Bentonville superintendent gets raise, contract extension

BENTONVILLE — The School Board has extended Superintendent Debbie Jones’ contract and granted her a 12 percent raise.

Jones received an overall rating of 3.9 on a scale of 5.0 on her evaluation covering March 1, 2017, through Feb. 28, according to a letter signed by board members. She received a 3.7 on the same scale last year in the board’s first evaluation of her.

The board voted unanimously last week to extend Jones’ contract by one year so that it runs through June 2021. The board also voted to increase her salary from $209,500 to $235,000 for the 2018-19 school year and to increase her non-contract days to 20, with the option to sell back 10 days.

The salary increase brings Jones more in line with the market rate for superintendents in the area, said Travis Riggs, board president.

Marlin Berry, superintendent of the Rogers School District, is scheduled to earn $236,361 for the 2018-19 school year. The Bentonville and Rogers districts are of similar size.

Board members, in their letter to Jones, wrote that although her evaluation reflects several areas where she is outstanding or exceeding expectations, there are still areas for improvement.

Board members encouraged Jones to build consistent district-level direction by reducing autonomy at the building level, to identify the right person to serve as deputy superintendent, to frame issues through policy to guide the board in its decision process, to work on balancing board communication relative to community impact, and to increase staffing in the facilities department, according to the letter.

This is Jones’ second school year as Bentonville’s superintendent. She began with the district as deputy superintendent in February 2016 before being promoted to superintendent about five months later.

Jones