Quinn chosen for Bentonville School Board

8:35 a.m. update

The Bentonville School Board voted unanimously late Monday to appoint Joe Quinn to fill the board's vacant Zone 7 seat.

Board members met in executive session for about an hour to discuss the matter before coming out and voting.

Quinn, 59, lives in a part of the city of Rogers that falls in the Bentonville School District. He co-led a millage campaign in 2010 that raised $70 million for the construction of Willowbrook Elementary, Bright Field Middle and Fulbright Junior High schools. He also took part in a committee that unsuccessfully campaigned for a 2012 millage proposal to build a second high school.

Quinn was director of policy for former governor Mike Huckabee. He also previously worked as director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Human Services and as a television journalist with the CBS affiliate in Little Rock.

Quinn and his wife, Shannon, have two children. His son, Jimmy, graduated from Bentonville High School in May and is attending the University of Arkansas. His daughter, Ava, is a sophomore at Bentonville High.

Original Story

BENTONVILLE -- The School Board on Monday interviewed seven people interested in filling the board's vacant Zone 7 position.

Applicants included an elementary school teacher, a corporate executive and an Arkansas Farm Bureau agent. The five women and two men applied to replace Wendi Cheatham, who resigned Aug. 10 with about a year left in her term.

The applicants

Here’s the list of people who applied for appointment to the Bentonville School Board Zone 7 seat.

Sharon Belto

Jerrie Carter

Melanie Elliott

Mark Popejoy

Joe Quinn

Bethany Walmsley

Wayne Welscher

Robin Wright

Source: Bentonville School District

The board has 30 days from the date of a member's resignation to appoint a replacement. Board members spent more than three hours during Monday's special meeting interviewing the candidates individually, asking each person nearly the same set of questions. The board then went into executive session to discuss the candidates.

The board had not reached a decision as of press time Monday night.

Wayne Welsher was the first applicant to sit down for an interview, but he was quickly dismissed after board members realized he was ineligible to be appointed because his son works for the district. David Welsher is an assistant principal at Barker Middle School.

Joe Quinn, who ran unsuccessfully for the board in 2011, was among the other seven applicants. Quinn, senior director of public affairs and government relations for Walmart, has lived in Bentonville since 2006.

Communication with School District patrons is key, particularly the most engaged parents at the elementary-school level, Quinn said.

"They are our long-term customers," Quinn said.

He said he had a lot of respect for the board.

"You've been through some tough times. You spend a lot of time on the front page," Quinn said. "I think you're good at what you do. The district has a good superintendent and a good staff and I think we need to build on that."

All seven who interviewed for the position said if chosen for it, they would run for election to the seat next year.

"I would plan on running regardless of whether I get the position tonight," said Mark Popejoy, a product engineer and designer for Plano Molding and an instructor at Northwest Arkansas Community College.

Board members asked the candidates whether they had any specific agenda they wanted to bring to the board.

"Agendas do not work well on this board. I want to make sure you don't have any," said board president Travis Riggs, addressing applicant Robin Wright.

"I appreciate that question, because I want to learn, and learn about each one of you guys," Wright responded. "Any agenda that I might have is to help our kids."

Wright said she wanted to be part of helping the district grow. Asked about any policies she'd like to see addressed, she mentioned the district's social media policy.

"I worry about our teachers being framed and people being able to Photoshop different things," Wright said. "And I know how cruel the world is."

Sharon Belto, a national account sales director for Hallmark Cards, said she served for three years as president of the school board at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic school in Rogers. She referenced that experienced several times during her interview. Education is critical to the growth of the community, she said.

"It's something I'm really passionate about," Belto said.

The person appointed to the Zone 7 position must live within that zone. It covers most of the south and southwest portions of the district and includes parts of the cities of Bentonville, Centerton, Rogers, Highfill and Cave Springs.

NW News on 09/01/2015

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