King Says Districts Across Southeast Region See Decline During Report to Public
RISON - Enrollment within the Cleveland County School District remains steady while students continue to rank near the top in the Southeast Arkansas region on achievement tests, according to information provided during the district’s annual Report to the Public held Sept. 8.
The event included presentations from Laura Stanfield, administrator for the Cleveland County Head Start program; Angie Hudson, Rison Elementary principal; Letitia Walker, Rison High School principal; and Superintendent Davy King.
Much of the information was based on the 2025-26 school year with some data from the current school year included as well.
King’s report focused on the school district as a whole. He said the district has a total of 116 employees: 25 are employed through the Head Start program (which is run by the school district), 27 in Rison Elementary; 32 in Rison High School; 26 classified staff (non-teaching positions); two bus drivers; and four in the central office.
As a whole, King reported that overall enrollment among the 15 school districts that make up the Southeast Arkansas region as of Aug. 28, 2026, was down by about 202 students in comparison to combined average daily attendance for those districts for the 2025-26 school year. The cumulative average enrollment among the 15 districts for the 2025-26 school year was 14,032.47 students. The Aug. 28 cumulative enrollment for those same districts was 13,830.
Of those 15 school districts, 10 showed losses in enrollment from the 2025-26 average to the number of students enrolled as of Aug. 28. King said Cleveland County’s average enrollment last year was 653.27 students. He reported enrollment was at 645 on the day of the Report to the Public after three new students had enrolled that day. The reflects a 1.2 percent loss in students.
His report included a chart showing the gains and losses for each district in the region. The Dermott School District had the largest loss at 15.09 percent while the McGehee School District had th…