RISON - The Cleveland County School Board spent about two hours in executive session Tuesday night meeting with a possible candidate to replace outgoing superintendent Craig Dupuy.
School Board President Harrell Wilson said the meeting was called after he came across a person who showed interest in superintendent's job. He said he ran across the candidate while seeking advice on how to conduct the search for a new superintendent.
The Cleveland County School Board has yet to formally advertised for the vacancy, Wilson said. In addition, he said there has been no formal discussion of any timeline as to when they would like to have someone hired for the job.
Dupuy will be stepping away as Cleveland County superintendent at the end of his current contract on June 30. He will begin a new job as an assistant superintendent for the Benton School District on July 1.
While the board as a whole has not set any timeline, Wilson said his personal preference is to have someone hired before the end of the school year so the new hire will be able to transition with Dupuy.
"To me, the sooner the better," Wilson said about the timing of the hire. "I don't want to get in a rush but at the same time I want to have someone here (to get acclimated before officially taking over)." In addition, Wilson said he preferred hiring someone with experience in leading a school district, and was open to someone who would be willing to serve in the short term to help guide the district through adjusting to the new Arkansas LEARNS plan that was signed into law by Gov. Sarah Sanders last week.
Wilson said in a phone interview Wednesday morning that he would like to have the school board meet again after next week's spring break to address the candidate and the vacancy.
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