The Watson Chapel School District has extended Superintendent Keith McGee’s contract through the end of the 2027-28 school year.
The board voted unanimously to add a year to the contract toward the end of Monday’s regular School Board meeting. The board held a lengthy executive session to conduct a performance review for McGee, who was hired in July 2024 after serving as superintendent at Helena-West Helena.
“The reason this contract was extended because we just did an evaluation on him,” district board President Mack Milner said. “So that’s what took us so long, and we did a thorough evaluation, and then we went through it with him, and our agreement was that he’s progressing.”
McGee’s contract was extended more than an hour after a long discussion in the open session between building principals and board members about how they are holding staff members accountable for teaching in ways to help students achieve higher results on the Arkansas Teaching, Learning and Assessment System, or ATLAS. The WCSD was graded F in Arkansas’ redeveloped accountability formula for K-12 campuses and districts under the ACCESS Act of 2025, and three of its campuses, Edgewood Elementary, Coleman Elementary and Watson Chapel High, were also graded F. (Watson Chapel Junior High did not receive a letter grade after the district won an appeal over the original grading.)
Among the performance targets in McGee’s original contract from 2024, he is tasked with increasing the overall math and literacy rate over the course of three years, achieving a 95% graduation rate, and helping each campus improve by one letter grade. According to the contract, for the 2022-23 school year, Edgewood and Watson Chapel High were graded F and Coleman and Watson Chapel Junior High were graded D. (State grades were not given for 2023-24 due to the change in assessment.)
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However, Milner said McGee is progressing in many areas while in others, the progress may not be showing.
“You may not see them in the actual paperwork, yet, but we know that they’re there,” Milner said. “We can see it through him and we can see it, maybe in the small ways that we can see the ship that’s turning.”
McGee is also overseeing construction of the new Watson Chapel High campus at the site of the junior high campus. The district last August landed Relyance Bank as the title sponsor for its new gymnasium.
The Wildcat Store, which helps distribute essential items for students and families in need, was also established during McGee’s tenure.
“This is my passion. This is my calling,” McGee said. “It’s my ministry. I’ve been passionate since day one, since July 8, 2024, when I was hired.
“The fire keeps burning. What I want to accomplish for us is to, really, just make sure that we’re educating all kids at grade level and we do that and just grow kids focusing. What you heard me say tonight, every day, every classroom we need to be moving the needle in kids and making sure that we are monitoring that and pushing them forward, and in some areas we are making strides, even though our data doesn’t show that we are.”
McGee is paid $155,000 per year under the original contract.
GOING FORWARD WITH ALUMNI PARK
Board members agreed unanimously to move forward with planning for an alumni park that would grace the front of the new Watson Chapel High, located at the site of the now-demolished junior high.
The park would include a stone marker for the school with a display of engraved class stones from about 1929-72, according to McGee, and bricks honoring other graduates on the reverse side. The vote allows Baldwin & Shell Construction Co. to return to the board in February with estimates for design.
Among updates Baldwin & Shell provided on the high school construction, an undercut ahead of the front drive and undercut of the new drive off U.S. 79 are in progress, work on the underground storm is wrapping up, sidewalks are in progress with asphalt soon to come, and fine grading around the buildings is in progress. Substantial completion for the new high school is scheduled for March 25.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
High school student Kelton Stepps made the first chair on the flute for the honor band at Jackson State University in Mississippi. An honor band clinic at the school is scheduled for Feb. 26-28.
Four district Spelling Bee winners were honored and will compete in an upcoming regional Bee: Brentley James and Kali Horton of Coleman Elementary and Caelyn Rose and Lakyah Buckner of Watson Chapel Junior High.
FINANCIALS
The district had an ending balance of $539,518.29 as of Jan. 5 for the sixth of 26 financial periods in the 2025-26 school year. McGee reported the district just received a tax receipt in the mail of about $300,000, which would increase the balance.
The beginning balance was $1,768,444.45. The district brought in $1,746,684.42 in revenue and spent $2,975,610.58 in expenses to make up the ending balance.
The total operating fund was $7,773,245.62, but the teacher salary (minus-$3,010,077.55), building (minus-$3,926,930.16) and debt service funds (minus-$338,096.61) carried balances below zero. The food service fund stood at $41,376.99.
Such figures are not uncommon, McGee said, adding he projects an end-of-the-year balance of $3.8 million.
PERSONNEL MOVES
The WCSD approved the employment of special education paraprofessional Natasha Henderson and elementary teacher Alithia Vaughn. Letters of resignation were accepted from secretary Melanie Madkin and teachers Kaden Wall and Aubreona Ward.
Penny Waddell turned in her letter of retirement as director of transportation.
The board terminated a paraprofessional, who was not present at the board meeting for a potential hearing.
