Arkansas legislative committee’s renewal of education contract with Solution Tree sparks debate

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT/KARK) – The Arkansas Legislative Council Review Subcommittee’s contract renewal with an educational contractor has sparked controversy recently.

According to our content partner KARK, the number one cause for debate stems from the company Solution Tree’s contract price of more than $100 million, while similar companies are offering between $18 and $29 million.

Legislators said during Tuesday’s meeting that the data does not appear to be backing the company up over the last seven years.

State Rep. Grant Hodges serves on the audit committee that recently looked at the contract, and he said the state has spent around $145 million of taxpayer money so far on the company whose purpose is to develop educational material for educators statewide.

“I’m not here to endorse a contract or not endorse it,” Education Secretary Jacob Oliva told the subcommittee. “We’ve followed a process. I feel like we can use this vehicle to implement LEARNS. That is what we are tasked to do.”

Hodges said he is not sure that students are benefiting much at all from the professional teacher development services the company’s supposed to be providing.

For additional information, you can visit KARK’s website.

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