After just over an hour spent in executive session, the Blytheville School Board hired Blytheville High School principal Bobby Ashley to be the Blytheville Public Schools superintendent starting July 1.
At approximately 8:30 p.m. Monday, board member Tommy Bennett Jr. requested that the board go into executive session to discuss hiring employees, and just over an hour later the board returned to open session and board Secretary Barbara Wells made a motion to hire Ashley. Board members Desmond Hammett and Erin Carrington were the only board members to oppose the motion.
Ashley, who was in attendance, stated that he did not know that the vote was going to occur tonight and that he “did not expect this.”
He told the board that he wanted Blytheville Schools to continue to improve and that he will do everything he can to aid that improvement.
Ashley joined the Blytheville School District in 2009 as high school principal.
A native of Dyess, he started his career as a girls basketball coach, and he has coached at several area schools, including Turrell, Tyronza, EPC and West Memphis. He's been school superintendent at McGehee and Booneville prior to coming to Blytheville. From 2005-2008, Ashley managed a $14 million budget for school operations as superintendent at Booneville, according to his resume.
In 1997, Ashley received a Superintendent Administrative Certificate from Arkansas State University, where he also earned a Principal Administrative Certificate in 1991 and a MSE, Secondary Education in 1990.
He graduated from Ouachita Baptist University in 1982 with a BSE, majoring in Physical Educator and minoring in Social Studies.
In his application letter for Blytheville superintendent, Ashley wrote, “I have served as an educator in the Blytheville School District since 2009 and in the state of Arkansas since 1983. I have eight years of experience as superintendent, 5 in McGehee, AR and 3 in Booneville, AR. My experience since 2009 in Blytheville, Arkansas has been spent as the High School Building Principal.”
“In my current position as High School Principal in the Blytheville School district, I have been in the trenches with our community and schools and really have valued the experiences that I have had,” he continued. “I believe that I have had the success that I have in my career as an educator because I have a shared the vision of leadership within my school. I ensure that I am able to inspire my staff to thrive off of their strengths, so that they all feel like they are a piece of a puzzle that will create achievement for students. I am proud of what the staff at Blytheville High School has accomplished and I feel a calling to continue to work towards the success of Blytheville School District. Trust and attention to detail are the keys to my success; I am adept at staying on top of meetings and ensuring that I have a pulse of what is happening within the building. In addition, I value communication and strive to keep my staff on the same page while working towards the same goal. I have strong conflict resolution and critical thinking skills and am able to handle issues with professionalism and professional lessons, when they arise. I have earned the respect of my stakeholders for my deep care of who they are as people. I would truly like to bring my professionalism, dedication, knowledge, and experience to the Blytheville School District as your School Superintendent. I am confident that I am the right candidate for the District Superintendent of Blytheville Schools. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss my qualifications in depth. Please reach out to me by phone or email. I thank you for your time.”