Neil named to School Board

Jeff Neil, president of Arvest Bank, Pea Ridge, was selected to fill the vacancy on the Pea Ridge School Board.

School Board members were presented with eight applications for the seat. One of the applicants, Darrin Wright, was present for the special meeting Monday night.

Board president Ann Cato suggested the board narrow the field to three by each selecting their top three choices. By going through the list of applicants, which included Ryan D. Heckman, Neil, Boyd McNiel, David Campbell, Charles A. 'Tony' Townsend, Eric L. Rowlee, Patricia Bell and Darrin Wright, Cato called roll taking a yes or no on each name, but limiting the "yes" votes to three per board member.

The top three candidates selected were Heckman, Niel and Rowlee. Cato then asked board members whether to vote at that time or ask the three candidates to come in for interviews.

"At this time, can either vote or ask them to come in and give a brief presentation," Cato said.

John Dye said: "Through all this process, I think it's great that we had this many people, but I think, through this short process, we unanimously thought Jeff was it, he fit the bill for what he brought to the table... that's where we stand in unison."

Neil was the only applicant to receive four yes votes to put him in the top three.

"I was voting for whether they were in the top three, but I didn't say he was my top candidate," Cato responded, reminding fellow board members to consider which candidate would be the best fit to complement the skill sets of the current board.

After discussion, the board members voted unanimously to select Neil to the seat.

General News on 03/18/2015