Oliphant, Moore elected to Gravette School Board

GRAVETTE — Jay Oliphant, who has served five years on the Gravette School Board, narrowly defeated challenger James Brown Jr. for the Position 1 post on the school board in the Sept. 19 school board election. Jodi Moore defeated Raegena Davis for the Position 2 post by a wider margin.

According to unofficial results released last week, Jay Oliphant received 122 votes (51 percent) to James H. Brown Jr’s 116 votes (49 percent). Jodi Moore received 152 votes (65 percent) to Raegena Davis at 81 votes (35 percent) in the election. Both Oliphant and Moore will serve five-year terms on the board.

Oliphant stated that he wished to continue serving the students in the Gravette community for another 5 years to “continue progress in collaboration with Bentonville, Decatur and Gentry School Districts on expanding vocational opportunities for Gravette students and to continue effective financial stewardship of the District.”

He brings with him 35 years of experience as a certified public accountant.

Moore stated she sought election to keep the Gravette School District headed in its current direction. She too said she wanted to see the district continue working on vocational education opportunities for Gravette students.

“I would like to see the district continue with its growth of the Western Benton County Career Center. I believe this is a great asset to our area,” Moore said.

Ty Russell ran unopposed for the remainder of the Position 4 post’s term. Gentry and Decatur had no contested races.