Toward the end of an hourlong special board meeting Tuesday night, Watson Chapel School District Superintendent Tom Wilson revealed one more personnel move — he’s retiring, effective June 30.
Citing a need to spend more time with his family, Wilson revealed his upcoming departure after a lengthy executive session. The retirement — Wilson’s fifth, by his count — will end a nearly 50-year education career, and he says it will be his last.
“We went on vacation and got to spend some time together,” Wilson said of his family, adding he was on the fence about calling it a career for the past two weeks. “I just know I need to spend more time with them. I’ll be 75 in July, and I enjoyed my almost 50 years in education. But it’s time for me to focus on my family and be the Pop-Pop, the Grandpa to my grandkids.”
The board’s acceptance of his retirement wasn’t unanimous, however. Board President Goldie Whitaker and Donnie Hartsfield said “no” with smiles, although Whitaker acknowledged the four “yes” votes outweighed their dissent. (One board member was absent.)
Wilson’s announcement took assistant superintendent Dee Davis by surprise. Recording the votes in absence of district treasurer Norma Walker, Davis reacted: “What did you just say?”
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None of the district employees were informed of Wilson’s intent before the meeting, Wilson said.
The opening for the superintendency will be posted Wednesday, Wilson said. Whitaker expressed confidence that a successor would be in place by July 1, the start of the district’s fiscal year.
“One that has at least three years of experience and is going to be honest and willing to work with this board and this community to carry on the legacy that Mr. Tom Wilson, myself and others on this board are proud to say, ‘We received a quality education here at Watson Chapel,’ and we know our future students will get a quality education,” Whitaker said, spelling out her preferences for Wilson’s successor. “We are sure we will get a superintendent that will do just that.”
Wilson said he believes he’ll have a transition period with the new hire before he leaves.
A Hot Springs resident, Wilson came out of an 11-day retirement from the Spring Hill School District and was hired as interim superintendent July 11, 2022, after the board agreed to part ways with Andrew Curry. A month into Wilson’s hire, voters in the district narrowly approved a millage increase from 34.1 to 39.8 to support construction of a new high school, groundbreaking for which was held last month.
That was a big deal, Wilson said, but he stopped short of calling it the defining moment of his brief tenure. He revealed another millage bump will be needed within three years to support improvements at Coleman Elementary.
“The last 15 out of about 18 or 19 years, I spent working out of town helping a school district somewhere,” Wilson said. “I really enjoyed it. I helped school districts; that’s what an interim does. This is the fifth district I came in as interim, and I usually moved someone up in the system or whatever, but this has been a special occasion for me to spend [time] at Watson Chapel the last two years.”
The board elevated Wilson to full-time superintendent Oct. 10, 2022.
Wilson also had to shepherd the WCSD through the first year of accreditation probation by the Arkansas State Board of Education for violations of state standards related to management of student attendance and academic records. The penalty was handed down in October, two months after school began with high school students receiving incorrect schedules.
Arkansas Department of Education officials have also urged Wilson to enhance safety standards for Watson Chapel High School by hiring a full-time security officer and employing a metal detector at the front entrance, enforcing digital sign-in/sign-out and badge protocols for staff, monitoring the parking lot and improving bus pickup and dropoff procedures.
“Mr. Wilson has done the hard work,” Whitaker remarked. “Yes, we’re still in the trenches of following the standards of the Arkansas Department of Education that we are doing, and I just believe whomever applies will have to follow those same footsteps. We won’t have it any other way.”
The WCSD is on the way to improving instruction, Wilson said. Like other school districts in Arkansas, Watson Chapel gives periodic reports on the academic progress of students by grade level.
“We don’t want to be an F-school,” Wilson said, referring to ratings the ADE gives each school in its annual Report Card. “We want to increase test scores. We want to move our grades up, and that’s what it’s all about. I think we have a great foundation to do that with. With a new group of employees coming up — high-energy employees — I think they’re going to relate greatly with students and establish relationships with students.”
Wilson has often stated his love for Watson Chapel while at the helm. He graduated from the high school in 1967 and coached junior high football in the district in the 1970s.
He joins a group of longtime WCSD personnel who are retiring this summer, including executive director of support services John Hayden, special education teacher Frankie Hemphill, girls basketball coach Leslie Henderson, and high school principal Henry Webb.
IN OTHER DISTRICT BUSINESS
Board members unanimously approved Wilson’s recommendation for a district-wide hiring freeze on any new positions not required by state accreditation standards.
PERSONNEL MOVES
The district received letters of retirement from cafeteria worker Georgia Fielder and paraprofessional Becky Hogbin.
Letters of resignation were accepted from secondary art teacher Christi Baugh, cafeteria worker Kristin Bunting, special education teacher Dana Horton-Jones, elementary teacher Kenya Hudson, parapro Keiosha Jones, secondary teachers Pamela King, Clifton Lewis, Kassi Martindale and Sylvia Webb, and head football coach, athletic director and dean of students Maurice Moody. (Steven Heard was named last month to succeed Moody as coach and AD.)
Recommendations and approvals for secondary art teacher Javon Lambert and secondary teacher Brandon Marks have been rescinded.
Transfers were granted to Janice Oaks (from parapro to special education secretary), Sara James (from special ed secretary to central office secretary) and Cameron McCann (from maintenance to director of maintenance/facilities and supervisor of custodians).
New hires include: Jamie Brown as elementary teacher, Nellie Burnett as special ed parapro, Angela Coleman as secondary teacher, Tiffany Davis as secondary teacher and head junior high girls basketball coach, Ruby Fitzpatrick as special ed parapro, Michael Flynn as secondary teacher, Arial Frazier as parapro dyslexia interventionist, LaShonda Gammel as secondary teacher, Billy Gibbs as elementary PE teacher, La’Travius Hill as secondary teacher and coach, Samantha McClane as elementary teacher, Ashley McDonald as elementary art teacher, Ebony McLaurin as elementary teacher, Lakeyshia Morehead as special ed parapro, Takela Moreland and Shequeita Nance as elementary teachers, Kearra Parrish as special ed parapro, Rashawn Penister as secondary art teacher, Winston Southwell as head softball coach (stipend addition), Jonathan Strickland as secondary teacher and head junior high boys basketball coach, Joyce Suggs as elementary teacher, Samuel Turner as band director and Kenita Vanderslice as secondary art teacher.