The School Board for the Pulaski County Special School District on Tuesday evening selected Charles R. McNulty, a Waterloo, Iowa, educator, to be superintendent of the 12,000-student district.
McNulty, associate superintendent for educational services in the Waterloo Community School District for nearly four years, confirmed a short time later that he had accepted the job for which he had interviewed Tuesday morning.
"There's a lot of really good things happening in the school district -- a real commitment to serving all children at the highest level," McNulty said about taking the top position in a system in which he said he had already found "amazing talent."
"But it's a complex situation," he also said about the far-flung district that includes Sherwood, Maumelle, Wrightsville and parts of west Little Rock and Shannon Hills. "The board has certainly indicated to me that they are up to the challenge and I'm up with working with the community and the many stakeholders to ensure that every school is serving children at the highest level."
The board voted 6-1 for McNulty, who is expected to begin work in the district on July 1, pending the completion of negotiations on salary and other contract terms. The board had advertised the position with an annual salary of $215,000.
McNulty will replace Superintendent Jerry Guess, who was fired last July in a dispute with the board over the district's legal team. Janice Warren, the district's assistant superintendent for equity and pupil services/elementary education director, has served this school year as interim superintendent. Warren, who previously worked 10 years as superintendent in Crossett, applied to fill the Pulaski County Special district superintendent's job and was one of nine recommended to the board for an interview. She was was not selected for an interview, however, which has prompted some district employees to speak out on her behalf.
The School Board interviewed both McNulty and Erick Pruitt, an area superintendent in the Houston Independent School District, one after the other, on Tuesday.
A third finalist for the job, James Harris, the superintendent of the Daniel Boone School District in Douglassville, Pa., notified the district's search firm consultants Monday night and again Tuesday morning that he was withdrawing from consideration for personal reasons.
School Board President Linda Remele said after the board vote that McNulty "was very knowledgeable about the district and its issues and had specific plans to address those issues."
"And he was very enthusiastic about wanting to come here. He had done his research," she said, predicting that he would be a very visible figure in the district's schools.
Board member Shelby Thomas called McNulty "progressive" and focused on closing the achievement gaps between student groups.
"The one thing that impressed me the most was that he was well aware of our [federal school] desegregation case issues," Thomas said. "He had gone out and done his own research and he hit on points in the case and said specifically what he would do to help address those things."
The district is a party in a 35-year-old lawsuit in which it is obligated to comply with the terms of Plan 2000, a school desegregation plan, and related court orders to achieve equity in student achievement, student discipline, the condition of school campuses and internal monitoring.
Board member Mike Kemp made the motion to hire McNulty. Board member Alicia Gillen, who seconded the motion, said after the vote that she was excited about the drive he will provide to the district.
"He spoke to us a lot about inclusiveness and everything he spoke about was in regard to children and making them the most important factor in any decision we make," Gillen said.
Board member Brian Maune said McNulty's background is such that he can come into the job "set and ready to go. He won't require a learning curve."
Others voting for McNulty were Kemp and Eli Keller.
Board member Tina Ward voted against the motion. She said in a later interview that she objected to what she saw as a "hasty decision," particularly in light of one applicant withdrawing and leaving the board with only a choice of two.
Ward said she would have preferred to expand the number of applicants interviewed or even start anew.
Elected from the southeast section of Pulaski County, Ward said her constituents and others from around the district had voiced support for Warren, and some expressed concerns about hiring a superintendent from out of state.
McNulty, who grew up in Oregon, previously worked as an assistant professor at the University of Northern Iowa at Cedar Falls. He was superintendent of the 500-student Blackhawk School District in South Wayne, Wis., and was once principal of the Carl Sandburg Middle School in Freeport, Ill. He started his education career as a special education teacher.
McNulty has a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a master's degree in special education from Portland State University in Oregon, and a bachelor's degree in political science and psychology from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore.
McNulty and his wife, Yaa Appiah-McNulty, an elementary school principal in Iowa City, drove to Little Rock on Monday. Appiah-McNulty was able to see some of the district's schools and the community while McNulty and the board met in private for his interview Tuesday morning.
Earlier this week, a group of about 65 employees sent a letter to the School Board asking that the board reconsider its earlier decision not to interview Warren for the full-time position.
"We the undersigned employees of PCSSD, acknowledge that we do not speak for all staff in PCSSD," the letter read. "However, we believe that it is necessary to convey to this board the strong support Dr. Janice Warren has throughout this district."
Remele declined Tuesday night to comment on the employee letter.
Metro on 04/04/2018