In a special meeting called by citizens Tuesday night, the Blytheville School Board heard a presentation from Dana Sutton, owner of Silent Security of Blytheville.
Sutton said his firm has provided the security alarms for the Blytheville School District for 10 years, after he bought the business from Roy Bray. The district had used Silent Security for alarm services for many years prior to that, Sutton said.
Silent Security billed the district $3,198 per month for providing service and equipment to the district at each of the school buildings, including the concession stand at the football stadium.
Superintendent Richard Atwill recently decided to see if there was another firm who could provide the same services to the district at a lower cost.
Another local firm, NET, provided the district a quote to provide security services for $398 per month.
Sutton maintained that he was not given an opportunity to match the price and presented a new plan to the board.
In it, Silent Security will decrease its fees to approximately $500 per month and maintain the same level of service.
Atwill said he did not feel comfortable with remaining with Silent Security because the offer to reduce billing was suspicious.
Sutton maintained that he dropped the price, to his own detriment, in an effort to keep the school's business.
Blytheville attorney Mike Bearden attended the meeting at Sutton's request, and told the board that Sutton was willing to cut the price because keeping the school's business is an important marketing tool.
As to the prices charged, Sutton said that the amounts charged have always been approved by the school's operating officer, Charles Van Pelt.
"That's how me and Charles had it set up," Sutton said.
Van Pelt was not at the meeting and his home telephone number was not listed in the Blytheville telephone directory.
The company has not had a written contract for services. As a result, Atwill and Sutton argued over who owns the alarm equipment.
Sutton's wife threatened to sue the district for the equipment, if necessary.
At this point, board president Tommy Bennett called for calm, saying "We're not going to let you or anybody else make threats."
Bearden opined that in the absence of a sale or lease document, the equipment belongs to Sutton.
"If the school wasn't charged for the equipment, then it doesn't belong to the school," Bearden said.
Sutton insists on removing the alarm system's "brain" or central processing unit because it would give unfair business information to his competitor.
Ron Self, the district's security specialist, told the board that a new "brain" for the system will cost about $4,200. Self also guaranteed Sutton that he will personally make sure that the Silent Security "brain" is removed from the system and returned to Sutton.
Self told the board that he and Van Pelt had gone to talk with Sutton after receiving another price for service from another company.
Sutton insisted that he had been the victim of unfair business practices, blaming Atwill for the change.
"Dr. Daniels never questioned how we did business," he said, referring to former superintendent Bruce Daniels, whom Atwill replaced last year.
Atwill maintained that he is merely trying to do the best he can for the children of the district.
Nancy Bray, widow of Roy Bray, challenged the school board to strive for honesty and integrity while doing the school's business. She also cautioned Atwill, saying he was not informed on the issue.
Bennett defended Atwill, saying that he is the person hired by the board to take care of the day-to-day operations of the school.
"It's up to Mr. Atwill," Bennett said.
Bearden urged the district to find documents that will explain the terms of the agreement between the district and Silent Security. Sutton said he could provide "years" of documents to support his point.
The meeting then turned to the hiring of personnel. The board approved the appointment of Arthur McDaniel as math teacher at Blytheville High School, Krystal Newsom as social studies teacher at BHS, Cassandra Quearry as second-grade teacher and Bradley Sneed as coach and PE teacher at Blytheville Intermediate School.
The board also approved the resignation of Martha Washington, secretary at Central Elementary and rescinded the hiring last month of a teacher who was not licensed to teach in Arkansas.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com