State Funding Okayed By Legislative Panel

The Arkansas Legislative Council Executive Subcommittee has approved emergency rules that assure that Mountain View School District and two other districts with detaching isolated schools will receive funding to assure that the district does not experience financial hardship following payments to the detaching districts.

Chief of Staff Courtney Salas-Ford with the Arkansas Department of Education explained at the subcommittee meeting June 18 that it involves an amendment to the rules governing consolidation and annexation to incorporate provisions of Act 919 of 2025 and Act 157 of 2026 fiscal session. Act 919 allows previously isolated schools to detach and re-establish independent districts. Four of the eligible districts are in the process of detaching, including Rural Special and Timbo in Stone County.

Salas-Ford said that in addition to declining enrollment funding, Mountain View and the two other existing districts will be given funding to account for the students that have gone to the newly established school districts. On May 13, the department of education approved the plan, which will use existing funding that has not been utilized.

In response to a request from State Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View, Salas-Ford further explained that Mountain View and the two other existing districts will get foundation funding for the coming year based on this past school year’s enrollment (which includes the detaching students), declining enrollment funding (yet to be calculated), and property tax revenue that includes the area covered by the detaching schools for another year. Of the isolated funding received by Mountain View for the 2025-26 school year, on the last quarter payment goes to the detaching school districts, she noted.

“We truly feel that by providing these additional funds, that the resulting existing school district – Mountain View in this case – will not experience any financial hardship,” she told lawmakers.