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Hearing on termination of Little Rock Southwest aide postponed after board lacks quorum
Summary
A scheduled April 15 employee hearing on a superintendent recommendation to terminate Frederick Lovett, a special-education instructional aide at Little Rock Southwest High School, was recessed and rescheduled after a board member recused and the board lacked a quorum. No decision was made.
The Little Rock School District board recessed and rescheduled an employee hearing set for 5:30 p.m. on April 15 to consider terminating the employment contract of Frederick Lovett, a special-education instructional aide at Little Rock Southwest High School, after the board did not have a quorum.
The superintendent had recommended termination, citing excessive absences. An administration representative told the board the district would present testimony that Lovett had missed more than 50 work days since the start of the school year and that disciplinary measures taken earlier had failed to resolve attendance problems. "In short, board members, we have reached the end of the road with Mr. Lovett," the administration representative said.
Lovett appeared at the hearing and asked the board not to uphold the termination recommendation. "I would like some consideration ... I would like a second chance," Frederick Lovett said in brief opening remarks, adding that he loves children and planned to call his teacher, Miss Blackwell, as a witness. He told the board he had no paperwork to submit at the hearing and acknowledged the missed days.
The district called George Maxey, principal of Little Rock Southwest High School, as a witness for the administration and began the witness-identification process, but halted the hearing to resolve administrative matters. During the recess a board member, identified in the record as Ms. Callaway, indicated she needed to recuse herself. Staff discussed whether another board member could be reached but were unable to secure one.
When the board reconvened, the presiding officer announced there was no quorum and that the hearing would be rescheduled "as quickly as we can." No testimony was heard from Maxey and no evidentiary record was completed; no vote or formal board action on the superintendent's recommendation occurred.
The district provided a packet of documents for the board in advance of the hearing. According to the administration's outline to the board, the materials and expected testimony were intended to show more than 50 days of absences and prior disciplinary steps. The exact contents of the packet and any additional evidence to be presented were not read into the record before the hearing was recessed.
Next steps: The board will schedule a new date for the personnel hearing. The administration stated it will make an effort to hold the hearing promptly; no new date was announced at the session.
