LITTLE ROCK — Sandra Sawyer likes lists, Mildred Tatum sees the glass half-full, and Bill Vasquez is decisive.
At a workshop Saturday, School Board members for the Pulaski County Special School District learned about their different personalities and how to work together.
The seven-hour-long seminar at the Holiday Inn Presidential hotel in Little Rock with consultants for the superintendent’s search and Charles Hopson, the newly hired superintendent, began with personality-trait exercises and ended with a pair of goals: three performance objectives for their leader and six areas of operating procedures for themselves.
“I think they did great,” said Thomas Jacobson, chief executive officer of McPherson & Jacobson LLC, an Omaha, Neb .-based executive recruitment and development service that helped the county district find Hopson.
“I’m really impressed on how they came together to focus on what’s best for the children in Pulaski County,” he said.
Jacobson worked with board members to create the goals and operating procedures, guiding them and Hopson through group activities and brainstorming sessions.
Two parents also attended the seminar.
The workshop took place five days before Hopson starts his new job as district superintendent.
He takes over at a time when the district and board, which is sharply divided over several issues, face severe public scrutiny.
A state Legislative audit released in May showed that the district overpaid its former superintendent, improperly reimbursed some School Board members for expenses and failed to catch the theft of nearly $500,000 in equipment.
After the audit’s release, Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell sent a letter to the district warning officials that failure to resolve problems could put the district back into the state’s fiscal-distress program and in jeopardy of a state Department of Education takeover.
Additionally, the district is facing a legal battle from the teacher’s union. The Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers sued the district after the School Board voted in December and again in April to no longer recognize the association as the bargaining agent for the district’s 1,200 teachers.
Most of the seminar included breaking into small groups and creating procedures for the board to follow.
Jacobson said his team will write up everything that was discussed Saturday to be represented to the board, giving members an opportunity to make changes, add or delete items and then adopt if they so choose.
Board President Tim Clark and Vice President Charlie Wood paired together for a section of the workshop dedicated to creating procedures for the board to support the superintendent.
Wood read their statement to the group.
“We will calmly debate issues without loud, angry or sarcastic tones, completely refrain from personal public criticism of other board members and accept the board’s majority ruling without continuing strife,” he said.
Board member Gwen Williams joked she wouldn’t be able to wear red anymore.
Sawyer clapped her hands and said, “I want a standing ovation on that.”
“I was part of it,” Clark added, looking up from his iPad.
Sawyer and Williams laughed and then clapped in his direction.
“As I’ve followed your board,” Jacobson said, “this is huge. If you can do this one, you can turn public perception around.”
Other potential board goals include promoting open communication and collaborating with the superintendent to create community forums to gather opinions and suggestions.
At the end of the day, Hopson said he felt he had a clear understanding of what the board expects from him.
Hopson’s goals include improving student achievement, building stronger district finances and restoring faculty and community confidence in the district.
“I’m excited,” Hopson said. “It’s been a long day. There is tremendous promise for this district.”
Arkansas, Pages 17 on 06/27/2010