Wesley only filer
for LR zone seat
Joyce Walker Wesley is the soon-to-be new member of the Little Rock School Board.
Wesley was the only person to file last week as a candidate for election Nov. 8 to the board's Zone 9 seat that is now held by Jeff Wood. Wood had announced earlier that he would not run for reelection from the zone that encompasses a part of northwest Little Rock.
Wesley, 48, a 21-year mental health therapist, is working at the Little Rock Air Force Base and also has a private practice.
A graduate of Wynne High School, Wesley has a bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and a master's degree in the same field from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She is a former member of the City of Little Rock's Commission on Children, Youth and Families.
Wesley is married to Harold Wesley, a paraprofessional employee in the Bryant School District. She has a son who graduated from Hall High earlier this year.
"I worked in higher education, so I've seen seen directly how impactful education can be," said Wesley, who was previously an adjunct instructor at Philander Smith College.
"I really, really recognize the need for education and empowerment in that regard, as well as accountability," she said.
Juneteenth a paid
holiday for LRSD
The Little Rock School Board voted last week to adjust its 2022-23 calendar to make June 19, 2023 -- Juneteenth -- a paid employee holiday.
The adjustment follows the board's Dec. 16, 2021, vote in support of a resolution recognizing Juneteenth as a holiday.
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when soldiers rode into Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that slavery had been abolished with the adoption of the 13th Amendment.