The Pine Bluff School Board selected retired educator Faye Gant to fill a vacant seat Friday at a special meeting.
Board members Henry Dabner, Andrea Roaf-Little, Phyllis Wilkins, Stephen Bronskill, Herman Horace and Harold Jackson voted for Gant after meeting in executive session for about 15 minutes. Superintendent Michael Robinson was present but did not take part in the executive session.
Board members did not have discussions in open session apart from calling the meeting to order, approving Gant, and closing the meeting.
The board vacancy opened after then-board member Leon Jones resigned in January after moving outside the district.
Dabner said Gant worked in the Pine Bluff School District for more than 30 years. She was one of four people to apply for the open seat.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“We think she can help us with bringing some ideas to the table since she was an educator for so long,” Dabner, the board president, said after the meeting. “She was a principal in this district. I think she will come in from what her resume states and do a good job.”
“She has a lot on her resume,” Dabner said. “Hopefully, she’ll work well with the superintendent and help us understand some things we don’t understand about education. We will stay on the same track and follow Dr. Robinson’s leadership.”
As a result of the vote, Gant will be sworn in to her new post on Monday.
In news from a special meeting on Thursday night, the board expelled six students, Dabner said. At least one student had brought a gun to campus, Robinson said. Those six students have already been removed from the district and been sent to the Juvenile Justice System.