BENTONVILLE — It’s been an eventful year for the School Board, which earned a millage election victory, adopted a new governance structure and welcomed two new members in 2013.

The board heads into the new year with several important issues to resolve. At the same time, it’s clear members have not reached a consensus on exactly what the board’s role should be.

“I think we have some differing opinions on the board as to what the scope and role of the board is as far as oversight,” said Grant Lightle, board vice president. “I think we’re going to still be feeling our way through that.”

Those philosophic differences have been evident during discussions at the board’s meetings, especially over the last three months.

Bentonville board members have an average of one year of experience. The average service time of a board member in the region’s other three big school districts — Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville — is more than six years.

Michael Poore, district superintendent, has seen the entire seven-person board change since he started the job in July 2011.

“Anytime a new board is seated, whether it’s one person or two, a new culture starts to develop, and there’s a different way that the staff and superintendent react to that,” Poore said. “Each person is a little different in terms of how they like to receive information and how they discuss it. You’ve got the dynamic of individual personalities, and then the dynamic of the board team.”

He admitted there are challenges that come with that kind of turnover.

“There’s just been more change in this district in a three-year span than you ever see in a board environment. It’s all pretty natural stuff, but it seems like we’re always having to start up again,” Poore said.

ONE BIG TRIUMPH

The board’s biggest accomplishment of 2013 was winning voters’ support of a second high school.

That was something previous boards had tried to do in 2008 and 2012. After last year’s attempt failed, the board significantly reduced the millage price — from 6.7 to 2.9 — by cutting some athletic facilities and other things not directly related to the high school. The price cut also was made possible by the state’s pledge of $13 million for the project.

Volunteers also worked hard to get about 53 percent more parents to the polls on Sept. 17 compared to the number that voted in the 2012 millage election.

That, combined with an aggressive community engagement campaign leading up to the election, convinced 70 percent of voters to support the tax increase.

Brent Leas, a board member whose zone covers much of Bella Vista, said the high school issue was a big reason he wanted to be on the board. He ran unopposed for his seat in September 2012.

“I wanted to be part of that process,” Leas said. “We built a good rapport with the community.”

The high school has an ideal capacity of 3,700 students. Current enrollment is about 4,000 and is expected to increase to 5,000 within a few years.

Lightle called the millage victory a “fantastic accomplishment,” especially in light of what he called a tough economic environment.

“I think the thing I’m most happy about is we really got there by listening to broad-based community feedback,” Lightle said. “We got data. We didn’t rely on just a few people’s opinions. We went out and got numerous surveys and statistically relevant information.”

Among other big accomplishments this year were opening Fulbright Junior High School — the district’s first new junior high in 33 years — and finding a new principal for the high school, Lightle said. Chad Scott was promoted from assistant principal to principal after Kim Garrett left for a job with the Springdale School District.

The district continues to perform well, Poore said. He cited a presentation made by Gary Ritter, an education expert from the University of Arkansas, at a November board meeting that showed Bentonville schools compare favorably to similar districts both inside and outside the state.

CHANGES

For at least a decade, board members had assigned themselves to four committees — one each for curriculum, facilities, policy and personnel — that usually met once a month to review recommendations from the district’s administrators. Those committees then passed along recommendations to the rest of the board members at their regular monthly meetings.

The board decided to do away with that system in October after hearing a presentation by Kristen Garner, a staff lawyer for the Arkansas School Board Association.

“When you create committees, you’re doing one of two things,” Garner said. “You’re either giving your power away and tacitly agreeing, having given your power away, that when they come to you with a recommendation, you’ll nod your heads like a bunch of bobbleheads and go along with it. Or you’re deliberately creating a dysfunctional situation where you frustrate a lot of people because they worked hard to bring something to you and then you’re going to do the work yourself anyway.”

Under the new system, the board usually meets twice per month — first for a “pre-agenda planning” session, then for its regular meeting.

Meanwhile, the board recently has seen changes in membership and leadership.

Matt Burgess defeated the incumbent, Rudy Upshaw, in the Zone 6 board race. Lisa Clark was appointed to the board in October after the resignation of Travis Riggs, who had served 12 years.

Riggs had been board president. Wendi Cheatham, elected to the board just over one year ago, was chosen by her fellow board members as the new president in October. Lightle also was chosen vice president at that time.

“I’m honored to be president and to serve with such a strong board,” Cheatham said.

Not everyone always agrees with each other. Out of 46 votes the board has taken since October, 13 have been split votes, according to meeting minutes.

“Everyone should be able to say what they want to say and vote the way their conscience dictates,” Cheatham said. “I’ve seen everyone act professionally after the fact. A good, healthy board operates that way.”

CRITICISM

Riggs and Upshaw dropped off the board in September, but they continue to attend meetings. Both have been critical of the board.

Riggs believes the board is getting too bogged down in details that should be left primarily to administrators. The board’s role is to maintain oversight of the district’s major goals and let administrators figure out how to reach them, he said.

“I think there are board members who think they know more about running this district than the professionals who are certified to run it,” Riggs said. “And that concerns me as a patron.”

Riggs said administrators are doing a great job.

“I just wish our board members would get out of the way sometimes,” he said.

Upshaw has spoken several times at board meetings during time allotted for public comment. He also believes the board’s focus is “to undermine and micromanage” administrators.

Cheatham disagrees with that perception.

“I would say we want transparency so that our taxpayers understand how we’re arriving at the decisions we’re making,” she said. “Our decisions have to be based on information. If we want to make decisions based on the long term, we have to have leadership that’s deliberate and strategic and that will provide us with information that will keep us on track.”

Cheatham said she doesn’t want to be caught flat-footed when constituents ask her about certain spending decisions.

Leas said he is concerned about getting overly involved in the district’s day-to-day operations. At the last meeting Dec. 16 — a meeting that lasted nearly six hours — Leas suggested to fellow board members they adopt a hard stop time of 9 p.m. for their meetings. His motion failed by a 5-2 vote. Willie Cowgur was the only other member who voted for the motion.

Leas said the intent of his idea was “to keep us engaged in the thing we’re really supposed to be doing, which is setting policy and overseeing the budget.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Among the board’s chief concerns is the budget. It recently got its first look at a list of proposals aimed at keeping the district’s budget under control.

A committee made up of district staff members devised a list of 12 recommendations this fall for paring the budget by up to $2.52 million. The board needs to decide by February which of those recommendations it will enact.

Lightle said it’s unfortunate the district finds itself in this position.

“If we’d been a little more proactive and more analytical about spending decisions, we could’ve mitigated the problem a little bit,” he said.

Because the second high school is not scheduled to open until August 2016, the district will need a short-term solution to overcrowding at Bentonville High. The graduation rate and transition to the Common Core curriculum are other causes for concern, Lightle said.

The board also intends to begin work on Poore’s annual evaluation in January. Cheatham called for an executive session in November because she wanted to discuss the upcoming evaluation with fellow board members, she said.

Poore’s contract runs through June 30, 2016.