Lonoke School District Superintendent John Tackett is no stranger to hard work.
Tackett, who is in his second stint as superintendent, grew up the son of a homebuilder, then worked in the grocery industry while attending college before deciding he wanted to get into education.
“I went to college at the time because my parents were not college-educated,” Tackett said. “They felt like that was something I was supposed to do.”
Tackett, 57, was born in California but moved to Arkansas when he was in high School. He graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1979, then moved to Lonoke and looked for work.
“This was a long time ago,” he said. “I couldn’t find a job. I went to the rice dryer, grocery stores. I finally ended up working for Jimmy Harris. He used to build cabinets and some houses back then. Now he does insulation. I worked for Jimmy for a few years, doing concrete, blowing insulation in attics. I did some of that work until I got into the grocery business.”
After working for the Harris family, Tackett decided to get into groceries and started that part of his career at Piggly Wiggly in Jacksonville. He was eventually hired by Bill Brightwell and worked in his grocery store in Lonoke.
“Then [Brightwell] bought the Mad Butcher, and I ended up working in that store,” Tackett said. “Then I started going to college and working my way through [school]. When college started taking more and more time, I would buff floors at night. I would come back from school and buff floors from midnight to 3 or 4 in the morning.”
Tackett said he worked for Brightwell for close to eight years while earning his college degree in French and international studies from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
While in the grocery business, Tackett worked his way up to assistant manager. He even delivered groceries to families in Lonoke back in the day.
Tackett said he started to consider what he could do with his college degrees.
“At some point, I felt like I was going to try teaching,” Tackett said. “Was it well thought out? No.”
Since he didn’t take education classes at UALR, Tackett got his teaching certification from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. He started his education career at Jacksonville Southside Junior High School, teaching French and social studies, starting in the 1988-89 school year.
“I was there for six years, and I loved it,” he said. “I had as much fun, if not more fun, in the classroom as I had at the grocery store. I had a blast with the kids.”
Tackett said his father, Ken, helped him set up a plywood cutout of the continent of Africa when he was teaching geography.
“We got clay and slapped it on the floor and started building the topography of different countries in Africa that we were studying,” Tackett said. “We just had fun.
“When I taught French, we’d set up a restaurant scene or venue, then teach the kids some of the things that come with ordering and going into a restaurant and feeling comfortable.”
During his sixth year at Jacksonville, Tackett became assistant principal for both Northside and Southside after getting his master’s degree from UALR. He was assistant principal for one year, then was hired as the Lonoke Junior High School principal for the 1995-96 school year.
In February 2001, Tackett was moved to the high school as principal, following the resignation of Mike Bradshaw. Tackett stayed at the high school through the 2001-02 school year before going to the central office as an assistant superintendent for Sharron Havens.
Tackett served as assistant superintendent until Havens retired, and he was promoted to superintendent for the 2008-09 school year. He served until the end of the 2011-12 school year, then became director of secondary education for the Pulaski County Special School District after hearing about the opening from a friend.
“I needed experience at a different level with more kids and a different organizational structure,” Tackett said. “I went and interviewed, and they liked me, and I liked the setup. I was going to be supervising and working with 13 different administrators and about 8,000 kids just in grades six through 12.
“The role was totally different. It gave me a perspective of how a bigger district operates.”
While working in Pulaski County for almost six years, Tackett said, he met a lot of great educators and learned a lot.
“That was invaluable,” he said. “I made a lot of connections with people who know a whole lot more than I do. It was those kinds of things that expanded my mind and allowed me to see things and meet people who have taken a little and done a lot with it.”
Earlier this year, while in his sixth year in Pulaski County, Tackett was planning to retire after 30 years in education.
“I honestly thought about doing groceries again, seeing what I could do to get back into that,” he said, “so I had submitted my paperwork for retirement. I was almost there. I wasn’t going to retire in the way that people think about it, but was actually planning to go back to work.”
Tackett said he submitted his resignation to Pulaski County in early to mid April. At that time, Lonoke was in need of a superintendent.
Superintendent Merle Dickerson, who was in his first year at Lonoke, resigned April 16, effective immediately.
“I had heard about the resignation of Dr. Dickerson,” Tackett said. “I thought about it. The Lonoke board called me and asked me to come in and talk to them. That was on Thursday, April 19.”
Tackett attended the board meeting, then had conversations with the board members.
“I decided to pretty much pull my retirement off the table and was hired at Lonoke and finished the school year there,” Tackett said. “What I promised the board is that I’m going to get in here and run hard and do the best that I can.”
Tackett said getting released from his contract in Pulaski County was not an issue. Janice Warren was interim superintendent at the time.
“I told her that I was coming over here,” Tackett said. “I don’t know what the deal is or what’s going to happen at Lonoke. It was one of those things that they were gracious enough to let me go.
“They knew I was leaving anyway.”
Tackett said if he felt he was going to leave Pulaski County in a lurch, he wouldn’t have left for Lonoke.
“But they were very gracious about it,” he said. “I had almost six years of relationships with those folks. But that being said, they understood this. I live here. This is not like saying I’m going to take a job out on the east coast. It just made sense.”
Ross Moore, former Lonoke Primary School principal and current Lonoke School Board president, said the district was fortunate to get Tackett back in Lonoke.
“Dr. Tackett is a breath of fresh air,” Moore said. “He’s such a forward thinker. He just has so many plans and ideas that he wants to do. I can’t say enough as far as the energy he has and is putting into the job to make it better for Lonoke.
“It was a good time for everybody. He was getting ready to retire. Everything worked out. Gosh, it was just a gift.”
Tackett said the transition in coming back to Lonoke was an easy one.
“I learned so many aspects of working in Pulaski County that are technically applicable to a superintendency,” Tackett said. “In the job I was in there, it was almost like being [a superintendent]. The transition here was pretty easy. I think after a week or two, certainly after the first month, stuff was coming back to me. I’m remembering things and, more importantly, being able to apply what I’ve learned in the county. That transition itself has been as smooth as I could have ever hoped for.”
Tackett said the Lonoke board has been helpful, as have the community and the staff in the district.
“Everybody in this community that I know, or knows me, knows I’m going to do the best that I can to help these kids and work closely with the staff,” he said. “It’s that simple or that complex.”
Tackett said he will post the superintendent’s job opening in January 2019.
“I’m sticking to my guns,” he said. “This is what I told the board I would do. I told them that I’d post the job in January. What are my intentions? That’s a good question. I don’t know.
“I will say that I’m going to do as much as I can while I’m here to try to benefit Lonoke, and if it works out that I’m not here, then Lonoke, hopefully, will be in a place and a position to accelerate itself beyond any district in the state. That’s what I want most.
“Lonoke is on the map. I want Lonoke to become one of the most competitive, best places for kids to get connected than any place in the state, or nation, for that matter.”
But if he does retire as superintendent, Lonoke is still Tackett’s home. He has been the pastor at Lonoke Apostolic Church for the past 15 years.
“My kids graduated from here,” he said. “My kids have their names on the bricks on the Alumni Walk. This is home.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.