A former Batesville School Superintendent is returning to that role after the resignation of the district’s current superintendent.
Batesville School Superintendent Dr. Michael Hester (pictured above, left) submitted his resignation to the board Thursday evening.
Around 2 p.m. Thursday, the board announced a special meeting would be held a few hours later—at 5:30 p.m. Besides the board’s approval of minutes from the last meeting, the only other item announced for the released agenda was an executive session for human resources.
After about 90 minutes in the executive session, Hester announced his resignation, and the board accepted, 7-0.
The board then unanimously approved a motion naming former BSD Superintendent Dr. T. Kenneth James (pictured above, right) as the new superintendent for the remainder of this school year and the next. James, who has also served as superintendent in Little Rock, Van Buren, and Lexington, Ken., is also the former Arkansas State Commissioner of Education, serving under both Gov. Mike Huckabee and Gov. Mike Beebe.
Hester, a native of Perryville, Ark., moved to Batesville from Topeka, Kan., after being hired by the Batesville School Board in April 2017.
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