CAPES in Mena for LEARNS petition and training

Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students (CAPES) will be in Mena at Papa’s Mexican Restaurant on Monday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m. Tyler Draper, CAPES Cluster 9 Organizer, will be in attendance to update county members on the petition drive. Tyler will be training volunteers to
become petitioners at the event. Supporters are invited to come sign and join the grassroots coalition
saving public schools in Arkansas.

“As people begin to hear about the ‘LEARNS Act,’ they realize the Governor is tricking us,” Draper said. “If you want to avoid charter school takeover and future consolidation then join us.”
The ‘LEARNS Act’ would prioritize spending at least $350 million per year over the first three years and
billions of dollars over decades to start-up education businesses in the form of charter and private schools that have: a higher failure rate, greater teacher turnover, and fewer requirements than public school districts. They also set a lower bar for teacher qualifications, including no certification; spend less per child on nutrition, transportation, extracurriculars, advanced placement courses, special needs students, and a litany of other services that make public schools a bedrock of support for hardworking Arkansas families. These corporate education schools have no accountability during initial accreditation, which is four years.

Many of the mandates in LEARNS are underfunded or unfunded. That means those costs will come out of your local school’s budgets. Most school districts do not have surpluses in their budgets to cover these. In a recent survey of the state’s superintendents, 55.1% said their district was not receiving enough funding just to cover the minimum raise.

CAPES is a nonpartisan movement of teachers, parents, students, and other concerned citizens
interested in preserving public education in Arkansas. We are building a statewide volunteer base to
educate and engage everyday Arkansans about the damages the LEARNS Act will do to rural economies,
public school districts, and state budgets. Our goal is to mobilize citizen volunteers to overturn or veto the “LEARNS Act” before public school closures and consolidations become the norm. Visit
SayNoToLEARNS.org for more information.

Website: saynotolearns.org
Facebook: Citizens for Public Education and Students
Twitter:@arkcapes
Instagram: arcapes
TikTok: @arkcapes

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Ethan Nahté

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