PEARCY -- The attorney for the Lake Hamilton School District said the School Board should rescind and redo a motion to hire a new superintendent because the wording of the motion was unclear.
According to minutes obtained by The Sentinel-Record, the board voted to go into executive session on Jan. 10 "to consider the employment of a new superintendent." The board later approved a motion, by a 3-2 vote, "to consider to hire Karla Neathery," the assistant superintendent of the Benton School District, for the position.
The Lake Hamilton district's attorney, Scott Hickam, said the wording of the motion created confusion.
"I think that it's basically messed up and needs to be redone," Hickam said. "When they came out [of executive session], it's pretty clear to me they came out to vote on hiring an individual, but that's not what the motion says. The motion says 'to consider' hiring her."
Hickam said that while it's an easy mistake to make, the wording would be a key issue in a lawsuit.
"If there was some sort of lawsuit, I think a judge could look at the wording and say: 'Wait a minute. It wasn't a vote to hire her, it was a vote to consider her,'" he said. "They didn't vote to elect a new superintendent. They voted to consider hiring a new superintendent. I think there's enough confusion here that it needs to be redone."
Hickam said people leaving the meeting, including School Board members and the general public, are entitled to understand exactly what action was taken by the board.
Metro on 01/20/2019