Stuttgart School Board Fills Vacancy

The Stuttgart School Board met recently and decided to shift the order of the agenda, they heard from two candidates who had filed to become the newest board member in Zone 4. The first to speak was Serena Brawley. 

Brawley shared that she was a graduate of SHS in 2001, then went to UCA, returning home to Stuttgart and settling down with her husband and children. She currently holds the office of treasurer for the Band Parents Booster Club. When asked why she decided to try to be a school board member, Brawley said she had a vested interest in the schools, since her oldest son is a Sophomore and is in the band and also plays baseball. She had no complaints about her dealings with the Stuttgart School District. She loves the community and has time to dedicate to a position on the school board.

The next candidate was Lemont Hall, also a graduate of SHS, and a resident of Stuttgart. He said he grew up here, was a football player, ran track, which helped teach him about diversity and how to treat people. He said he was actually asked by others in the community to consider running for school board.

“I’m the guy who never should have gotten to where I am, but I had good support from the school district and others in the community,” said Hall.

He said he would like to play a part in giving back to the community. In his job as a project manager certification he has learned about communication and relationship building. His assets are that he knows how to let people do their job and also how to listen. He understands how budgets work.

His experience with the district was with track and band. His goal is to include himself in the opportunity of being in the know and know what’s going on and what is expected of him.

President Jennifer Payton passed out ballots for the board to fill out and then she counted them. Lemont Hall was made the Zone 4 Representative. He will have to be sworn in and then can begin participating as a board member.

Certified PPC Sarah Strabala said they planned to meet after each board meeting.

In the Superintendent’s report, Superintendent Jeff McKinney said they would tentatively set the bid opening date for October 6. There will be a special board meeting about the budget set for noon on September 24. The next board meeting for October will be on October 20 at 5:30 p.m.

Leondra Williams presented data comparing the 2025-2026 school year with the 2026-2027 school year. In November, 2025 56.6 percent of students were at risk (not ready for 3rd grade). In September, 2026, that was decreased to 32.9 percent. Twelve of the 28 are already receiving Tier 3 services.

Teachers sent students’ parents letters home, they have applied for a high impact tutoring grant and they have targeted 15 students in 3rd grade at level 1. Four out of five receive virtual tutoring starting in early  October until mid-April. October 8 will be parent teacher conferences and promotion status will be given in February. 

“We are headed in the right direction,” said Williams.

McKinney thanked her for “Intentional leadership.”

After the executive session, the board approved the personnel package as presented which included the resignations of Theresa Berryman, William Doty, Emily Cofield and Brittany Davis. They approved the hiring of Montgomery McCastle as custodian.

Next, they approved the Vendor Contract with MTI Greenhouse. $30,975.70 was paid for by a grant leaving $3,234.69 to be paid for a total cost of $34,180.

The board approved the two previous meeting minutes and financial statements, With no more business, the meeting was adjourned.