LITTLE ROCK — The Pulaski County Special School District has spent more than $26,000 on its unsuccessful search for a new superintendent, a district official said Tuesday.
The costs include a $20,000 fee for search firm McPherson and Jacobson, district spokesman Deborah Roush said.
In addition, the district spent about $2,300 advertising the position, about $2,000 for the candidates’ travel expenses and about $2,000 for the candidates’ meals.
One candidate traveled in from Texas, another from South Carolina and the third from Oregon. Some brought family. The fourth semifinalist was acting Superintendent Rob McGill.
There will now be additional costs after the county School Board voted 6-1 on Monday to scrap the current search, readvertise the vacancy and start over.
A key factor in how much more public money will be spent relates to the $20,000 search fee.
“We are uncertain at this point ... if in fact this fee is a retainer that is in effect until a candidate is selected or if there will be additional fees as we go forward,” Roush said.
Though he may reapply for the job, the board’s Monday decision to restart the superintendent search was a rejection of McGill for the permanent post.
The board had previously whittled the field of 20 applicants to McGill and Vashti Washington, an associate superintendent from South Carolina.
On Friday, Washington unexpectedly withdrew, leaving McGill as the sole finalist. The board opted instead to start the search over.
School Board member Sandra Sawyer said Tuesday that the board has let “personal differences” derail the search so far.
Sawyer said the board must put aside its squabbling and refocus on finding the best candidate for the job.
“Where is this getting us? It’s getting us a bad reputation,”Sawyer said before a Tuesday night community forum she hosted at Robinson High School. “The public’s perception of the board is that we don’t know what we are doing. How can they trust us to make sound decisions when we are always at each other’s throats?”
Sawyer said part of the problem is board Vice President Charlie Wood. Wood, the only board member who voted against reopening the superintendent search, has pushed the board to hire McGill.
On Monday, Wood, who is white, said the board was aligned for and against McGill on racial lines and that Sawyer, who is black, is the key swing vote.
There are three black board members, three white board members and one Hispanic board member.
McGill is white, and Washington is black.
Wood said Tuesday that he still believes some board members will only support a black candidate for superintendent. But he clarified that he does not believe Sawyer is making her decision based on race.
“I think race has played a factor for some board members,” Wood said. “But I will tell anybody it’s not for Sandra Sawyer.”
Sawyer said she will support the most qualified candidate, regardless of race. She said Wood is the only board member who seems to consider race in the selection process.
“Mr. Wood is making it a factor. He’s the only one. He’s making it an issue,” Sawyer said. “I didn’t know he was thinking along those lines, I really didn’t. And I’m very disappointed.”
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 03/03/2010