PEA RIDGE — Jimmy Cunningham of Plainview was offered the position of Pea Ridge School District superintendent Monday night during a special board meeting.
Cunningham is currently the superintendent of Hampton School District, has been superintendent of Danville School District and Plainview-Rover School District, and assistant superintendent of Two Rivers School District’s Plainview-Rover campus.
“We are here for superintendent interviews, and we’re going into closed session to do that,” board president Jenny Wood said at 5:08 p.m.
Just before 9 p.m., the board returned.
Wood recommended the board enter into negotiations with Cunningham, after interviewing him and Gary Wayman that evening.
Wayman was the principal and athletic director at Pea Ridge High School from 1997 to 2003.
Since then, he has been the superintendent of Junction City andDeWitt schools.
Earlier in the day Monday, the hiring committee - consisting of the four school principals, Rick Neal, Sue Terry, Sarah Stokes and Keith Martin, and curriculum coordinator Bonnie Fullmer - interviewed five candidates.
They narrowed the search using criteria set at the regular board meeting seven days prior.
The five candidates were Cunningham, Wayman, Chris Webb, Donnie Collins and Rick Green.
“(Through the negotiation process), we may not find out till June 1 (if the district and Cunningham reach an agreement),” Wood said. “And so it will not be an overnight process. Hopefully by June 1 I’ll be able to come back with the board and go from there.”
The board decided Wood will be the liaison between the district and Cunningham during negotiations.
Wood phoned Cunningham in open session to notify him of the board’s decision.
Board member Ann Cato said: “We really take our job seriously as board members. We do want to make sure in negotiating we have appropriately checked references and so forth. This is the most important decision we will make as a board.”Board member Rick Webb commended the hiring committee on their efforts.
“All five of you have a stake in it, the work you’ve done by research and bringing everything to the table has been excellent,” he said.
Cato agreed the process made the search more objective.
Superintendent Mike VanDyke’s resignation was accepted by the board at the regular meeting May 9.
He has taken the position as director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Services Cooperation in Farmington. He will remain with Pea Ridge Schools through June 30.
“I think it’s a good choice, Jim’s got a lot of experiencein business, been involved in state and national policy, rural education, has vast experience in finance,” said Van Dyke. “His rural background is a good fit for Pea Ridge.”
News, Pages 1 on 05/18/2011