Northwest Arkansas Newspapers. Jan. 29, 2012
Beebe's Look At Tax Proposal Applauded
The first time he was asked about a proposed increase in the severance tax on natural gas, Gov. Mike Beebe was lukewarm in his support. Last October, he said he probably would vote for it, but not campaign for it. His temperature on the idea is cooling — with good reason.
The governor sees potential new natural gas exploration in southern Arkansas on the horizon and doesn't want to scare away investments that just as easily could go to other states.
Arkansas' best interest is always on Beebe's mind. That has made him an even better governor than most people expected — and expectations were quite high given his record of leadership as a longtime state senator.
Sheffield Nelson, a twice-failed gubernatorial hopeful and one-time gas company executive, wants to up the severance tax that he says producers can afford. That's a subjective view, of course. To make his position more attractive, Nelson's proposal would direct revenues from the tax hike to state and local roads. Nobody is against better roads.
Nelson's initiative to raise the tax from 5 percent to 7 percent and exclude exemptions would raise an estimated $250 million annually — his numbers.
Plan supporters still have to find 62,507 voters to sign petitions by July 6 to get the measure on the ballot in November.
Several companies have shown interest in exploring an area known as the Smackover Brown Dense oil formation that extends from southern Arkansas to northern Louisiana. One company — Houston-based Southwestern Energy — is expected to announce soon its test results in the shale play.
Nelson and supporters say Arkansas simply will catch up to severance tax rates in other states.
Comparing percentage to percentage from state to state is not always an apples-to-apples comparison.
Removing exemptions in Arkansas, for example, would make a company's decision to explore much more difficult. Other states offer exemptions as enticements for exploration.
Companies need incentives with natural gas prices at historic lows, owing mostly to a mild winter and the resulting high inventories. A week ago, natural gas for February delivery was down 51 percent from last year. The price of $2.32 per million British thermal units was the lowest since Feb. 25, 2002, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
If Nelson was looking for a perfect storm, he's got one — the opposite kind he would prefer.
As for Beebe, hats off to a governor who is always willing to put Arkansas first and reconsider what was already tepid support for a measure that ultimately could hinder growth of an industry. Growth could translate to jobs and huge investments in the state.
Timing is right for Beebe to take the next step by saying, "I won't vote for it."
If trends continue, the governor may be ready by fall to lend a hand in defeating Nelson's proposal — that is, of course, if it gets to the ballot.
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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Jan. 29, 2012
Forty nine point three? Nearly half of our students aren't ready
The news came in the middle of the week. And the news wasn't good. Well, it wasn't all bad, but . . . well, file this under the category of Every Silver Lining has a Dark Cloud.
Half of first-time students who enrolled in public colleges in Arkansas last fall weren't prepared for college level work. Because of that, they had to sign up for courses in things they should've learned in high school. It's called remediation.
Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly half. The state's Department of Higher Education says 49.3 percent of kids enrolling for the fall semester weren't ready. Forty-nine point three percent. Arkansas just isn't cutting it when that many kids have a diploma in hand but aren't ready for English Lit/Poli-Sci/ Biology/you name it 101.
And those are just the kids who signed up for college. Imagine what the remediation rate would have to be if every high school senior who graduated applied to college. Scary.
So where's the silver lining? That 49.3 percent number is an improvement over the year before. In the fall of 2010, an even worse 52.5 percent of college freshmen had to take remedial courses. So while the numbers are bad-awful, really-you could say we're at least walking in the right direction. Well, crawling.
Arkansas students who don't get a 19 on one part or another of the ACT entrance test have to take remedial courses in the subjects they're having trouble with. Which means they don't get college credit for those courses. Oh, the classes cost the same, but they don't count toward a degree.
Think of how many ways this is not good:
— First, the student has to go to college longer. A four-year degree turns into a five-year degree. At least. If the student was already planning on a five year stint in college, that just turned into six. If he does stick it out and finally walks away with a degree, he'll also be carrying a student loan to match the extra tuition he hadn't planned on. Also, don't forget the added year of rent and pizza that's added to the bill for the student-or his family. If college is costly, it's more so if the student isn't prepared academically.
— A year of remedial courses could also mean another year of not bringing in a salary. Just ask parents about those emails from the dorm asking for gas money-or how much automobile insurance costs for a 20-something still in school.
— Colleges are also burdened when they have to divert resources to teach remedial classes. Every instructor who's teaching basic English composition isn't teaching King Lear. Our story in Wednesday's paper said remedial courses cost this state about $51.9 million last academic year. Think of what the colleges in this state could have done with that money otherwise.
Some denizens of academia were quoted in our story, and naturally enough they like to focus on the improvement made in the percentage of students needing remedial coursework-from 52.5 percent to 49.3. It's fine to be positive but . . . .
Forty-nine point three percent.
That's way too high. And a good deal of the fault has to lie in how our high schools are preparing our young people.
Or not preparing them.
Those in charge of public education in the state say they're going to introduce a new test that will help teachers determine much sooner than they do now which students are college material, and which are not. Will the result of that reform be that we improve our high schools? Or just limit the number of students who go to college?
A group of colleges in the state is said to be working on a way to rewrite remedial classwork while "customizing it to students'majors and scores on the ACT." We're almost afraid to ask just what that means. Maybe it has nothing to do with watering down standards, but nothing would surprise when it comes to higher education in this state. Or should we call it lower education by now?
Happily, there are those who are trying to raise standards in high school. And new state laws that allow a student to take remedial courses in one subject while enrolled in regular courses in another. Which makes sense. Add that to the silver lining.
But forty-nine point three percent? Maybe you've got to be an academic type to see the good news in that. And squint a little, too.
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Southwest Times Record. Jan. 28, 2012.
188th Remains Safe Now From Cuts
The news Thursday was about what we could have expected, but certainly no worse.
When Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta set out his plan for transforming the U.S. military to a more agile and focused force while cutting nearly half a trillion dollars in spending over the next 10 years, he offered the executive-summary version of his plan, not the line items. Or as Col. Tom Anderson, 188th Fighter Wing commander, said, Panetta talked about "the 30,000-foot overview versus the down-in-the-weeds tactical view of what they are going to do."
That bird's-eye view revealed some useful information. The plan calls for a reduction in active duty Army soldiers and Marines, and the retiring of six of the Air Force's 60 tactical squadrons — or one in 10.
Air Guard officials knew cuts were coming but see no evidence that individual units or specific missions already have been identified for closure. Thursday's announcement revealed nothing about the fate of A-10 planes the 188th flies in close air support of ground troops.
Anderson believes that the A-10 is superior in that role and the 188th is superior in flying the Warthogs.
Panetta's plan for another round of Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommendations is something Anderson says may be necessary "to pay the bills" after force reductions.
Although it would be better to know that the 188th already is an integral part of the future Air Force, no one really expected that to be the news Thursday.
We've known since automatic cuts were triggered after the Budget Supercommittee failed to reach a decision on how to rein in the spending that units like the Flying Razorbacks were going to have to prove they are essential in the concentrated military of the future.
The 188th has a number of advantages over other units, including a history of excellence, some serious infrastructure assets like the proximity of the Maneuver Training Center at Fort Chaffee, and a record of cost-effectiveness.
The unit also has history with an earlier BRAC commission, which means folks around here know something about what is going to be needed in the year ahead.
Of all the things the 188th has going for it, of course, the best are people, both the great men and women who serve our country at the air base, and the great men and women off base who will stand up for the 188th.
We are cautiously optimistic that the military will recognize the superiority of the Fighter Wing, but we are enthusiastically confident that this community will do everything it can to make sure the military sees things the way we do.
