Fayetteville School Board Meeting

For the second time this week, the Fayetteville School Board will be meeting. On Tuesday, they met in secret session for several hours then voted 6-0 to allow Assistant Principal Kirk Sutton to keep his job for 2008-09 provided he completes a 12-step program, develops an education plan for students on the consequences of alcohol abuse and submits to random drug screenings.

The board is scheduled to meet again today at 5 p. m. in the Adams Leadership Center, 1000 W. Stone Street. On the agenda will be discussion as to whether to sell the high school to the University of Arkansas for $50 million, about $12 million less than the appraised value. Then they will consider the possibility of merging the financially-troubled Greenland School District, which would assure that Fayetteville teachers would get no raises next year. They are on a roll, huh?

Another agenda item will be trying again to get someone to apply for and actually accept the job of Superintendent. The first try got few applicants and a flat rejection from the only candidate interviewed. Tonight they will think about hiring a professional headhunter to find someone who will take the job.

A final item will be to hear a report on the district's communication strategy. Maybe that is something they should have considered before they got us in this fine mess.