In 1994, Linda and I plus our three kids (Matt, Brian, and Meredith—in the upper right part of the photo) were leaving one of the nation’s best school districts for my new job in Benton County, and we didn’t know where to make our home. We did our homework about school districts in Northwest Arkansas, and there was no doubt. We moved to Fayetteville and I commuted 45 minutes each way. We never regretted it.
Some of the facilities were new and great, some not-so-new and not-so-great. Almost all the teachers did a spectacular job of challenging our kids. And whether it was football, GT, choir, literary magazine, drama, basketball, or teen leadership, we could see that our kids were getting the best that the district and the community had to offer. No doubts. No regrets.
If we were moving to Northwest Arkansas in 2008 instead of 1994, would we make the same decision? Would Rogers’ AP test scores, or Bentonville’s music program, or Springdale’s new high school make us think twice before choosing Fayetteville? The truth is we’d have to think twice. And there WOULD be some doubts.
But the decisions we will make on the Fayetteville school board in the next three years could put us back to the place where a decision FOR Fayetteville would create no doubts. Where the district and the community would unite instead of split. Where new families would know they would never regret choosing Fayetteville Public Schools.
I ask for your vote and a chance to use my experience to make a choice for Fayetteville an easy one for the next family – just like yours and mine.
