The Siloam Springs School District is in search of a new school board member for Zone 2, after board member Chuck Hyde announced his resignation on Monday.
School board members voted to accept Hyde's resignation at a special meeting on Monday. The meeting was held to hire new staff for the upcoming school year.
Hyde served on the school board for six years and was one year into his second five-year term. He wrote in his resignation letter that he was resigning for personal reasons, effective Monday.
"It has been a rich blessing for me to serve on the board for the last six years," Hyde wrote. "I have nothing but the deepest respect for our administration, faculty, staff and my fellow board members. I will miss being active in a board role but will look forward to ways I can serve in other capacities."
Superintendent Ken Ramey said that Hyde planned to be present on Monday, but was traveling out of town and unable to make it to the meeting.
"I think he's been a great board member for us and I really hate to lose him," Ramey said.
"I think we all need to appreciate Chuck and thank him for all he's done," said Board President Brian Lamb. "He brought in a whole other element that helped us all. I hate to see him go."
Ramey said the school board has 30 days to appoint a new member, or the responsibility will be turned over to the Benton County Quorum Court. The new member will serve three months before the next school board election in September. If the person who is appointed chooses to run for the position in September, they will have until July 11 to file for office.
Board members decided on a process for appointing a new member that will work with the tight time schedule and abide by Arkansas School Board Association regulations.
In order to qualify for the position, candidates must live within Zone 2 and be registered to vote. Those who are interested in serving on the board will have until noon on June 13 to turn in a resume highlighting their qualifications and a cover letter explaining their reasons for wanting to be a board member. The resume and cover letter should be submitted to the superintendent's office, located at 847 S. Dogwood St.
School board members will review the resumes and hope to choose a candidate at the June 15 school board meeting. If that person is interested in running for office in September, school officials will help guide them through the process of filing for office before the July deadline, Ramey said.
For more information on the school board opening, call the superintendent's office at 579-524-3191. Additional information and a map of the school board zones is also available at www.siloamschools.com.
In other business, Lamb announced that he plans to run for his fifth term in office in September. Lamb has served as a school board member for 19 years.
"I still feel like I have time and energy to contribute," Lamb said. "With the blessing of all the constituents in my zone I hope to do it again."
School board members also voted to accept the resignations of five teachers and to hire 12 teachers. Among those who resigned were Rodney Ellis, middle school and high school agriculture teacher; Angie Hutson, high school career and technical program director; and Jeff Bowerman, assistant high school football coach and eighth-grade head football coach.
Instead of holding one meeting on the second Thursday of the month, the board decided to hold two meetings in June to approve contracts of new hires for the upcoming school year. The next school board meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 15, in the school board room at the Middle School.
"I can't tell you how important (getting new hires approved) is with the pool of applicants, to reach out and try to get some quality people to serve our kids," Ramey said.
General News on 06/07/2017