Pine Bluff School District Interim Superintendent T.C. Wallace Jr. said he is not a candidate for the position of full-time superintendent.
“There is a posting out for a new superintendent of Pine Bluff,” Wallace said. “I am not a candidate.”
Wallace, who is on a contract through July 30, said he does not have any involvement in the search process. He referred questions to the school board of directors.
On Monday, Pine Bluff School Board President Harold Jackson said he invites people from the community to a first meeting in the superintendent search at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 23, in the Pine Bluff School District central office administration room, 512 S. Pine St.
In May, the board announced they are opening a national search for a permanent superintendent. Board members said they will involve religious leaders, business leaders and other stakeholders. At a regular board meeting on Tuesday, June 16, Pine Bluff Education Association President Sylvia Grady addressed Jackson about the search process. She asked when she will have a chance to be part of the search group.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Jackson invited Grady and Pine Bluff Classified Personnel Policy Committee Chairwoman Jewelette Courtney to the June 23 meeting.
Wallace succeeded Superintendent Linda Watson, who was fired April 8. Watson is suing the district seeking more than $1 million in a lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Little Rock. Watson said in the lawsuit her firing violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act; her contract was breached; she was slandered; and the firing violated public policy in the state.
In addition to the money, Watson is seeking reinstatement and back pay.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of Watson by Little Rock attorney Richard Mays, Watson was fired “because she opposed the illegal expenditure of state funds in December of 2014 and other violations of law.”