Vodcast viewers may remember my recent conversation with education genius and Marion superintendent Dr. Glen Fenter https://youtu.be/n-AL8pRfXXQ?si=KfT4iJE5d-ShhHro. We keep something like a stream-of-consciousness text thread going, as I do with the FFF Fam. Fenter could become an honorary member of the Fam, as he is a former student of my parents from their early days in education at Charleston Public Schools. They were hired by his father, then superintendent Guy Fenter, and a school board that included Gov. and U.S.-Senator-to-be Dale Bumpers. The ties that bind us are as strong as our shared roots in Franklin County.

Part of our most recent exchange was my lamentation over this district's fallen political state since the days of Bumpers; its ability to constantly break my heart by electing people with Rs by their names regardless of any other credentials. Most recently this happened in the special election to replace the late state senator Gary Stubblefield.

Adam Watson, exemplary husband, father, and Charleston farmer instrumental in keeping the governor's prison project at bay, ran as an independent in a tireless, honest campaign. He lost to Republican Brad Simon, who was endorsed by the governor who some people say they no longer trust or support because of the prison.

Fenter alerted me to an interesting tweet recently put out by Bentonville schools: https://x.com/Bville_Schools/status/2034043742663934124?s=20. It reads, "The board has now approved an employee raise that will be applied to most all positions across the district. The requested and approved raise is a 4 percent increase. A team of 15 occupational and physical therapists will not receive that same increase because the current OT/PT salary structure is currently above regional pay. Those 15 individuals provide an invaluable service, and we're most grateful for their expertise."

I am happy for Bentonville teachers. They are talented, with lots of heart. As further proof Franklin County is home to an inordinate amount of the awesomeness our state produces, Bentonville's superintendent Dr. Debbie Jones also hails from here. Her job is hard, and her leadership outstanding. She makes a difference in the lives of students every day.

Bentonville is the most affluent district in the state. Fenter's comment when he sent the text was that this pattern will eventually help get us back in court. When I asked how so, he said, "Local wealth driving what will eventually become indefensible disparities in teacher salaries. That was a precursor to Lake View." I hope when it gets where it is going, even the most ardent LEARNS supporters will not be able to defend to their local constituents how one district can have that much more wealth than the rest of the state.

This is apparently the second raise of this size in two years for Bentonville. I found that one reason for the raise last year was a rise in property values, according to Deputy Superintendent Janet Schwanhausser, quoted in the March 2025 Bentonville Bulletin https://www.bentonvillebulletin.com/p/bentonville-school-board-approves-salary-raises?fbclid=IwY2xjawQnpjRleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF2UFJWVmFiQjQ1anJHTGJsc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHgIanW4JhNFwI9IGMRnyTnbbSX_zP8J6R0jCfbUt1mTGPkme7J5oO4VI4ztl_aem_Amwk4oSse1p4O6BNMas1kw.

According to that article, "The increase in property values [was] expected to bring an $8.9 million increase in tax revenue."

Let that sink in. Then consider ZIP codes where property values are plummeting. The inverse is and will continue to be true. Which teachers will be drawn to those places? Who will stay when pay disparities are this extreme?

The Lake View decision by our Supreme Court requires that Arkansas must ensure that every child, regardless of ZIP code, has access to comparable educational opportunities, and this includes qualified teachers. This requirement was already difficult to achieve before LEARNS, because wealthier districts can always offer higher salaries and bonuses. Rural and high-poverty areas already struggled to compete.

A huge irony is that the government bases school grades and recognition funding on test scores, which directly correlate to income. Last year, Bentonville received over 26 percent of all Arkansas School Recognition Program funds, even though it enrolls only 4 percent of the state's students, and is swimming in Walton wealth.

Again, make it make sense.

Our government takes districts strapped for funds--because their property values are lower, indicating a lower-income population, which we know means lower-performing students--because they do not have the same opportunities and support systems outside of school, and tests them using the same bar as affluent schools like Bentonville. (Not private or homeschools, but that is another can of worms.)

Affluent students perform higher, which is no surprise. But lawmakers act like it is a big mystery, then reward those schools for being so much better than the understaffed, underfunded schools in the impoverished areas. Our government punishes those schools and communities with low letter grades, insults their leaders in State Board meetings, and then gives bonus millions to the already rich schools that don't need the money.

You can't make it make sense.

Gwen Ford Faulkenberry is an author, teacher and award-winning columnist from Ozark. She is a litigant in a case against LEARNS. Watch her vodcast here: https://small-town-girl.castos.com. Email her at gfaulkenberry@hotmail.com.

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