Springdale Superintendent's Son Hired As Principal

SPRINGDALE -- Joe Rollins was hired recently as the principal of the Springdale School District's new iSchool although records show he has less experience than some of the other applicants.

Joe Rollins is the son of Jim Rollins, the district superintendent, who said he was not involved in the decision to place Joe Rollins in charge of iSchool. A hiring team composed of five assistant, deputy and associate superintendents were involved in the hiring process. Jim Rollins supervises all five.

The iSchool opens in the fall at The Jones Center with eighth-grade students and will expand to serve eighth through 12th grade students over the next few years. Students at the school will graduate with a high school diploma and a college-level associate's degree. Officials have named the school "iSchool," because they refer to it as a school of innovation.

Joe Rollins was first hired in 2004 as a secondary business education teacher at George Junior High School and became an administrative assistant with some teaching duties at the same school in 2006, according to an email from Jared Cleveland, deputy superintendent for personnel. In 2008, he became assistant principal at George before he was hired as assistant principal at Springdale High in 2010. Joe Rollins has six years of administrative experience and four years of teaching experience in education.

Officials screened applicants for administrative experience, Hendrix said. They didn't want to hire anyone who didn't already have experience in that type of position. Thirty people applied for the position, but only 17 had administrative experience.

Nine applicants had more administrative experience than Rollins, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

David Borg, who gave Green Forest as his permanent address on a job application, has the most administrative experience of the applicants. He listed 20 years of administrative experience and 13 years of teaching experience. His experience includes the position of principal at three different schools between 2004 and 2014.

Experience, however, is not the only factor officials looked at during the hiring process, said Clay Hendrix, assistant superintendent of education innovation, technology systems, science, engineering, technology, math and district accountability. Hendrix was part of the group that oversaw the hiring process.

Officials wanted someone who could start working immediately as the iSchool principal because the school is set to open at the beginning of the 2014-15 school year, Hendrix said. Many of the applicants are working at school districts and have contracts that won't expire until the end of this school year.

"In-district people can be transferred at any time for any reason," he said.

For example, Borg is working as a middle school principal in Germany, according to his application. His contract won't end until June.

Officials also wanted to hire someone with experience in career and technical education, Hendrix said. They wanted someone with experience in science, technology, engineering and math. This was important to the hiring team, because the iSchool will focus on those areas of study.

Joe Rollins was a good fit because he is the career and technical education director for the district, said Jared Cleveland, deputy superintendent for personnel. The subject areas also overlap, because there is a lot of science, technology, engineering and math in career and technical education. The overlap of the two types of experience means Joe Rollins has experience with both, Hendrix said.

The new principal would need relationships with and connections to local businesses, Hendrix said. Such connections will help the students at the iSchool, because each will need an internship in a science, technology, engineering or math related field before he graduates.

It can also help a school district if officials hire from within, Cleveland said. The district will save money and time on training because Joe Rollins already knows the district, its policies and its procedures.

"Our philosophy is we hire assistant principals to be principals," he said.

It's common for family members to work in the same school district, said Ronnie Flowers, Northwest Arkansas regional director for the Arkansas State Teachers Association. The association is a nonunion organization that represents school employees.

Prior knowledge district officials have of an applicant, family member or not, can give that person an advantage, Flowers said. Regardless, district officials generally take precautions when a family member of a district employee applies for a position.

Officials in Springdale said they were cautious to avoid biased decision-making when hiring the new iSchool principal.

Jim Rollins said he and Marsha Jones, associate superintendent for curriculum, instruction, accountability and education innovation, decided to not be involved in the hiring process, because each of them had a son who applied.

Jim Rollins, who approved the hiring, said he would only deny a hiring recommendation if he thought the person was not qualified for the position.

"We hire the best people every time," he said. "I don't think genetics has anything to do with that process."

Joe Rollins said officials made it clear to him when he first started working in the district that he wouldn't get preferential treatment. He said he wants to convince the community through his work as the iSchool principal that it was the right decision to hire him.

"I've grown up in Springdale," he said. "I want to serve Springdale."