Burgess winner of Bentonville seat

Incumbent remains on school board

BENTONVILLE — Matt Burgess earned a second term on the School Board winning Tuesday’s race for the Zone 6 seat against Kirk Barnett.

The board’s Zone 6 covers parts of central and south Bentonville.

The complete but unofficial vote totals were: Burgess . . . . . . . . 2,699 (77%) Barnett. . . . . . . . . . . 800 (23%)

Burgess, 47, is a lawyer for Walmart. He earned his bachelor’s degree in education before entering law school. The native of Springfield, Mo., has lived in Bentonville since 2006. He and his wife, a Bright Field Middle School math teacher, have two children in the district.

Burgess won his first term on the board in 2013. Since then the School District has opened three new schools and passed a millage increase to pay for four more, which are expected to open within the next several years.

Burgess has served in the Lunch Buddies program for seven years, mentoring a young person during weekly visits to school. He said he’s coached 30 football, softball, baseball and soccer teams and served on the Bentonville Youth Football Association board.

Barnett, 38, also has two children in the district. He served as president of the parent-teacher organization at Willowbrook Elementary School the last two school years.

Act 910 of the 2017 legislative session changed the timing of school board elections from the third Tuesday of September to either May or November. Bentonville was one of 33 boards in the state — and the only one in Northwest Arkansas — to choose November.

Burgess