RISON - Nick Bennett of Rison was unanimously approved by the Cleveland County School Board last week to fill the unexpired term of former Zone 4 school board member Stan Sadler of Rison.
Bennett's selection came during the school board's regular monthly meeting held last Thursday at the administration building in Rison. His appointment was unanimously approved by the six other members of the school board at the meeting. Bennett was in attendance at the meeting.
A native of South Carolina, Bennett has lived in Arkansas for more than 20 years. He and his wife, Kim, lived in Kingsland before moving to Rison. Bennett works for the Arkansas Forestry Commission at its Cleveland County station in Kingsland. He has been a volunteer firefighter for both the Kingsland and Rison fire departments over the past 20 years.
Bennett was selected after the school district announced in December that it was accepting let-ters of interest from residents of Zone 4 interested in serving out the Sadler's unexpired term, which ends in 2026. Zone 4 includes most of Rison outside of the central residential district as well as an area north of town between Hwy. 79 and Hwy. 133.
Cleveland County School Board President Harrell Wilson said Bennett was the only person to submit a letter of interest for the vacancy.
State law allows Bennett to also run for the Zone 4 seat when it comes up for election in 2026.
Wilson informed Bennett during last week’s meeting that he would have to be sworn in at the county clerk’s office before he could officially being serving on the board. The Cleveland County clerk’s office said Bennett was officially sworn in last Friday, Jan. 26.
Sadler, one of the longest-serving members on the school board, resigned in November, and the board accepted his resignation in December. Sadler did not give a reason for stepping down.
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