GUY — The Guy-Perkins School Board will accept applications for the district’s superintendent beginning in December, interim Superintendent Robert Stewart said.
Stewart, 63, of Damascus came out of retirement and accepted a one-year contract in June to lead the fiscally distressed district when former Superintendent Brian Cossey left to take another position.
Stewart’s contract ends June 30. His salary is $93,078, the same as Cossey’s was.
He said the board directed him to advertise for the superintendent’s position.
“I guess it’s possible for somebody to be available who could finish out the year; I won’t rule that out,” Stewart said. “You never know — there might be somebody who retired and wants to go back to work.”
Stewart is a former superintendent of the Quitman School District.
Board President Chris Acre said Stewart has done “a real good job.” Acre said the board knew from the beginning that Stewart was only going to commit to a year in the district.
Acre said the board will “probably look for somebody who has experience dealing with [fiscal distress] and just experience in general. [We’ve] got to have a people person [who will] be able to deal with staff, know something about finances, somebody with experience to deal with the state Department of Education — they’ve got to know how to do a budget.”
The 362-student district was placed on fiscal distress in June 2015 by the Arkansas Department of Education as a result of the district’s declining financial balances. Patrons approved a 2.5-mill property-tax increase in last year’s September school election to help boost the district’s finances.
Cossey, who was hired unanimously in 2013 as superintendent, was suspended June 2. A week later, the board took two votes — one to suspend Cossey with pay and one to recommend that his contract be terminated, both of which passed unanimously.
Cossey said he had no idea why the board took the action it did; the board and Stewart declined to discuss the reason. Cossey decided not to appeal the decision and took the job of Wonderview Elementary School principal.
Cossey was the Guy-Perkins School District’s K-12 principal for four years before being named interim superintendent in January 2013, when former Superintendent David Westenhover resigned, effective at the end of the school year, and was placed on paid administrative leave.
Westenhover was arrested and charged in Faulkner County Circuit Court with two felonies, including theft by receiving for allegedly having a stolen weapon on campus, as well as a misdemeanor charge. Those charges were dropped, according to the online database Arkansas CourtConnect. His son, Joshua, was charged with theft by receiving, a felony, and pleaded guilty, according to CourtConnect. He was sentenced to probation, fined $500 and ordered to pay court costs.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.