Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Background Checks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board grants waiver for Ryan Mitchell’s disqualifying criminal background finding, requires reapplication after falsified application
Summary
The Little Rock School District board granted a waiver of a disqualifying offense for applicant Ryan Mitchell, with conditions that she reapply because of a falsified application. The district did not oppose the waiver and recommended option 3 based on the totality of the circumstances.
The Little Rock School District Board of Education on Jan. 30 granted a waiver of a disqualifying criminal background finding for applicant Ryan Mitchell but required Mitchell to reapply because of a falsified employment application.
The district administration told the board it did not oppose a waiver “based on the totality of the circumstances” and recommended the board adopt option 3, which the board approved. The board’s action included language that administration will prepare a resolution for the board president’s signature and that Mitchell’s employment would be subject to further administrative review.
Mitchell, who spoke to the board at the hearing, described the charge as an incident from 2019. “That was a while ago. I was in the wrong place, wrong time, and that is not at all indicative of my character. So may I ask you all’s mercy with that?” Mitchell said. When asked what the assault-on-a-public-servant charge “consisted of,” Mitchell responded, “It consisted of me being attacked from the back and really just responding. I didn’t know that it was an officer.”
Board members moved and seconded the administration’s recommendation. The presiding officer called for a voice vote; members answered “aye” and the chair declared the motion carried. No roll-call tally by name was recorded in the public record.
Why it matters: The board’s action allows Mitchell to remain eligible to reapply for district positions but leaves an administrative review in place because the board said Mitchell falsified parts of her employment application. That condition may affect how and when Mitchell may be rehired.
The hearing record shows the district acknowledged a prior criminal matter in 2019, described the administration’s recommendation as “fair and sound,” and declined to oppose the waiver request. The board did not adopt a permanent hiring entitlement — Mitchell must reapply and pass administrative review.
The board’s personnel hearing concluded before the rest of the meeting’s agenda moved forward.
