BENTONVILLE -- The School Board president and Superintendent Michael Poore both said it's likely an agreement on Poore's new three-year contract will be reached within the next month.
The board announced its decision to negotiate a new contract with Poore after meeting for several hours in executive session Feb. 20. That decision came as the board considered its annual evaluation of the superintendent and amid speculation the board might not extend Poore's contract another year, which it typically does after completing the evaluation. Poore's current contract runs through June 30, 2016.
At A Glance
Michael Poore
Michael Poore was one of 24 people who applied for the Bentonville School District superintendent’s job in 2010. The School Board chose him and he started in July 2011. Before that he was deputy superintendent of curriculum in Colorado Springs, Colo., for four years. He also had worked as a superintendent, principal, teacher and coach.
Source: Staff Report
Wendi Cheatham, board president, said she's hopeful the situation will be resolved next month.
"It's moving forward. We're getting there," Cheatham said.
The process has taken awhile because the board meets only a couple of times a month and therefore has limited time to discuss the contract, Cheatham said. All of the board's discussions of Poore's contract have happened during executive sessions.
Poore said most of his conversations with the board about the contract have gone through Marshall Ney, the School District's attorney. He said he has received an initial draft of the contract.
"I shared things that I liked and things that I had concerns about," Poore said. "(Board members) are looking at what changes they will make. Hopefully we continue to move forward on something that will be a win-win for all parties."
He also said he thought May is a realistic time for an agreement to be reached.
"I don't see a roadblock to that happening," he said.
Brent Leas, a board member, said he has been pleased with the process.
"We're progressing in the right direction," Leas said.
The board's next two meetings are scheduled for May 5 and 19.
The board provided Poore his performance evaluation last month. The evaluation lists specific ratings and comments for the period of July 1, 2013, through Feb. 28 for six areas of review. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score, Poore received an overall rating of 3.36.
"Your performance for the past year has 'Met Expectations,'" the cover letter of the evaluation states.
The letter states Poore's strengths include high visibility and involvement in schools and community; effective collaboration resulting in last year's successful millage campaign for a second high school; and his consistent, timely responses to board members and patrons.
The letter also presents "opportunities that we would like to encourage you to focus your attention on," including improving his timing and content of communication with the board so there are no surprises; creating a long-term sustainable financial plan that prioritizes district needs; and improving the use and collection of data to help drive higher quality decisions.
Each of the seven board members signed the letter.
Cheatham said in February the board would try to develop a new contract focused on accountability. Poore said he has presented the board what he believes are good accountability and performance targets that match up well with the district's needs.
"I feel good about what I presented as possibilities. I'm sure that's going to get tweaked in some form or fashion," he said.
Board members have not discussed a compensation increase for Poore, Cheatham said. Poore said there haven't been any "formal" discussions about increases in compensation or any other incentives for him. His contract pays him $204,500 this year.
NW News on 04/29/2014