Neal joins governor’s staff
LITTLE ROCK — Former Pea Ridge School District superintendent Rick Neal started work this week as the director of Workforce, Education and
Data Transformation on Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s staff.
Neal’s salary will be a $125,000 a year, said Hutchinson spokeswoman Katie Beck.
Neal served as the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas’ education to employee director from July 1 through March 5, Beck said. Neal was superintendent for the Pea Ridge School District from 2011-20, and worked in public education for 36 years.
Hutchinson said Neal will coordinate the Arkansas Ready for Life initiative, a program to connect employees and employers. Hutchinson allocated $14.7 million in federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Funds in support of the Ready for Life program.
“Ready for Life combines a trove of information that will allow employers and job seekers to more easily find each other,” Hutchinson said. “During Rick’s time as a principal and superintendent at Pea Ridge, the School District thrived. He is an energetic administrator with the creativity to help mold Ready for Life into an effective program that will strengthen our workforce, which makes Arkansas a better place for everyone.”
The Ready for Life initiative is a partnership with the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce; the Arkansas Economic Development Commission; the Division of Workforce Services; public schools; the departments of Human Services, Corrections, and Agriculture; and institutions of higher education, according to the governor’s office.