HECTOR — Fourteen people had applied as of Tuesday to be superintendent of the Hector School District.
Hector Superintendent Walt Davis has accepted the top position in the Perryville School District, where he will start work July 1. He will replace Ron Wilson, who said he plans to retire at the end of the school year.
Hector School Board President Brad Graves said he would like to have someone hired before the school year ends.
“The sooner the better — I don’t have a deadline set for myself,” Graves said. “I also want to be patient and make sure we get the right hire — the best we can get. I’d like to see a few more [applicants].”
Hector High School Principal Mark Taylor submitted his application Tuesday for the position.
Other applicants for the Hector position, their current places of residences and last-known positions are as follows:
• Randal Betts of Conway, Cedarville High School principal from 2013 through October 2015;
• Tommie Campbell of Arkadelphia, principal of Hope High School;
• Netlla Cureton of Cove, director of instruction/curriculum for the Cossatot River School District;
• Andy Curry of Hot Springs Village, education accounts executive for Service Group 360;
• Stephanie Dixon of Hot Springs, elementary-school principal in the Mount Ida School District;
• Chris Eubanks of Corning, Corning High School principal/student affairs;
• Chad Harp of Poteau, Oklahoma, superintendent of the Keota School District;
• Judy Hubbell of Crossett, Fordyce High School
principal;
• Theresa Morley of Grove, Oklahoma, high school special-education teacher in Grove;
• Gary Rhinehart of Scranton, principal at Scranton Elementary School;
• Albert Snow of Fordyce, superintendent of the Fordyce School District;
• Steven Watkins of Wesley, Alpena High School principal; and
• David Westenhover of Heber Springs, K-12 principal for the Jasper School District.
Graves said he would like to see someone “with good morals” hired for the position, as well as someone who puts students first.
He said if the students are happy, other areas of the school are successful.
“It’s more about the kids, and of course, finances is a thing,” he said.
“Hector’s a small town. It’s not a big growing town; not a lot of people are just going to move to Hector just to work,” Graves said.
Davis, who was hired in 2010 as the Hector High School principal, has been superintendent for the past five years. He helped lead the district out of fiscal distress. The state Department of Education in November removed Hector from the fiscal-distress list, Davis said.
Perryville is experiencing a decline in enrollment; therefore, the district is losing state funding. Davis has said he hopes to use what he’s learned in Hector to help lead Perryville into better times.
His wife, Tina, is from Witt Springs.
“[Perryville] was closer to home for my wife and her family, and certainly, Hector was a great experience for me,” Davis said.
Student enrollment in Hector has dropped from about 620 to 580 in the five years he has been superintendent, he said. A reduction in force policy was enacted, and Davis became the girls basketball coach in a cost-saving move.
“He’s done a good job; he helped get us out of fiscal distress,” Graves said. “I have nothing negative on Walt. He’s been a great man; he’s been great for the school.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.