Bentonville Junior High School Gets Interim Principal

BENTONVILLE — A high school administrator will serve as Fulbright Junior High School’s interim principal for the rest of the school year, Superintendent Michael Poore announced Friday.

Jack Loyd, a Bentonville High School assistant principal, will fill the void left by Kathy Murry, who died Jan. 4.

At A Glance

Memorial Donations

In lieu of flowers, Kathy Murry’s family has requested donations be made to the Kathy Murry Memorial Fund, Bentonville Public School Foundation, 500 Tiger Blvd., Bentonville, AR 72712. Michael Poore, district superintendent, said donations will allow the family to “find a great approach to having Kathy’s legacy continue to live.”

Source: Staff Report

“Jack has worked with Kathy, has Junior High experience, and has exemplified the caring approach Kathy always had to students, staff, and parents,” Poore wrote in an email to district administrators Friday.

The district will begin to search for a replacement within the next few months, said Galen Havner, human resources director. Loyd will return to his position at the high school after the new person is hired.

Havner said he’s not certain whether anyone will be hired to help with Loyd’s duties at the high school while he’s away. The high school has five other assistant principals.

“In the short term we are covering with present staff,” he said.

Poore met with the Fulbright staff Friday morning.

“As you can imagine this is a group that is still in some shock and still grieving,” he wrote in his email.

Ruth Canard and Bradley Webber are the school’s assistant principals. Poore said he wanted to recognize both for their leadership “during this challenging time.”

Murry was 59. She worked for the Bentonville School District for 27 years as a teacher and administrator. She had been principal at Washington Junior High School for a few years before being chosen as the first principal of Fulbright Junior High, which opened in August.

Murry was the person most responsible for choosing the school’s name, mascot and colors, said Mary Ley, district director of communications. The school is named after J. William Fulbright, a former U.S. senator from Arkansas and president of the University of Arkansas. Fulbright had 724 students enrolled as of Monday.

A picture of a blue and green ribbon — the school’s colors — was posted to Fulbright’s Facebook page Sunday, along with the message, “In Loving Memory of Kathy Murry, 1954-2014.”

Murry’s death was unexpected, Havner said this week.

Loyd worked at Washington for 18 years, including 12 years as a teacher and six as assistant principal. He’s worked at the high school since 2006.

He toured Fulbright on Friday and visited with students and staff members.

“They gave me a very warm welcome,” he said.

Loyd said he’d known Murry for about 25 years. The staff is still grieving her death.

“She was a hands-on principal, a teacher’s principal, so they had that close personal relationship with her,” Loyd said.

Lisa Leak, co-president of Fulbright’s PTO and the parent of two children at the school, was happy to hear Loyd will join the staff.

“We’re so happy to have an experienced educator coming from the high school. It will be really important for our teachers who will need a lot of TLC,” Leak said.

Leak appreciated the dozens of volunteers — mostly parents and teachers from other schools — who showed up at Fulbright on Wednesday afternoon so that Fulbright staff members could attend Murry’s funeral.

“I thought that was really special,” she said.

Upcoming Events