Officials Interview Principal Candidates

FARMINGTON — The Farmington School District is bringing in three top candidates — all men — to interview for the high school principal’s position, according to Superintendent Bryan Law.

School officials originally asked five candidates to come for interviews but two applicants, a woman and man, withdrew their names last week, one because he has accepted another position and the other for personal reasons.

In all, the district received 30 applications for the position.

Law said one of the candidates was interviewed last week and the remaining two will be interviewed the week of March 25. Two of the top candidates are from Arkansas and the third one is from a high school in Texas.

Law said he probably would call a special meeting of the Farmington School Board when the

administration is ready to make a recommendation for the position.

The candidates will interview with three committees, as well as meeting separately with Law.

The high school teacher committee includes Jennifer Harp, Jennifer Mesa, Michael Mason, Becky Robinson, Pamela House and Jim Spillars.

The principal committee includes Stephanie Pinkerton, Kara Gardenhire, Julia Williams, Terry Lakey and Bob Echols.

Assistant superintendents Clint Jones and Terri Strope also will interview the candidates.

Following is information from the resumes of each candidate (in alphabetical order):

• Rob Lindley is currently principal for Valley View High School in Jonesboro. He has served in that position since 2004.

His past administrative experience, according to his one-page resume, includes assistant principal and high school baseball coach at Riverview High School in Searcy from 2003-2004. Before that, he served as a teacher and coach from 1990-2003 at Greene County Tech in Paragould.

• Jon D. Purifoy is associate principal for Marshall High School in Marshall, Texas. The high school has an average student population of 1,500.

Pu r i foy’s one- page resume says he is the 11th grade assistant, the Crime Stoppers sponsor and has oversight for discipline for all grade levels. He also manages personnel and facilities and supervises all assistant principals, facility repair, maintenance, security and the custodial staff.

Purifoy has been with Marshall High School since 2003, according to his resume. His other education experience at the school includes associate principal, head softball coach, special education principal and health teacher. Previously, he worked as a health teacher and junior high and high school coach for Jefferson Independent School District in Jefferson, Texas.

• Chad A. Scott, who holds a doctorate degree in educational administration, is an assistant principal at Bentonville High School and has served in that position since July 2009. Scott previously served as assistant principal at Hellstern Middle School in Springdale from 20052009, and assistant principal at Southwest Junior High in Springdale from 1998-2005. From 1993-1998, he served as a mathematics teacher and coach at schools in Texas.

Scott’s two-page resume states that he was involved in implementing Professional Learning Communities at Bentonville High and has administrative oversight of the high school’s financial systems and procedures and the math and world languages departments. He created and implemented the BHS teacher evaluation scheduling and procedures and serves on the school’s Online Learning Steering Committee. He also was involved in designing a new junior high, ninth grade center and second high school.

On his resume, Scott states that he is an “expert” in several areas, including teacher performance evaluation and relationship-building aspects of leadership and is “proficient” in other areas, which includes the framework and implementation of Professional Learning Communities.