Successor plan in place in Bentonville Schools administration

BENTONVILLE — The School District now has a clear succession plan in case of a sudden vacancy in the superintendent’s office.

Deputy superintendent responsibilities will be added to the chief financial officer’s position starting this summer under a plan the School Board approved last week.

Dena Ross, chief operating officer, said the position would be advertised because its duties changed. Executive Director of Finance Janet Schwanhausser was listed in the position on a revised organizational chart given to the board.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the best person for that position is right here in the room, sitting in the back,” Ross said, referring to Schwanhausser, while addressing the board at its March 11 meeting.

The salary range for the chief financial officer-deputy superintendent position will be $125,038 to $156,783. Schwanhausser’s salary this school year is $121,085, according to district documents.

Debbie Jones was hired as deputy superintendent by then-Superintendent Michael Poore in January 2016. Jones became superintendent later that year after Poore accepted the Little Rock superintendent’s job.

She opted not to fill the deputy position immediately. Bentonville, with an enrollment of 17,240 students, is the state’s only large district that operates without either a deputy or assistant superintendent, Ross said.

Eric White, board president, clarified Jones has no intention of leaving the district.

“For me, this was really about a succession plan in the event something happened,” White said. “If we needed to switch leadership overnight, we now have a plan.”

The board recently completed its annual evaluation of Jones’ performance. Jones received an overall rating of 3.7 on a scale of 5.0 on her evaluation covering March 1, 2018, through Feb. 28, according to a letter signed by board members. She received a 3.9 on the same scale on last year’s evaluation.

The board granted her a 1 percent raise for the 2019-20 school year, which will bring her salary to $237,350.