Ben resigns, Jeff Gravette will replace him as Decatur superintendent

Ben
Ben

DECATUR -- "Stability" is a word Larry Ben used to describe the current status of the Decatur School District.

Ben tendered his resignation as superintendent of the Decatur school distinct April 8, effective June 30, at the end of the 2013-14 school year. He will assume the superintendent position of the Greenland School District in July.

Before taking his first superintendent job with Decatur, Ben worked 11 years for the Rogers School District, three years as principal at a Rogers Middle School, one year as assistant principal at Rogers High School and seven years as principal at the sophomore campus of Rogers High School.

When Ben assumed his role as superintendent in July of 2010, he found a system in serious trouble. The district was just emerging from fiscal distress, imposed by the state board of education in 2008. It faced falling enrollment numbers, low test scores, poor morale and a lack of confidence in the school system by the community. In fact, Decatur High School lacked enough players to put together a football team and had to cancel the 2009 season.

During the 2011-12 school year, things began to turn around for Decatur schools. Ben began to attract new talent to both Northside Elementary and Decatur High School, which gave a much needed boost in morale and enabled the existing faculty and staff to feel good about teaching at Decatur once again.

In a statement released to administrators, faculty and staff on April 8, Ben cited teamwork for the continued growth in the Decatur schools.

"The quality of service provided by each department has led to early growth in enrollment as parents have regained confidence in the school," Ben wrote.

"Since emerging from fiscal distress in 2010, the financial condition has grown by 26 percent, making it possible to make some needed improvements and to move forward with some building projects, such as the safe room and a planned total renovation of the old elementary," Ben said.

Ben was approached by two Arkansas School districts looking to fill their superintendent vacancies. In the case of the first district, a representative of the Arkansas Department of Education recommended Ben as a possible candidate. In the second case, he was approached by a representative of the Greenland school district and asked if he was interested.

After very careful consideration, Ben decided to take the Greenland district offer.

"It is an opportunity to grow professionally," Ben stated. "This is another step in my career."

The Decatur School Board met in special session to accept Ben's resignation and begin the candidate search.

According to Ben, Decatur has several good qualities that could attract several qualified superintendent candidates.

"There are features of this district that might be appealing to a potential candidate," Ben stated, "a great community, great school board, great place to live and raise kids and a great quality of life are all here."

In a special meeting on Monday, the Decatur School Board met to interview Jeff Gravette for the position of superintendent. Following the interview, the board met in open session and voted 5-0 to offer Jeff Gravette a two-year contract for 2014-15 through 2015-16 at an annual salary of $88,000 and $90,000, respectively. On Tuesday morning, Gravette accepted the offer.

"I believe the school board is happy to be able to promote a fine administrator and I feel his knowledge of the district will be an asset in the transition," Ben said Tuesday. "Also, being on site will be another advantage as he prepares for next year."

Ben is proud of the many strides in the advancement of education the district made during his time as superintendent. But he is quick to point out that it was a joint team effort on the part of the school board, administrators, faculty and staff, parents and the community for his success and that of the district in the last four years.

"I want to thank each of you for your contribution to this district in my time here and say that I am proud to have worked along side each of you and look forward to continuing professional relationships as well as personal friendships," Ben stated. "I feel like the confidence has grown here with the parents and the community. The school district is here, it will continue to serve kids, families and community well and it is 'not' going away and I think that feeling is important."

"I have enjoyed every bit of being superintendent of the Decatur district," Ben concluded. "I am proud to have been a part of the effort to build the district to the point that it is today."

Accomplishments of the Decatur School District under Larry Ben include:

• Climbing enrollment, 2013-14 enrollment stands at 556.

• Financial condition grown by 26 percent.

• Reopening the Middle School for grades 6-8.

• Safe room for Northside Elementary.

• 89 percent of 7-12 graders participating on a sports team, music group, or academic team.

• Improving broadband to 36 Mbps (megabits per second).

• 2013 Graduating class made highest test scores on the ACT in 10 years.

• Decatur High School earned a Bronze Medal from the U.S. News and World Report "Best High Schools in U.S."

• Decatur sports program won several district, regional and state titles, including the 2A-4W district championship in 2014.

• Updating technologies included the acquisition of several new iPods and iPads.

General News on 04/16/2014