Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told 40/29 News the state’s special session will begin Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022.Hutchinson expects the session to last three days.The governor will issue an official proclamation Friday that will call for the session. The session will focus on income tax cuts. Arkansas ended the fiscal year with a $1.6 billion budget surplus, and Hutchinson wants to cut income taxes in response.The governor also said he will ask for a $50 million grant to spend on school safety during the session.This decision came after the Arkansas School Safety commission he convened submitted its recommendations.Those new recommendations from the commission include: every school campus should have an armed presence at all times; expanded mental health training for school personnel who work with children; increased student access to mental health services; and assigning a school safety coordinator to every school campus. The Springdale School District is planning to add armed commissioned school security officers to all elementary schools, according to district superintendent Jared Cleveland.”We won’t have them on day one, because they’re hard to find. And what that means is the security officers will have distinguished clothing that you’re going to know who they are and where they are. We’re going to protect our elementary for sure and our middle schools and junior highs and high schools with school resource officers. So that is a huge expense to the school district, but our effort is safety,” he said.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told 40/29 News the state’s special session will begin Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022.
Hutchinson expects the session to last three days.
The governor will issue an official proclamation Friday that will call for the session.
The session will focus on income tax cuts. Arkansas ended the fiscal year with a $1.6 billion budget surplus, and Hutchinson wants to cut income taxes in response.
The governor also said he will ask for a $50 million grant to spend on school safety during the session.
This decision came after the Arkansas School Safety commission he convened submitted its recommendations.
Those new recommendations from the commission include: every school campus should have an armed presence at all times; expanded mental health training for school personnel who work with children; increased student access to mental health services; and assigning a school safety coordinator to every school campus.
The Springdale School District is planning to add armed commissioned school security officers to all elementary schools, according to district superintendent Jared Cleveland.
“We won’t have them on day one, because they’re hard to find. And what that means is the security officers will have distinguished clothing that you’re going to know who they are and where they are. We’re going to protect our elementary for sure and our middle schools and junior highs and high schools with school resource officers. So that is a huge expense to the school district, but our effort is safety,” he said.
