BENTONVILLE -- Sterling Ming, the School District's finance director, said he intends to retire at the end of this school year after 40 years in the education field.
Ming has worked in his current position since November 2005. He said he plans to remain on the job until the end of May.
District departures
The Bentonville School District has lost several upper-level administrators within the past year, including its director of human resources, director of communications and director of student services. One retired and the other two left for other jobs last summer.
Source: Staff Report
Ming had little to say when reached for comment this week, though he said he has no plans to pursue another job.
The district is advertising the finance director's position and likely will accept applications for at least the next two weeks, said Superintendent Michael Poore.
Poore hopes to hire Ming's successor by the end of April.
"That would give us some transition time. That's a positive," Poore said.
Poore called Ming's retirement "a big loss" for the district.
"He's such an exceptional person to begin with, a person with great character and values and a strong work ethic," Poore said.
Ming was principal of a school in Rogers before joining Bentonville. He also has served as a teacher, assistant principal, personnel director and assistant superintendent in Jenks, Okla.
That mix of experience is one of the things that makes him so valuable as a finance director, Poore said.
"That awareness really helps when you're trying to plan for future things and deal with challenging issues right in front of you. He's been a person I could talk to about different things. He's been a great adviser," Poore said.
During Ming's 10 years as finance director, Bentonville's enrollment has grown from about 10,000 to 15,500 students. Several schools have been built during that time. The district's annual budget has increased from about $75 million to $138 million this school year.
The district's fund balance as of July 1 was $24.4 million, about 17 percent of the annual budget. The balance was about $12 million when Ming started.
Gary Compton, Bentonville's superintendent from 2001 to 2011, hired Ming for the finance director's job. It was an honor to work with Ming, Compton said.
"I have very fond memories of him and everything he did for us," said Compton, now an administrator in the Springdale School District. "We went through a period of very rapid expansion with growth and the number of students we had. It becomes very difficult to manage your finances in those times. It's a tough deal, but he led that about as well as anyone could."
Willie Cowgur, School Board vice president, wrote in an email he considers Ming the best finance director in the state.
"Dr. Ming has done a phenomenal job leading our finance team," Cowgur wrote. "The district is in very good financial shape in large part due to him. It's not going to be easy replacing Dr. Ming."
The district's salary range for its finance director is $89,401 to $126,522. Ming is earning $123,115 this year, according to an official in the human resources department.
NW News on 03/06/2015