PEA RIDGE — Rick Neal, Pea Ridge High School principal, will be the new superintendent of schools for Pea Ridge. Neal was unanimously chosen by four members of Pea Ridge School Board after more than five hours of deliberations this past weekend.
School Board members met Friday night in open session briefly before retiring into executive session. Former superintendent Mike Van Dyke and former board member Clark Tyndall were in attendance.
The meeting began at 5 p.m. By 7:30, Rick Neal, high school principal and a candidate for the position, entered the closed session.
He left after an hour, at which time the board took a break, thenreconvened into closed session.
Shortly after 10 p.m., the board adjourned until the next morning. At 9 a.m. the board opened, went into executive session, and then came into open session in less than half an hour.
On a motion from Ann Cato, seconded by Darin Wright, the board agreed to hire Rick Neal on a two-year contract for $108,000 and with the same benefits as certified personnel. The contract provides for 15 days vacation and $2,000 towards a graduate degree.
“This has been a great process. We’ve grown together and learned to respect one another,” Joshua Ramsey, board president said. “We look forward to Rick Neal and what he’s planning on doing. We’ve asked Dr. Smith to work with him.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Cato said of the more than 20 hours of intensive interviews and executive sessions.
“This is truly a community worth fighting for,” Police Chief Tim Ledbetter said. “Without the school, you don’t have the city and without the city, you don’t have the school.”
News, Pages 1 on 03/14/2012