Riggs Resigning, But Not Just Yet

— Travis Riggs, School Board president, will keep his position a little longer than expected after announcing last month of his intention to resign.

Riggs originally said Tuesday’s board meeting would be his last, but the board hasn’t completed its evaluation of Superintendent Michael Poore. Riggs said he would like to see that effort through to the end.

“I don’t feel like I should just drop it, because that’s my job — to facilitate that evaluation process,” Riggs said.

At A Glance

Zone 5

Bentonville’s School Board Zone 5 covers a small portion of the School District’s east side. Landmarks in the zone include the high school, police department, public library and Walmart headquarters. The zone has a population of 10,270. For a zone map, visit bentonvillek12.org/web/leadership/board_members.asp and click on “Board of Education Zones.”

Source: Staff Report

Tuesday’s board meeting included an executive session in part to work on Poore’s evaluation. The meeting lasted six hours.

The board’s next scheduled meeting is March 11, but a special meeting might be called before that to finish Poore’s evaluation, Riggs said.

Riggs’ decision to resign was prompted by the board’s vote last month to move all of its committee meetings from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The board did that after realizing state law requires all regular meetings to be held after 5 p.m.

Riggs, a certified public accountant, said the time change conflicts with his work schedule and family life.

Riggs has by far the most experience on the board, having served for 12 years. Willie Cowgur, board vice president, is second in seniority at 16 months. The other five members have served less than a year.

Riggs said the board’s experience level concerns him.

“If I had to pick a time, this wouldn’t be it,” he said of his leaving the board. “But I didn’t get to pick the time to change these meetings.”

On the board’s to-do list this year is another attempt for money to build a second high school. Voters rejected a 6.7-mill tax hike in June that would have built a second high school in Centerton.

The board has 30 days to replace Riggs from the time he formally submits his resignation. He has not yet done that. The school district then would advertise the position and accept applications. The board would interview the finalists before selecting someone.

If the board fails to choose someone within 30 days, the Benton County Quorum Court would get to make the choice, Poore said.

Poore said he’s heard from “three or four” people who have expressed interest in the job. Poore said Tuesday he hoped Riggs would put off his formal announcement until March.

“We’ve run into a tight timeline because of spring break,” he said. Spring break is the third full week of March.

The replacement must come from Zone 5, which Riggs represents. Anyone appointed to the seat will have to run for election in September if they are interested in keeping the seat.

Scott Comiskey, a Zone 5 resident, said Wednesday he’s thinking about applying, but added he probably wouldn’t run for election to the seat this summer.

Comiskey was a Bentonville alderman from 1997 to 2008 and a member of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Board of Directors from 2002 to 2012.

Shane Red, a lifelong Bentonville resident who works for Waste Management, also is considering applying for Riggs’ seat.

Red and Comiskey both attended Tuesday’s board meeting. It was the first such meeting for Red.

“It was definitely enlightening (Tuesday) night,” Red said.

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