Previously, the Department issued Commissioner’s Memo COM-08-056 on this same subject indicating that Cushman School District was on the 2008 Consolidation List. The information in that memo was in error and this memo is to substitute for the previous memo.
Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-1602 requires the Department to publish a consolidation list of all school districts with fewer than three hundred and fifty (350) students according to the district’s average daily membership in each of the two (2) school years immediately preceding the current school year. This list is to be published by January 1 of each year. This Commissioner’s Memo is provided in fulfillment of the publication requirement contained in Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-1602.
Based upon information submitted to the Department, there appears to be no school districts meeting the above criteria for 2008. However, the Department may wish to review this matter in greater detail. Nevertheless, as previously stated, no school districts are required, at this time, to submit petitions for administrative annexation or consolidation pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 6-13-1602 et seq. To the extent the submitted average daily membership information is determined to be incorrect or false, the Department will notify any affected school districts of any obligation to submit a petition for administrative annexation or consolidation.