Williams Seeking Long-Term Stability

RISON - Jerrod Williams said his top priority as superintendent of the Cleveland County School District is make sure there is still a school district around after he is gone. Williams officially began his one-year contract as the new superintendent on Saturday, July 1. He replaces Craig Dupuy, who left the district after five years to become an assistant superintendent for the Benton School District. Williams steps in as public school districts across the state venture into their first year under the new LEARNS education plan initiated by Gov. Sarah Sanders and approved by the state legislature earlier this year. While the full impact of LEARNS is yet to be seen, Williams said that he knows school districts, especially the smaller ones, will need to keep a close eye on their bottom line. Last Friday, June 30, marked the end of the 2022-23 fiscal year for the school district. While the final year-end numbers will not be completed until August, Williams called it a "lean" year and expects to see another "lean" year for the 2023-24 school year. The Cleveland County School Board approved hiring Williams to a one-year contract in late March. Since then, he has made several visits to the campus to go over the numbers and has also attended every school board meeting. Perhaps the most significant change with the LEARNS plan is that teachers saw the minimum annual salary go from $36,000 to $50,000. While the state provided the districts with enough money to cover most of the cost for the pay raises, Williams said there are some additional costs that the districts are having to shoulder themselves. For instance, he said the new minimum salary is based on a 190-day teacher contract. However, he said there are some staff that have 240-day contracts and the district has to come up with the money to pay those additional days at the higher salary rate. On top of that, the LEARNS plan does not provid...