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DUMAS 鈥� The Dumas School District鈥檚 steep enrollment decline is feeding local residents鈥� frustration with district leadership and raising fears they will lose their schools.

The district, which serves parts of Desha, Drew and Lincoln counties, counted 838 students as of Aug. 30, according to data provided by Superintendent Camille Sterrett. That鈥檚 a 13% drop from last school year and an 18% drop since 2021.

Dwindling enrollment also means lost revenue 鈥� more than $7,000 per student, according to the superintendent 鈥� to a district already struggling financially.

鈥淚f [the district] loses students at the exponential rate it鈥檚 losing them, we will not have a school system in five years,鈥� local physician Dr. Sarah Franklin told the school board at its June 25 meeting.

Franklin is among the many local residents alarmed at the precipitous enrollment decline 鈥� which outpaces the city鈥檚 population decline 鈥� and what it portends for the future of the district and its students.

鈥淒o you see that there鈥檚 a problem?鈥� Franklin鈥檚 husband, AJ Franklin, asked district leadership at the June meeting. 鈥淥r do y鈥檃ll just say, 鈥榃ell, every day of the week, this is just going to happen [and] inevitably Dumas is going to fade to nothing?鈥欌��

鈥淲e all see that problem, and that problem is discussed at school board meetings,鈥� Board President Alan Minor replied.

Dumas residents鈥� fears are shared by families in small districts across Arkansas that face consolidation or state takeover when they can鈥檛 find a way to survive.

Arkansas鈥� rural schools struggle with a myriad of challenges, including attracting and retaining educators to regions with fewer economic opportunities and lower wages than more populous communities. Declining populations complicate district finances because most funding comes from the local tax base and per-student state funding.

Dumas and the state鈥檚 southeast region have seen steady population declines for years, U.S. Census data shows, but changes in state law have also made it easier for parents to move their children to private schools and other public school districts.

While some former Dumas students have gone to private schools or been homeschooled thanks to the school voucher program created through the of 2023, several have transferred to other public school districts bordering Dumas, including DeWitt, McGehee and Star City.

The LEARNS Act mostly eliminated a cap on public school transfers, which made it easier for families to put their children in school districts in which they do not live, Sterrett said.

According to data from each district obtained via the state鈥檚 Freedom of Information Act, DeWitt, McGehee and Star City enrollment numbers are similar or slightly higher than Dumas, but none saw a triple-digit enrollment drop in one year in the past three school years, as Dumas did. Star City has gained students every year for the past three years.

Enrollment declines also have made the Dumas district more racially segregated as white and Hispanic students have left while Black students remain, said Kitty Greenup, who was a paraprofessional in the district for 27 years before retiring this year. Greenup was appointed to the school board in July.

The district鈥檚 student population was 68% Black, 17% white and 13% Hispanic as of 2023. The remaining 2% were Asian, Native American and multiracial students, according to . As of Aug. 30, the district鈥檚 students were 75% Black and 23% white with Hispanic students in both populations, according to enrollment data.

鈥淸There鈥檚 been] not only white flight, but we鈥檝e had brain drain as well, where it seems like everybody who could get out of the district did,鈥� Greenup said. 鈥淭his has been going on in earnest for probably the last five years.鈥�

In handed out at the June meeting in response to pre-submitted questions, Sterrett and the board said they have 鈥渁bsolutely no control鈥� over parents鈥� decisions to send their children elsewhere.

Such responses have not quelled public concern, especially in the wake of recent layoffs aimed at addressing funding shortfalls.

鈥橝 matter of time鈥�

, the school board approved cutting 19% of district employees, closing its K-2 school (Central Elementary) and consolidating all elementary grades into Reed Elementary, which previously housed only grades 3-5.

The and school closure were recommended by Norman Hill, who until June 30 was interim director of the Southeast Arkansas Education Service Cooperative. The state Department of Education tapped him last year to review the Dumas district鈥檚 finances.

A comparison of the district鈥檚 active contracts for the and school years shows a reduction of 39 positions, including 22 teachers, five paraprofessionals, four custodians and four food service workers.

Staff cuts saved the district $1.2 million in salaries and fringe benefits, Hill said, and closing the lower elementary school saved about $150,000. He also said some of the positions had already been vacant due to resignations and retirements.

Both elementary schools earned an 鈥淔鈥� ranking from the state education department . The middle and high schools received a 鈥淒.鈥�

The school closure, employee cuts and poor rankings have prompted many Dumas residents to vent their frustration during board meetings and voice distrust of Sterrett, who became superintendent in July 2022.

Sterrett has defended the cuts and said they had been building for at least a decade.

鈥淭here should have been a change years ago,鈥� she said in June.

The cuts allowed the district to keep what remains of a $2 million private trust fund to use as needed, Hill said. Without the layoffs and school closure, the district would have drained the remaining $1.2 million from the fund, part of a deceased Dumas couple鈥檚 , and had no operating funds left by the end of the school year, he said.

鈥淚f we hadn鈥檛 made the cuts, it would have been a matter of time before the state shut [the district] down because they didn鈥檛 have the money,鈥� Hill said.

Hill told the public at the Aug. 27 school board meeting that the trust fund was the sole reason the district did not close last year.

Concerned citizen Lonzell Dodds said this was news to him.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why that鈥檚 been so hard to answer,鈥� he said.

鈥楤lank check鈥� concerns

, the board authorized Sterrett to transfer an unspecified amount of money from the district鈥檚 building fund and the private trust fund into the 鈥� the fund that covers district operations, debt service and teacher salaries 鈥� in order to balance district revenues and expenditures.

Audience members voiced discomfort with the board鈥檚 unanimous vote. The need for financial solvency doesn鈥檛 mean boards should give administrators 鈥渁 blank check,鈥� Dr. Franklin said.

Asked if the district has ever been audited other than by the annual required review by Arkansas Legislative Audit, Sterrett said, 鈥淲e do what鈥檚 required.鈥�

Allison Chambers, who taught high school science before resigning in May, stormed out of the meeting and later said she was upset that Sterrett and the board showed 鈥渁bsolutely no interest鈥� in the public鈥檚 concerns.

鈥淭hey seemed to be more worried about controlling their narrative and what they wanted you to believe about this district than actually speaking truths,鈥� Chambers said.

sent by education department fiscal services employee Jason Miller noted a 鈥渟teady decline鈥� in the district鈥檚 various funds since 2021. The district鈥檚 building fund and net legal balance dropped by $1.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively, from June 2021 to June 2024, according to the email. Meanwhile, the student population fell by more than 200 students.

鈥淟ooks like they have been making transfers to simply operate,鈥� Miller wrote.

Sterrett鈥檚 鈥渂lank check鈥� closed a roughly $1.16 million hole in the district鈥檚 budget, created when it spent that much more than it received last year, according to Hill. The superintendent transferred more than $357,000 from the building fund and about $800,000 from the trust fund to shore up the net legal fund balance, he said this month.

More cuts?

The LEARNS Act 鈥� which raised the state鈥檚 minimum teacher pay to $50,000 a year and guaranteed minimum $2,000 raises to those already earning above that 鈥� added to the Dumas district鈥檚 financial strain in the 2023-24 school year, Hill said.

The state helped districts pay for the salary increases, but it still wasn鈥檛 enough to stave off Dumas鈥� layoffs and other spending cuts, he said.

The Department of Education gave the Dumas district $1,075,667 for teacher salaries and benefits for the 2023-24 school year. Districts will receive the same amount for the 2024-25 school year the year prior.

Hill said these amounts were based on the number of teachers in each district and their salaries before the mandatory raises: the less experienced a district鈥檚 teachers were, the more money the state provided to meet the increases.

Dumas was among the minority of districts that received more than $1 million, and Hill said this was because it had more early-career teachers.

The LEARNS financial aid didn鈥檛 alleviate the district鈥檚 financial struggles last year, Hill said, but it should this year because the money now supplements fewer teachers鈥� salaries, allowing the declining state and local tax revenue to go toward operating expenses instead of salaries.

The district鈥檚 financial situation remains precarious but will become clearer as this school year progresses, Hill said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to depend on two things: whether our figures were correct and whether they end up losing any more students 鈥� If they keep losing students, they鈥檒l have to make more cuts,鈥� Hill said.

The layoffs and other financial cuts came as a shock to employees and parents, Hill said, because the district didn鈥檛 take the incremental steps needed to counter declining revenue and rising expenses during the eight-year tenure of Sterrett鈥檚 predecessor.

Sterrett and the board have attributed the loss of students and consequent drop in per-pupil funds to the as a whole.

Community members say the enrollment drop has outpaced the regional one and the comparison is not fair.

U.S. Census data shows Desha County, where Dumas is the largest city, lost 12.4% of its population between 2010 and 2020, and Dumas lost 15% of its residents, leaving the city population just over 4,000.

Population declines tend to come with , which further discourage people from moving to the area.

Former school nurse Isierene Brown said Dumas citizens to draw people in.

鈥橳oo much division鈥�

All the explanations have done little to cool long-simmering discontent or lessen the disconnect felt by employees and parents, who cited a litany of complaints.

鈥淚鈥檓 still just reeling that I鈥檝e given 25 years of my life to this district and they can do me like this,鈥� said Brown, who was three years away from qualifying for retirement benefits when the district laid her off.

Chambers and former high school English teacher Jala Patterson, who resigned in March, both said the district should have supported them enough to keep them from resigning.

They said the district does not conduct monthly safety drills, which , and administrators do not observe teachers鈥� job performances. They also cited faulty intercom systems that jeopardize faculty and student safety.

Patterson noted the district failed to provide enough textbooks for an Advanced Placement class until the school year was almost over.

鈥淲e鈥檙e so concerned with raising test scores, but lacking essential resources,鈥� Patterson wrote in to Arthur Tucker, executive director of curriculum and instruction. 鈥�…Please. Please help me help my students.鈥�

District leadership has 鈥渏ust written all of the kids off,鈥� Chambers said.

鈥淲hen I started [teaching there], I was told, 鈥楳ost of these aren鈥檛 going to college, so don鈥檛 expect a lot,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淚nstead of ensuring that kids are getting an education so that they can be productive members of society, with or without a degree, they are being dumbed down.鈥�

The way the school board handles public comments at its meetings also feeds the dissatisfaction.

Are鈥橭sha Bynum, a mother of a kindergartener, told Minor after the August meeting that the board鈥檚 responses to public comment come off as 鈥渟hutting down and having an attitude鈥� and positioning themselves as 鈥渁gainst us instead of trying to help us.鈥�

The school board requires audience questions to be submitted in advance. Some audience members responded negatively in June when Minor asked for public comment to be limited.

鈥淲e can do that, but if you want to get to the bottom of this and get this thing back on the right track, I think you need to listen,鈥� Dodds said.

From the second row of the audience, Brown added, 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want to listen, get off the board.鈥�

Dr. Franklin said frustrations with district leadership led her family to remove their children from the district and homeschool them.

Dodds, Patterson and others have said Sterrett and the board don鈥檛 seem to understand the gravity of the district鈥檚 problems.

Minor said frustrated meeting attendees don鈥檛 seem to understand that 鈥渘ot everyone can get their way.鈥�

鈥淭here鈥檚 too much division and not enough communication,鈥� Minor said after the August meeting.

Sterrett declined an in-person interview about issues raised by others. She also did not answer an emailed list of questions.

Dumas resident Onie Norman agreed that the area鈥檚 overall decline is concerning, but unlike Brown, she said she believes Sterrett has done her job as best she can and the school district isn鈥檛 responsible for retaining city residents.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e disappointed [in the district], but they don鈥檛 stay and try to help improve it,鈥� Norman said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on and .

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