Incumbent's sole filer in board race
Marcia Dornblaser was the only person to file by late Tuesday afternoon as a candidate for election May 21 to the Jacksonville/North Pulaski School Board, which has two positions open.
Noon today is the statewide filing deadline for candidates seeking election to their local school boards in May.
Candidate filings are done in local county clerk offices.
Dornblaser, a dental hygienist and grandmother, is the incumbent in the Jacksonville board's Zone 1 position. She has been on the board since September 2015.
The district's at-large position 2 is also open for election in May.
School Board President Ron McDaniel holds the at-large seat and has said that he intends to run for re-election.
The terms are for four years and are unpaid.
Craig takes seat on advisory board
Jocelyn Craig is joining the Little Rock School District's Community Advisory Board, which serves as a liaison between Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key and the district that operates under state authority without a local school board.
The Arkansas Board of Education approved Craig's appointment on Key's recommendation. She was one of three people who applied from Zone 5 to fill the vacancy created by the recent resignation of Larry Clark.
Zone 5 encompasses a part of west Little Rock.
The seven-member advisory board reviews operations in the state-controlled school system and makes recommendations to the commissioner on employee and other matters. The position is unpaid.
Craig, 36, is a communications specialist for Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, where she has worked since December 2016. She previously worked for Vestcom International Inc. and for Arkansas Farm Bureau Insurance.
A 2000 graduate of Gurdon High, Craig earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
She has been on the board for the Fulbright Elementary School PTA since 2015, according to her application for the advisory board.
School chief gets contract extension
Charles McNulty, the Pulaski County Special School District superintendent since July 1, received accolades and a one-year extension of his contract after his first evaluation by the School Board, said Linda Remele, the board's president.
"We're very pleased with the progress that's been made in a short period of time," Remele said. "We're pleased with the way he is keeping the board informed. He has good communication skills with the board. We're also pleased with the ways he is utilizing personnel and involving district people in district decisions. It's not unilateral."
McNulty, who joined the Pulaski County Special District last year from Iowa's Waterloo Community School District, started work with a three-year contract. As a result of the board's vote to extend his contract, it will expire in June 2022, instead of June 2021.
Metro on 02/20/2019