Board approves process to appoint Zone 5 member

n The deadline to submit a letter of interest is noon, Aug. 6.

Image submitted The Siloam Springs School District is looking for an individual to be appointed to the Zone 5 position. Zone 5 is highlighted at the center of the map. Interested candidates can find out definitively if they live in Zone five by calling the Benton County Clerk's office 479-238-0120 or the superintendent's office at 479-524-3191.
Image submitted The Siloam Springs School District is looking for an individual to be appointed to the Zone 5 position. Zone 5 is highlighted at the center of the map. Interested candidates can find out definitively if they live in Zone five by calling the Benton County Clerk's office 479-238-0120 or the superintendent's office at 479-524-3191.

By Janelle Jessen

Staff Writer n [email protected]

School board members approved a process for appointing the vacant Zone 5 school board position during a special meeting on Thursday night.

Brent Butler, who has served as board member for Zone 5 since 2000, announced his resignation at the July 17 school board meeting. Butler and his wife are moving outside the school district.

The school board has 30 days, starting on July 18, to appoint a person to fill Butler's position. The person will have to run in the next school board election in May 2019, then run again when the Zone 5 school board term is up in 2020, he said.

The five school board members serve rotating five-year terms, so that one comes up for election each year.

In order to be considered for appointment, potential board members must live in Zone 5 and have a commitment to public education, Ramey said. He said he will meet with interested candidates to tell them what the position entails.

Interested parties should provide a letter of interest, discussing why they are seeking the position and why they should be chosen for the position, along with a resumé. The deadline to submit a letter of interest is noon on Aug. 6.

School board members will meet in executive session to review the resumés and letters of interest, then select the individual they feel is most qualified and who will work as part of the team, Ramey said.

In other business, school board members hired two new certified employees, sixth grade social studies teacher Joli Sotallaro, and Joleen Walker Nutter, high school counselor.

The board also approved two new classified job positions. The first position will be for a full-time elementary support position at Northside Elementary School for kindergarten classes. The second position will be for a secondary classified employee at the high school. Currently, the district is not planning to fill the secondary position, but it could be filled in the future if needed, Ramey said.

Five student transfers out of the district were approved, including two to the Gentry School District, two to the Farmington School District and one to the Rogers School District.

General News on 07/29/2018