Arkansas school chief ousted before new year

LITTLE ROCK—The superintendent at one of Arkansas’ largest school districts has been ousted, weeks before the school year begins.

The Pulaski County Special School District’s board voted 7-0 Tuesday to immediately dismiss Superintendent Jerry Guess, who’s led the 12,000-student district for six years, the Arkansas DemocratGazette reported. Janice Warren has been appointed the interim district leader until June 2018.

Guess was contracted with the district until 2019, with a $215,000 salary. The 66-year-old will receive six months’ pay, a provision in his contract that totals to $107,500.

“I’ve had a wonderful ride here,” Guess said. “It’s been a great opportunity to work with some wonderful people, accomplish some dramatic things.”

The decision to replace Guess comes after the school board also dismissed its chief legal counsel Allen P. Roberts law firm of Camden. It will be replaced by the Mitchell Williams law firm in Little Rock.

The board said the dismissals were due to Guess and the legal team conducting “backroom” and “side” deals while trying to end a 34-year-old desegregation lawsuit and achieve unitary status. The board said they weren’t being informed and didn’t have input in decisions being made.

A school district is recognized as unitary when its school board has shown that it has affirmatively eliminated all remnants of state-imposed segregation. Pulaski County Special district hasn’t yet been declared unitary or in compliance with its desegregation plan.

Guess said he believes the board is more interested in protecting the district’s boundaries rather than achieving unitary status.

School Board President Linda Remele said the board “wants unitary status and is working hard to achieve it.”