Plans to establish an Agriculture & Technology school in Weiner are on hold for now. During today’s meeting of the State Board of Education, the proposal by Weiner residents to detach from the Harrisburg School District and establish the school was pulled from the meeting. Members of the Arkansas Department of Education learned from the Department of Career Education the necessary rules were not clarified before the petition for the school was drawn up. When the rules are in place, the proposal is expected to be placed back on the agenda at a future meeting. All parties were notified of the move by the Board of Education. Supporters of the plan hope the Arkansas Board of Education will allow for a special election to take place on the issue of breaking away from Harrisburg Schools and setting up the new school. Planners of the academy would like to see an election this fall and for the school to open in the 2016-2017 school year.
Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.