Mask-law legal filing meeting is to be aired

LR School Board forum is at 7 p.m.

A Little Rock School Board meeting to decide whether to legally challenge the state’s Act 1002 of 2021 that prohibits school boards from requiring students and staff members to wear masks will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. today.

That is a change from a previously announced plan to hold the special board meeting at Hall STEAM Magnet High School after a public forum on school district facilities.

The forum — intended by district leaders to share with the public and get feedback on plans for construction and campus improvements to be funded with the possible extension of existing property tax mills — will still be held at 5:30 p.m. at Hall and will be open to members of the public who choose to attend in person. It will also

be broadcast via YouTube at www.lrsdlive.com.

After the forum tonight, district leaders will re-convene at the district’s administration building for the board meeting on the possible lawsuit.

The special meeting won’t be open for individuals to physically attend, but members of the public can comment to the board via the Zoom online meeting platform and/or view the special meeting on different platforms including YouTube at www.lrsdlive.com.

People can submit comments to the School Board on the mask issue via this link: https://bit.ly/3C9ezJ3.

The same link can also be used by people to indicate that they would like to comment in-person via Zoom, All requests to make public comments must be posted by 1 p.m. today.

Superintendent Mike Poore announced the School Board meeting change Tuesday at Pinnacle View Middle School at the second of five facilities forums being held over the course of three weeks.

Poore said there had been a mechanical problem with the air handling system at Hall earlier this week. That, combined with the difficulties in setting up an off-site board meeting with Zoom capabilities, made the change necessary.

In the facilities forum Tuesday, Poore and Kelsey Bailey, the district’s chief finance and operations officer, presented a tentative list of $300 million in building projects.

Those include a new kindergarten-through-eighth grade school on the site of the vacant McClellan High and a new high school in west Little Rock.

Other projects include new ceilings, floors, paint, windows, LED lighting and roofs throughout the 21,000-student district.

The School Board at a meeting Aug. 19 will decide whether to take a proposed 12.4-mill property tax extension to fund the facility plans to voters at a Nov. 2 election.

The millage extension would not increase a property owners annual taxes but would require property owners to pay the taxes for 19 more years beyond their 2033 expiration date.

In response to questions from an audience of about 30 Tuesday, Bailey said a new high school in west Little Rock would likely be built in the parking lot area of Pinnacle View and West High School of Innovation and would not necessarily expand into the district-owned but undeveloped acreage to the east of the School of Innovation.

Facility forums will also be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Central High and 5:30 p.m. Monday at Parkview Magnet High.