How About Acting Like Adults? (Editorial)

Jon Eubanks

The front page of the Aug. 19 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette contained another fine example of what the state’s citizens will miss on that democracy-ending day when they get all their news from Twitter.

The D-G’s Michael Wickline reported that state Rep. Jon Eubanks, R-Paris, admitted being behind the delay of contracts and construction projects at colleges in the University of Arkansas System because the UA hadn’t hired his pick for a job.

Eubanks wanted the UA to name Tina Smith, director of policy and special projects at the state Department of Education, as director of the Arkansas Leadership Academy, which provides training in leadership skills to public school employees. Instead, the UA hired Huntsville Public Schools Superintendent Clint Jones.

Eubanks said he had nothing against Jones, other than the fact that he was a school superintendent. “I don’t want to stereotype everybody in education, especially principals or superintendents, but it seems like we just weren’t taking the steps necessarily to develop the leadership that we needed at the building level,” Eubanks told the newspaper.

But UA spokesman Mark Rushing said the preferred qualifications for director of the academy included experience as a school principal, which Jones has, as well as a doctoral degree, which Jones also has. Smith lacks these qualifications.

The UA contracts and projects finally cleared the Legislative Council Aug. 17, but not before state Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, noted that Phillips County Community College “was desperately in need of repairing air-conditioning units of about three quarter of a million dollars … and this hold cost them 30 days on getting that repaired.”

Eubanks’ interference was probably more nuisance than not, but it’s an example of pettiness that serves no one, least of all the citizens of Arkansas.