GENTRY — A reception will be held for Randy Barrett, superintendent of public schools, from 2 until 4:30 p.m. on Friday, May 12, in the Gentry Middle and High School Cafeteria. Barrett is retiring on June 30 after serving the district as superintendent for 25 years.
Barrett and his wife Regenia lived in Gentry for a year back in 1986 when Barrett was working on his doctorate at the University of Arkansas. They fell in love with Gentry and its people and, when opportunity arose several years later, in 1992, to come back as superintendent of schools, the decision was an easy one for Barrett.
And over the past 25 years Barrett has headed the school district, which was struggling financially when he came, it was able to build a new middle school in 1995, a middle school auditorium and a vocational agriculture building in 1999, the middle and high school cafeteria in 2001, an addition to the high school in 2006, a new primary school in 2007, the Pioneer Activities Complex in 2013, the Pioneer Stadium concession stand in 2014 and improvements to the baseball and softball fields, as well as other improvement projects. A new diesel mechanics lab and career classroom facility is currently under construction, and a new classroom facility for the intermediate school will soon be under construction. The school district, just a year ago, also obtained an Act 1240 waiver and then conversion charter school status for the high school to better prepare students who do not go on to college for careers in the workplace.
While these things were accomplished during Barrett's tenure as superintendent in Gentry, he gives the credit for all the accomplishments to the school boards and the people in the Gentry School District who approved seven millage increases over the past 25 years to provide the best facilities possible for the education of their children.
Thanks to the support of district patrons, Barrett was also able to almost double the beginning teacher's salary from 1992 to 2017 and created a differentiated salary schedule with compounded 3.1 percent steps for classified employees.
According to Barrett, a little knowledge of school district history is helpful in understanding the district's course over the past 25 years. He said Gentry went from being a somewhat poor rural school district to being a well-to-do district quickly when Southwestern Electric Power Company built the Flint Creek Power Plant and when McKee Foods came to Gentry. The Gentry School Board used some of the additional revenue to guarantee a bond and purchase property along Pioneer Lane (then called Cemetery Road) and build a new high school. Then, due to a state law change, money gained from the power plant had to be disbursed over a wider area because the power plant provides power across the region. This put the school district in somewhat of a bind since incoming revenue was cut and the district still had to pay its bond payment.
Barrett said he has focused much attention over the years on getting the district the facilities and technology it needed to provide students with a quality education. Now, he said, it's time for the district to focus more on the academic side and open up more and more opportunities for students to pursue studies which will best suit their needs and goals, whether that be going on to earn a college or professional degree or to obtain the career training needed to get a good-paying job after high school.
Barrett referred to himself as "a rows and columns type of guy" or "a bean counter," to explain that his focus has been on the school district's finances and the buildings and things which were needed to make it successful. He said he might be able to change his focus toward people and academics but said he had in Judy Winslett, assistant superintendent, and Terrie Metz, federal curriculum coordinator and soon to be superintendent, two well-qualified educators who are people oriented and focused on academics. He said focusing on people and their academic needs is the strong suit of Metz and Winslett, saying it is "their cup of tea."
Barrett said he felt confident the school district would be in good hands after he leaves.
Barrett earned his bachelor's degree in English and science education in 1976 from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and began teaching at Dumas Junior High School. He continued his studies and earned his master's degree in education and his education specialist's degree. He then served as principal at Hughes High School and later became assistant superintendent of the district. He completed his doctorate in education in 1988, serving in Gentry as graduate assistant in the 1986-1987 school year. He then returned to Dumas and served as the junior high principal until he was hired to take over as superintendent of schools for the Gentry district in 1992. He has served with the Arkansas Department of Education in numerous roles during his time in Gentry and was recently nominated as the area superintendent of the year for 2017.
After 41 years in public education, Barrett has no immediate plans for his life after retiring on June 30. His wife Regenia will continue to teach for another year and, according to Barrett, told him he needed to go out and "get another job."
Their two sons, Jason and Jonathan, are both in the area, along with their two grandchildren, so Barrett anticipates he and Regenia will continue to live in Gentry or nearby in the years to come.
Barrett expressed his confidence that it was Jesus who brought him and his family to Gentry and that, upon his retirement, Jesus would also have a new job for him to do, though he admitted he had no idea yet what that might be.
"I'm really going to miss the people I work with here," Barrett said, adding that one of his coworkers in the office was already working in the district before he came and the rest have been in the office for a good part of his 25 years as superintendent.
General News on 05/03/2017