PEARCY -- The Lake Hamilton School Board may rescind and redo its motion "to consider to hire" Karla Neathery, the assistant superintendent of the Benton School District, as its new superintendent at its next meeting on Jan. 22, the school district's attorney said Tuesday.
According to minutes obtained by The Sentinel-Record on Tuesday, the board voted to go into executive session on Jan. 10 "to consider the employment of a new superintendent." The board later approved a motion, by 3-2 vote, "to consider to hire Karla Neathery" for the position.
The district's attorney, Scott Hickam, said the wording of the motion created confusion.
"I think that it's basically messed up and needs to be redone," Hickam said. "When they came out (of executive session), it's pretty clear to me they came out to vote on hiring an individual, but that's not what the motion says. The motion says to consider hiring her."
Hickam said while it's an easy mistake to make, the wording would be a key issue if a lawsuit were to come of it.
"If there was some sort of lawsuit, I think a judge could look at the wording and say 'Wait a minute. It wasn't a vote to hire her, it was a vote to consider her,'" he said. "They didn't vote to elect a new superintendent. They voted to consider hiring a new superintendent. I think there's enough confusion here that it needs to be redone."
Hickam said people leaving the meeting, including the board and the general public, are entitled to know and understand exactly what action was taken by the school board. Because there was confusion, he said he anticipates at the next meeting "there will be a motion to rescind the previous action of the board."
"They may or may not go into executive session again and they may come out to vote on hiring or they may vote to consider another individual," he said. "It's kind of elusive, which is why I think it needs to be redone."
Neathery was one of six candidates for the position and currently serves as assistant superintendent at Benton School District. According to the district's website, she has spent 26 years in education, which included serving as the district's interim superintendent during the 2015-16 school year.
Neathery has a bachelor's degree in education from Ouachita Baptist University, a master's degree in educational administration from Henderson State University, and an educational specialist's degree in administration from Henderson State University. Neathery is currently a 2019 doctoral candidate from Arkansas Tech University. Her husband, Scott, has served as the district's athletic director since 2016, according to the Benton School District's website.
The Lake Hamilton School Board will hold its regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 in the administration building, 205 Wolf St., in Pearcy.
Local on 01/16/2019