2 White Hall students expelled

Two White Hall Middle School students were expelled for the rest of the school year during a special called school board meeting Wednesday evening.

White Hall School District Superintendent Doug Dorris said one student was banned after allegedly making a threat, but did not describe the nature of it at length.

“There was not a weapon involved. There was just a threat made,” Dorris said.

The student’s parents requested a closed hearing.

The other expelled student was accused of saying on a bus that she would bring a gun to school the following morning. School Principal Les Davis said the statement caused an uproar among the other students, who then told their parents about it. One or more of the parents contacted White Hall police and school officials about the perceived threat, and an officer went to the student’s house to ask her about it, Davis said. The girl reportedly denied making the statement.

Board trustee Roy Agee asked Davis about the events that led to the student allegedly making the statement, and Davis said he couldn’t make out what happened after watching surveillance video with district facilities and transportation supervisor Cedric Hawkins. The girl allegedly made the statement while positioned under the camera, but Davis said he didn’t see any malicious acts that led to the statement.

Both students will be allowed to continue their studies through Google Classroom during their expulsion. They are the seventh and eighth White Hall students to be banned from campus for the rest of this school year.

“You have to take everything so serious now,” Dorris said. “What used to take place 20 years ago or five years ago, you didn’t have to worry about it. Now, to see kids make threats and come back and make it happen, we just don’t want to be in a situation where that’s going to happen to us.”

Dorris agreed when asked if the covid-19 pandemic has had a psychological effect on students.

“I’m sure it [put] some pressure on the kids and made them think about things a little more than they have in the past,” he said. “But it’s still no excuse why you’ve got to act like this because we’ve got teachers on duty and we’ve got people around all the time. If you’ve been bullied, you need to go to a teacher or a principal or a resource officer. We’ve got a resource officer on every campus. We’re not going to put up with bullying going on or anything. But with threats, you’ve got to take them seriously.”

MALLETT ON CAMPUS

New high school football Coach Ryan Mallett is officially on board in the WHSD.

Mallett was hired in February to replace Bobby Bolding, who led the Bulldogs to the 5A state football championship game in December. Bolding remains as the district’s athletic director.

A former University of Arkansas and NFL quarterback, Mallett, 33, was most recently offensive coordinator at Mountain Home High School. In addition to preparing the Bulldogs for spring practice, he is teaching health classes at White Hall Middle School, Dorris said.

Mallett has given his duties as a strength coach to Jason Mitchell, who will take over the girls track and field program next school year but has stepped down as assistant high school boys basketball coach.

Madison Back has also been hired as the new high school volleyball head coach and assistant high school track coach, as well as a history teacher for 2022-23.

PERSONNEL MOVES

In other WHSD personnel matters:

■ The district received resignation letters from Lexi Reimer as Moody and Gandy Elementary music teacher; Anthony Miller as sixthgrade math, assistant middle school football head middle school girls track and field coach; and Spencer Hartley as high school science teacher, all effective at the end of this school year.

■ New hires, all effective at the start of the 2022-23 school year (pending background checks), include Clara Taylor as Taylor and Gandy Elementary music teacher; Hunter Vincent as high school history teacher and assistant coach; Haley Morrison as Moody and Gandy Elementary music teacher; Lake Hollowell as high school science teacher; Josh Baldwin as high school science teacher and assistant football coach; Andi Lunsford as sixth-grade math teacher; and Jessica Persons as a special education paraprofessional at Taylor.

■ Tony Law will be promoted from district assistant bus mechanic to head bus mechanic, effective July 1.