READY FOR NEW CHALLENGE

Longtime educator, political newcomer heads for Capitol

By Amy Widner

LITTLE ROCK — First-time office holder Monty Betts of Searcy is ready to take the fight for quality education from the superintendent’s office to the state Capitol.

Voters in District 50 - which includes the Searcy area, Kensett and Higginson - have given him that chance.

“I think Searcy has a lot of potential for growth,” Betts said. “There’s a lot of potential for us to do great things. You look at our school systems and the colleges in our area, ASU-Searcy and Harding University, we have some potential to really do some great things because of our educational opportunities.”

Betts has been White County Central superintendent for 21 years and has been in the district for 31 years. He has been a teacher and principal and has worked in Bradford and Kensett school districts.

Education is a big issue for Betts. He would like to see teachers and school staff get more affordable health insurance. He wants more money for education but plans to move carefully to streamline the way school districts receive funding, while keeping most of the financial decision making at the local level.

“I’m a big proponent of keeping as much local control as we possibly can and as much flexibility in our spending as we can,” Betts said. “What I may need as a district may not be what a neighboring district needs, and really it’s at the local level that those decisions are made best.”

Although he has education at heart, other issues are also on his agenda, and the economy is No. 1 on that list.

“My real concern for our area is that we need to broaden our economic base,” Betts said. “I know that the Fayetteville Shale has really helped our areaout economically, but one of these days that’s going to dry up, and I think our economy should widen its base so we’re prepared for that.”

Betts, who is 59, lives in Searcy and has a farm outside of town, between Dewy and Clay. He was born and raised in Searcy. His father also spent a long career in area school districts, and Betts’ wife is a retired school teacher, and he has a daughter and son-in-law who work for Searcy Schools. Betts is also on the White County Medical Center board. He said Searcy’s medical community is an important part of the area’s potential for growth.

A fellow WCMC board member, Wayne Hartsfield, said he is glad Betts will be District 50’s representative because Betts is an honest person with ahigh degree of integrity. Hartsfield said Betts’ family history in White County puts him uniquely in touch with the community’s needs and will help him be a better legislator.

“I think he has a lot of experience, particularly in education,” Hartsfield said. “Monty is just a person who has a good sense of the community’s needs. He is a person everyone can talk with and explain their concerns to. He’ll be a good member of the Legislature.”

Betts said he decided to run for office after spending the last several legislative sessions working with legislators on education issues.

“I enjoy people. I enjoy problem solving, and it’s something different every day,” Betts said. “It’s new and challenging.”

Betts has been appointed to the Education Committee; the Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee and the Joint Audit Committee.

Betts said he’s been told that several bills related to the natural gas industry could come through the Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee. As for the state severance tax, Betts would like to see areas directly affected by the natural gas industry get a bigger cut but doesn’t think there’s much chance of the tax being readjusted at this point. He sees positives in themoney being shared, anyway. After all, he said, no county is a bubble and all depend on each other.

“We can’t really look at everything like it just affects our county,” Betts said. “We want economic development across the state, because it helps us all.”

Betts, who ran as a Democrat, won 50 percent of the vote, defeating Republican Kyle Reeves and the Green Party’s Brian Barnett.

- awidner@ arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 99, 102 on 11/16/2008