The School Board for the Pulaski County Special School District on Tuesday unanimously selected educators from Houston; Waterloo, Iowa; and Douglassville, Pa., to interview next week for the job of superintendent in the 12,000-student central Arkansas district.
The three -- James P. Harris, Charles McNulty and Erik Pruitt -- were chosen by the board from among nine applicants recommended by Ray & Associates, the consulting firm assisting in the search for a new leader to replace Superintendent Jerry Guess. Guess was fired by the board in July 2017 in a dispute over the district's legal representation.
Janice Warren, the Pulaski County Special district's interim superintendent since Guess' termination, was among the nine applicants presented to the board but was not picked to continue in the selection process.
The board will interview the three applicants in person, one after the other, next Tuesday.
Of the three finalists, Pruitt is from the largest district. He is area superintendent in the Houston Independent School District, a position he has held since December 2016. Previously he was a school support officer in the district for two years. Before that he was deputy chief of schools in the Chicago Public Schools, where he also served from 2006 to 2011 as principal of an elementary/middle school.
"Working as a senior level administrator in the third- and seventh-largest school districts in the nation, I have been responsible for leading the transformation of schools," he wrote in his application cover letter. He has a bachelor's degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., a master's degree from Loyola University in Chicago, and a doctorate from National-Louis University in Chicago.
McNulty is associate superintendent for educational services in the Waterloo Community School District of 10,800 students, a job he has had since July 2014. He was an assistant professor from 2011 to 2014 at the University of Northern Iowa University in Cedar Falls, and superintendent of the Blackhawk School District in South Wayne, Wis., from 2008 to 2011. His doctorate is from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His master's degree is from Portland State University in Portland Ore., and his bachelor's degree is from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore.
"Important to my candidacy for the superintendent position is my successful experience as a district/school leader impacting student achievement across all student demographic groups through harnessing the power of collective work by dedicated professionals, families, and community members," McNulty wrote in his cover letter.
Harris has been the superintendent of the 3,700-student Daniel Boone Area School District in Douglassville, Pa., since 2015. Before that he was director of operations and student services for Project Grad USA for one year. He was chief operating officer from 2010 to 2012 in Dayton City Public Schools in Ohio after a stint as chief operating officer in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. in Evansville, Ind.
Harris' doctorate is from Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. His master's is in business administration from Rosemont College in Philadelphia and his bachelor's degree is from Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J.
The owner of three restaurants and an art gallery, Harris said in his cover letter that he worked for more than 20 years in financial and operational areas of companies and organizations such as the New Jersey Treasury Department, Coca-Cola and Bristol Myers before deciding to move into a public service.
"I am a data guy who has always understood that behind the numbers are real people," he wrote. "I strongly believe I have been blessed with the ability and position that allows me to enact positive change."
A total of 36 people applied for the Pulaski County Special district job, Ray & Associates consultant William Newman of Mountain Home told the board members before they went into a closed, executive session for almost three hours to review the application materials, including short videos, from the nine semifinalists.
All nine of the recommended semifinalists have doctorates. And all are in positions in central office administration in their districts, although just three -- counting Warren -- are the top superintendents. The enrollments in the districts ranged from 1,000 to 216,000.
The person selected as district superintendent will head a far-flung system that is on both sides of the Arkansas River and made up of the cities of Maumelle, Sherwood and parts of Little Rock and Shannon Hills, as well as smaller communities such as Wrightsville, Scott and Roland.
Now the sixth-largest district in the state, the district previously included the Jacksonville area that detached in 2016 to form the new Jacksonville/North Pulaski County school district. Leaders in Sherwood and Maumelle have taken some initial steps in recent years to similarly separate from Pulaski County Special.
The School Board anticipates paying a new leader for the 12,000-student district about $215,000 a year. That is what Guess was paid.
The School Board selected Ray & Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in December at a base cost of $16,500. Expenses for the consultants and the applicants are in addition to that. Besides Newman, Carl Davis of Powder Springs, Ga., has assisted with the search for applicants.
Metro on 03/28/2018