LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Tuesday night, the Little Rock School District took a major step towards picking a new superintendent by moving forward with just one of their two final candidates in the hiring process.
The job search began after current superintendent Michael Poore announced back in December that he would retire at the end of the school year.
School board members made a unanimous decision Tuesday to recommend Dr. Jermall Wright for the job.
After the over two hour long meeting, board members were excited to continue with a final candidate as they took time tonight to thank everyone that took part in the search.
Candidate Dr. Wright comes from Mississippi where he is a current superintendent.
Wright and another candidate were also both brought to Little Rock last week for in-person interviews.
State Senator Joyce Elliot (D-Little Rock) shared the only public comment in the meeting before the decision -- voicing her support for Dr. Wright and sharing with us her hope for future action with the candidate.
"...please sit down with me and let's talk about what it means to have a world class system, not one that's based on adequacy. Adequacy is not good enough. Little Rock can be a light for this country, if we decide to do it," Senator Elliot said.
The board president and district legal team now plan to move forward with Dr. Wright's background checks and contract negotiations.
LRSD was careful not to say that they had hired a new superintendent, but rather that they are moving ahead with Dr. Wright as a final candidate, still pending those additional background and legal checks.
More information is expected Tuesday, May 3rd in a board meeting on the topic.