The Blytheville School Board is planning a special meeting for 6 p.m., Monday, to discuss the process for interviewing superintendent candidates and the roof at the ALE building.
Board member Desmond Hammett has also requested other items be added to the agenda.
In an email to interim superintendent Jennifer Blankenship and the board, Hammett wrote, “I am curious as to why the roof for ALE is back on the agenda so quickly. Should the board receive quotes from 3 vendors and a detail analysis of the building before investing anymore money in it. I would also like for the board to consider a policy for posting all job vacancies when they become available for the sake of transparency and fairness. It was brought to our attention that some personnel was reassigned prior to Mr. Ashley’s retirement and those personnel moves were not approved by the board.”
“Can we also review the board policy concerning the ACT 1240 waivers,” he continued. “I think it would be beneficial for the board to know how many teachers are in our district on a waiver and how many have reached the expired time limit to obtain a certification. What are the next steps to inform these teachers of their status? I would also like the board to consider adopting a policy that requires all administrators and directors in a building level leadership role to have a certification prior to obtaining that position.”
Applicants for the superintendent position include: Zrano Bowles of West Memphis, Norman Nassar of Marion, Chaun Johnson of Chicago; Nenomoshia Thomas of Blytheville; Henry Anderson of Jacksonville, Ark.; Latrenda Miller of West Helena; Gabriel Jackson, Ed.d, of North Little Rock; Kenneth Pinkney of Memphis; David Westenhover of Heber Springs; Carl Stephen of West Memphis; and Brandy Dillin of Beebe.
During Monday night’s Blytheville School Board meeting, at the request of board member Tobey Johnson, the board agreed to reconsider the process for selecting a superintendent, with a plan to hold a special meeting to work out the details.
Earlier this month, Blytheville School Board president Barbara Wells said board members would review the applications and narrow down the number of candidates before she will set up interviews with those who make the final cut. At the time, Wells said the interviews would be conducted in front of the public, though the board may have to go into executive session for specific questions.
Also during Monday’s meeting, the board tabled roof repair proposals for the Blytheville High School 500 hall and ALE building.
An architect from Brackett Krennerich provided estimates of the repairs, with the 500 hall roof job expected to cost $78,000 and ALE $59,400.
The ALE roof is in immediate need of repair, according to Blytheville School District facilities director BrandonHarper.
“It’s an emergency situation,” Harper said at the meeting. “There is no way I would recommend putting students back in this classroom if we don’t address it.”
“Every heavy rain we get, we are having material literally wash out on the floor,” he added, noting an area of the roof is no longer load bearing.
Harper said one classroom is directly affected, but mold and mildew makes it unsafe for other rooms in the building as well.
Hammett suggested moving ALE to the old Blytheville High School gym temporarily and doing a thorough assessment of the ALE building to determine any other issues before spending money on the roof.
Board member Michelle Sims also suggested using the gym temporarily until the roof is repaired. She added school is about to start and they need a decision soon.
Blankenship said she would meet with assistant director of ALE Cliff Miller regarding where to relocate ALE.