Legislators talk about lithium, broadband and education at Magnolia meeting

11.8.23 – Magnolia  Reporter

The Magnolia Community Awareness Council and the Concerned Citizens of Waldo hosted a town meeting this past Monday night to provide citizens with a 2023 legislative update. The impact of the expected lithium boom coming to southwest Arkansas was among the main topics discussed.

“We have been talking to the companies and it’s coming,” said District 3 Senator Steve Crowell (R-Magnolia). “We have been in conversations about what technology we need like fiber, water, electricity and everything. It’s going to be good for our community, but we have to be prepared.”

The update was given by Crowell, District 99 Representative Lane Jean (R-Magnolia), and District 98 Representative Wade Andrews (R-Camden) and took place at Magnolia Housing Authority’s Hospitality House.

Crowell told participants of the town meeting that starting next year, there would be phases of construction that would be noticeable throughout southwest Arkansas.

Andrews said plans for the success of lithium are evolving every day. State leaders have said south Arkansas potentially has enough lithium to produce about 15 percent of the world’s electric vehicle battery needs.

Lithium is expected to bring new housing into Magnolia and surrounding areas.

“As these plants get built, we will have a better idea of how many people will be moving in and what all they need to run them, but I think that is another year to a year and a half down the road,” Jean said. “I welcome the growth. We need some new blood in the community.”

Jean said people will not only be moving to Magnolia, but Texarkana, Hope and Springhill, among others.

Members of Magnolia Community Awareness Council and the Concerned Citizens of Waldo along with members of the community who wanted to participate in the town hall handed questions to Lillie Wright, a member of Magnolia Community Awareness Council. Wright then gave them to the leader specified or just asked them to respond in general.

Another topic which remains in the spotlight in Arkansas is the education system and the fact Arkansas ranks 47th in education quality, explained Jean.

Jean is a veteran in the legislature, going into his 32nd year as an elected official in Columbia County. He served as mayor, as a member of the Columbia County Quorum Court and is serving his 13th year in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Jean, who is now the Arkansas House Budget Committee chairman, said since he has been in the General Assembly there have been no financial cuts to education although grades on standardized testing continue to decline. In fact, education continues to get additional funding each session, he said.

“(Scores) have been dipping down over the last couple of decades and this should be a concern for all of us,” Jean said.

The Arkansas LEARNS Act, which passed in March and was signed into law, is something Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders called, “the biggest, most far-reaching conservative education reform in America.”

The L.E.A.R.N.S. Act which stands for (Literacy, Empowerment, Accountability, Readiness, Networking, and School Safety) is Sanders’ vision of how to improve education in Arkansas, according to a 2023 Arkansas Democrat Gazette article.

“I think we have to monitor how LEARNS is doing and stay the course, but if it’s not improving, I think we will try to do something different,” Jean said.

Another topic during the town hall which drew interest was about the future installation of broadband in rural areas. Crowell said there will be a Columbia County Broadband meeting at 5:30 p.m. November 14 at Peace Hall at First United Methodist Church of Magnolia.

“Our goal is for the whole state to be covered by 2030,” Crowell said.

Smith said the point of most interest to her during the discussion was the need for broadband.

“My focus was on broadband because I know that it is needed in our community for our children especially who are attending school and need the internet for their homework and to talk to teachers,” she said. “So, we are very interested in broadband infrastructure for Arkansas.”