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GoogleRecently, a special board of education meeting for Blytheville Public Schools in Blytheville, Ark., was held to narrow a list of 21 applicants for the school's superintendent position. During the meeting, the Blytheville School Board reduced the list to seven potential new-hires, then reduced it once more, with one of the final four applicants selected being Noble.
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Kennett School District Superintendent Jerry Noble will interview for a position with Blytheville Public Schools on Feb. 23.
File photo |
The board of education voted in a previous meeting to hire a consulting firm called McPherson and Jacobson to recruit applicants for the position that has belonged for many years to Dr. Bruce Daniels. The long-term administrator announced last fall that he intended on retiring at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year.
Noble came into the picture as a possible replacement through the hands of consultants Tony Prothro and Steve Singleton, who screened him and others on behalf of the firm, before bringing their top choices before the board for consideration.
"Usually we only have two or three rise to the top of the heap and we have to struggle to find a fourth or fifth to interview," Prothro told the Blytheville Courier News in early February. "This process was just the opposite. We had trouble weeding them out because they were all so good."
The screening process included thorough reference checks and discussions regarding educational backgrounds, employment history and specifics on the qualifications each applicant holds to be applied to the position.
According to the consulting firm, five major areas were focused upon, which consisted of financial backgrounds and ability, skills needed to form positive relationships in the district, community involvement, leadership and technological skills, and overall communication style.
A total of seven applicants were initially presented, before the board voted to trim the list to only four who have been asked to interview.
In addition to Noble, Richard Atwill, principal at Blytheville Middle School; Marvin Burton, principal at Little Rock School District; and Arthur Tucker, assistant superintendent at Texarkana Public Schools made the final list.
According to the board's decision, Noble will interview for the position on Feb. 23, with Burton following on Feb. 24, Atwill on Feb. 26 and Tucker on Feb. 27.
During the interview process, Noble, along with the other candidates will be under the microscope of several groups within the district, including a group of students, teachers, staff members, and administrators, in addition to the board of education itself.
The applicants and their spouses have also been invited to spend the day touring the district and the city, between interviews and scheduled events.
"I was provided the opportunity to interview and felt like I should at least take advantage of the chance and see if it would be a good fit for me," Noble said on Wednesday of his decision to consider making a move.
"I'm qualified for full retirement in Missouri and have 10 years built up in Arkansas, and I was raised just a few miles from Blytheville. I'm very familiar with that area."
The recent offer is not a first for Noble in terms of considering his options.
In March 2007, Noble informed the Kennett Board of Education that he had been presented an opportunity to return to Arkansas, where his retirement would have been significantly better, and a position in a school district there potentially awaited him.
In a special meeting conducted by the board, the subject of a salary increase for Noble took place and executive session proved that the Board would award guaranteed increases over the following three years.
When the decision was made, Noble's salary was reported to be approximately $104,700 annually. The following year, 2007-2008, Noble's salary would rise to $115,875, and then increase again this year to $120,350. Next year, he would receive $125,004.
At that time Noble commented on the board's decision to increase his salary, allowing him to turn down the Arkansas offer.
"I am very pleased," Noble said, "that the board has taken action that allows me to remain here."
He later added, "I want to thank KCTA and the Board of Education for making it possible for me to stay where I really want to be."
It was also at that time Kennett Board President Matthew Shetley said he had been pleased with Noble's work over the past two years in revitalizing the school system by earning the support and trust of the community, faculty and staff and providing a safe learning environment for the children.
"We are pleased that Mr. Noble has chosen to decline other opportunities in his career and will be leading our schools for several more years to come," Shetley said in 2007.
In the present, if Noble were offered the position of superintendent at Blytheville Public Schools, making a move would be a profitable one. As reported by the Blytheville Courier News, the salary for the advertised position is listed as $135,000 annually, with negotiated benefits. The consulting firm the district contracted with provided this figure.
Staff writer George Anderson contributed to this report. Some information used in this report was sourced from an article that originally appeared in the March 8, 2007 edition of the Daily Dunklin Democrat, and information
provided by Blytheville Courier News.
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please
Excuse me. There's not a superintendent in the world worth over $100,000. Teachers hit the trenches every day for less than a third of that.
Schools all over are struggling to meet the payroll and then give someone that kind of money.
Ridiculous!!
Obviously, pom_mom921, you have no idea what it takes to be a Superintentent. Yes, teachers do hit the trenches and deserve better pay, but someone has to be the general or general manager and that isn't cheap. You want the best, you have to pay him or her.
Teachers only jobs are to educate our kids and protect them while they're there. That's it.
In order for a teacher to do their job effectively, a Super has to run the entire school district effectively. That's the entire student body, faculty and staff, as well as deal with other items pertaining to the school such as police/security issues, funding, meeting state/federal requirements, extra curricular activities and even the weather and maintanence. All that weighs on the person who is the Super.
I'm sorry, but that's not a $25,000 job. Maybe $100-125,000 is a little too much, but you want the best Super, you have to pay him or her to deal with all that year after year. Teachers are priceless in all honesty but they don't have to deal with everything the Super deals with every day.
You're both missing the point. The Superintendent is obviously unhappy with Kennett, and why not? Who supports Kennett schools? Do the parents support Kennett schools? Do the taxpayers support Kennett schools? Do the students support Kennett schools? I don't know if Blytheville supports their schools, but I do know Kennett does not.
How interesting that someone would think a teacher's job is to protect kids. A teacher's job is to teach. If our society has reached the point where kids need protection at school, the the public should be willing to fund the employment of security officers to patrol the halls of schools to provide that protection.
I agree donnyturner. The state and taxpayers should support security officers or allow the police/sheriff to provide personnel on campus (one for each school level - elementary, MS and HS). Unfortunately that is not the case.
What I meant as to teachers protecting kids is for them to be alert to strangers or suspicious persons/activities, not allow any type of bullying, making sure they don't hurt themselves or anyone else and making sure kids don't sneak off campus. Things like that. And yes, in today's society, it is a part of their teaching job (every staff member as well). Sorry, but it's true (Columbine; Paducah, Ky.; Jonesboro, Ark. changed all that).
br549, I didn't miss the point. I was adressing pom_mom921's point. I know Jerry Noble is like the NBA coach Larry Brown. He's a hot potato - no school can keep him for long. Noble's been with more schools than I can remember.
I don't know what it is with Kennett schools and the community, I really don't. There's more to it than I'll ever know. Good luck, though, and love Sheryl Crow. Wonderful singer. Off point, I know.
" "I am very pleased," Noble said, "that the board has taken action that allows me to remain here." "
Very pleased indeed. I would be very pleased to have a $20000 raise would have me very pleased indeed. Clearly his interest isn't in the kids as you would ASSUME his role to be. Just another money hungry individual. Why not divide that $20000 among the teachers in the district. That would be a nice little bonus.
One loses credibility when making a statement of thanks for a school showing evnough confidence in them in order to it possible for him to stay "where he wants to be." Then two years later, that's obviously no longer the case!!!
Mr. Noble has done a wonderful job with KSD, and I for one am greatful. I wish you the very best Mr. Noble, whichever direction you should go. There are many of us who commend you! God Bless you.
Superintendents must be worth that much or they would not get paid....free market. If you only knew what a Superintendent had to do and put up with.....most of you would not do it for any amount of money...in fact...most of you could not do it...that is why they are paid what they are paid. You also may need to realize that a bad Superintendent can cost the district lots of money. A good Superintendent that makes twice as much is not nearly as expensive as a bad one who makes half as much....ask those who know how it was before KSD got this Superintendent. Almost went under.
Wonder they could get anyone in the ....hole that is Kennett. By and large...KSD is an irrelevant school district and as mentioned before, was on the verge of economic collapse until this
Superintendent came in and made the tough and right decisions. What exactly is it that Kennett SD is known for? I will answer...nothing good.
Plus, how can you blame someone for wanting to do the best he can money wise? Is that not what we all try to do? In this case, he can retire from Missouri and move to Arkansas...allows him to draw a retirement in Missouri and earn money in Arkansas. Sounds smart to me if he can get it done.
Superintendent's job....24 hours a day 7 days a week....awesome responsibility...requires a great deal of education and training...imagine it would take some money for anyone to want to do that job.
The one's who criticize are the one's who know nothing about the job and what it actually entails...go back to the being a pommmie mommie...now that is a useless activity.
MBoydjr, you obviously don't have a clue to what a teacher has to deal with on a daily basis. You may want to stick with a topic you know something about and need not make anymore comments about the daily routine of a teacher. All I hear from you is Blah, Blah, Blah. What's your degree area?
It's understandable some are upset Mr. Noble opted to apply for another postion after being recruited to do so. However, I am so grateful he has been at Kennett for this long. People have very short memories. Mr. Noble has worked wonders here, and has given so much of himself for the kids and this community. If he decides to remain at Kennett, as for as I'm concerned, Kennett should thank their lucky stars. Jerry Noble is a good and decent man and has been great for Kennett. His record speaks for itself. Why do you think he has been and will continue to be recruited for other jobs? Isn't Kennett blessed to have a superintendent coveted by other schools or would you rather have someone unattractive to other districts?
Actually, whoa2moa, my degree is in education. And I actually know a lot about a lot, so I am sticking to what I know, actually. Superintendents are worth the high amount of pay because of all of their responsibilities. That's the way it is.
I deal with teachers and administration at a vast number of schools every single day and I know directly what they deal with every single day because I see it every day. Ask a teacher, they'll tell you exactly the extra stuff they have to deal with outside the study plan.
And I know this as well. Your point was only to bash me more than make a point to the story at hand. Which tells me you know nothing about what you're talking about.
Shhh! Don't talk anymore. You're embarrassing yourself.