The Conway School District board voted to extend the district’s strategic planning and superintendent-search consulting engagement to June 30 to complete both the search and a final multi-year strategic plan. Dr. Jeff Standridge told the board the added scope (January through June) does not change the consultant fee; he described deliverables including final superintendent candidates, transition and onboarding assistance, community-engagement focus groups in January, and a completed strategic plan.

Dr. Standridge also advised both the public and board members on hearing-related ethics: he said that if a parent or community member sends detailed personnel complaints directly to a board member, that communication could require the board member to recuse themself from adjudicating the matter at a hearing. He urged board members to avoid direct involvement with personnel complaints to preserve impartial adjudication.

Separately, the district previewed a public-facing continuous improvement dashboard developed to increase transparency. Shanda Nuh demonstrated a first iteration showing district and school letter grades (including links to Arkansas Department of Education report-card data), ATLAS and college- and career-ready indicators (ACT, PSAT, AP), and operational metrics such as attendance and behavior. Presenters said simulated grades were used for 2023–24 under the state’s new formula, and official grades for 2024–25 reflect that new formula; the dashboard is expected to go live on the district website after the new year.

The board approved the consultant extension and indicated the dashboard and strategic planning work will be coordinated moving forward; the district did not announce additional funding approvals beyond confirming the district’s capacity to proceed.