arkansas Regulatory Basis Financial Statements and Other Reports June 30, 2012
Stephens School District No. 13 Ouachita County, Arkansas Regulatory Basis Financial Statements and Other Reports June 30, 2013
Stephens School District No. 13 Ouachita County, Arkansas Regulatory Basis Financial Statements and Other Reports June 30, 2014
{{Defunct school districts in Arkansas
Defunct school districts in Arkansas
Education in Ouachita County, Arkansas
Education in Columbia County, Arkansas
Education in Nevada County, Arkansas
2014 disestablishments in Arkansas
School districts disestablished in 2014