Superintendents of two Northwest Arkansas school districts are finalists for the director's position at the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative.
Charles Cudney, the director since 2014, is retiring at the end of June. Those interested in the job had until Monday to apply.
Four educators applied and one withdrew her application, Andrea Martin, president of the cooperative's board and Greenland superintendent, said.
"I was expecting more candidates," Martin said.
A board subcommittee decided Thursday to interview Rick Neal, Pea Ridge superintendent, and Bryan Law, Farmington superintendent, according to Martin. Those interviews will be Jan. 6-9.
The cooperative provides training and programs for teachers and administrators on all aspects of teaching, learning, school operations and state laws. Superintendents of the 15 school districts in Benton and Washington counties and the Huntsville district comprise its board.
The cooperative has 99 employees and a $7.5 million budget, according to Cudney.
The chosen candidate will become the cooperative's fifth director since 1990. The board will set the director's salary upon hiring, per the cooperative's policy. Cudney's salary is $132,000 with a $6,000 travel allowance, Martin said.
The finalists for the job have similar backgrounds as leaders of small but rapidly growing school districts.
Law, 57, has overseen the Farmington district since 2012. He was assistant superintendent for seven years before that. He has a master's degree in education from Harding University, according to his resume.
Neal, 58, has been Pea Ridge's superintendent since 2011. He replaced Mike Van Dyke, who left for the cooperative director's job. Prior to becoming superintendent, Neal was principal of Pea Ridge High School for five years and was a middle school principal for five years before that. He has a master's degree in education, with a specialty in educational leadership, from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla.
Cudney, 66, is a Green Forest native. He has worked 44 years in education, starting as a teacher in Prairie Grove. He was a superintendent for 25 years in Missouri, including 15 years in the Monett School District.
Cudney retired from Monett and returned to Arkansas in 2008. Tom Kimbrell, state education commissioner at the time, hired him in 2010 to lead the Greenland School District just as it was emerging from state control, the result of severe financial problems in the district.
Cudney guided Greenland back to financial stability before being hired as the cooperative's director in 2014. He called retirement a "mixed blessing," adding he's loved being in education.
"He is definitely a gem," Martin said about Cudney. "He has incredible rapport across the state with other superintendents and cooperative directors. He's a wealth of knowledge."
General News on 12/11/2019