x
Breaking News
More () »

Fort Smith Schools Superintendent Announces Retirement

FORT SMITH (KFSM) — Fort Smith Schools Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2016 school year. Gooden had be...

FORT SMITH (KFSM) -- Fort Smith Schools Superintendent Dr. Benny Gooden has announced that he will retire at the end of the 2016 school year.

Gooden had been the superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools since August 1986.

"This is my 41st year as a school superintendent, my 50th year working in public schools, and you come to a time when you think there's something else maybe you might want to consider," Gooden said.

In a letter to the Board of Education, Gooden said, “After reflecting on your stated desire for a new direction and with a realization that there are other pursuits for me which the obligations of the job have prevented, I have decided that it is time to transition from the 24/7 life of a school administrator to a less-confining lifestyle. I am not “quitting work,” but there are other things I can do which will be rewarding and productive.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your superintendent of schools for the past three decades. I believe in the future of public education in Fort Smith—just as I believe in the future of this great community and its people.  I will retire effective June 30, 2016.”

Members of the school board, like Bill Hanesworth, said they were blindsided by the announcement.

"Tonight was a shock we were hoping that he would stay and lead us through to the next leadership position and take us into the future," Hanesworth said.

Hanesworth said this comes after the board decided in their last meeting not to renew Gooden's three-year contract in anticipation of his retirement in the next few years.

"We had an option to renew it for a year to give him three," Hanesworth said. "We decided not to do it. We would go from two, and then next year we would decide where we were going to go from there, so again like I said earlier we had hoped that we would be able to provide a transition over the next two years, but that's changed now."

But, Gooden said he's not out of education for good.

"Obviously, I'll still teach for the University of Arkansas," Gooden said. "I've done that for a number of years, and I don't plan to stop that, and I'll be working in the field of education as opportunities are presented."

A release from the school district stated that Gooden has worked within the confines of a 36.5 millage rate since 1987.

Upon retiring at the end of the 2016 school year, Gooden will have completed 30 years of working as the chief executive office for the Fort Smith School District.

To read Gooden's letter to the school board, click here.

Gooden is a member of the West-Ark Church of Christ and the Fort Smith Noon Lions Club.  He serves as a member of the Board of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Board of the Fort Smith Health Care Foundation and the Board of the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education. In 2001, he was the recipient of the Jack White Community Leadership award presented by the Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association.

Before You Leave, Check This Out