Pulaski County school board denies grievance from communications director Jessica Duff; nonrenewal debated

The Pulaski County Special School District Board of Education on June 10 denied a grievance filed by communications director Jessica Duff over a written reprimand and related personnel concerns, voting 5–2 to reject the grievance.

Duff attended a level‑3 grievance hearing after she appealed a formal reprimand dated April 25, 2025. The grievance hearing focused on whether the reprimand — which referenced concerns about Duff’s interactions with administrators and board members — was justified and whether the superintendent’s subsequent notice that Duff would not be offered a contract for 2025–26 was properly raised in the hearing.

Board hearing officer Miss Street presided over the proceeding. Attorney Kyan Eddings, representing Duff, argued that the May 7 nonrenewal notice was issued before Duff could fully pursue the grievance process and said the reprimand language had been used as a basis for the nonrenewal. District counsel Jay Beckett urged the board not to allow the nonrenewal to be litigated that night, saying the district’s classified grievance policy and state law limit how and when nonrenewal issues are appealed.

During testimony, Superintendent Dr. Gess said he had documented concerns that he said showed a pattern of Duff "exceeding the authority of her position and at times circumventing the authority of other employees." In response Duff disputed aspects of the reprimand and provided supporting records and screenshots she said showed the district had mischaracterized timelines.

After an executive‑session deliberation, the board voted 5–2 to deny the grievance; board president and two trustees dissented. The motion to deny covered the matters raised in the level‑3 grievance: it rejected Duff’s request to overturn the reprimand. The board limited the hearing to the reprimand itself and voted earlier not to allow the nonrenewal decision to be added to the hearing agenda that evening.

Board members said they had to balance procedural rules, statutes and the evidence presented. The hearing included discussion of Arkansas statute guidance and an attorney‑general opinion cited by Duff’s counsel about whether nonrenewals can be pursued through local grievance procedures when an employee learns of a nonrenewal during a contract term.

The board also voted on related personnel items after the hearing; multiple hiring addenda and hiring reports were approved in the same meeting.

The decision leaves in place the written reprimand issued April 25 and does not overturn the district’s nonrenewal process as applied to Duff. The board’s packet and the hearing record show written exchanges between Duff, the superintendent and district counsel dating to April and May 2025 that were central to the dispute.