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Residents urge Pine Bluff School District board to pick internal interim superintendent and reinstate football coach
Summary
Multiple residents used public comment to urge the Pine Bluff School District board to appoint an internal interim superintendent to preserve recent test-score gains, to reinstate the school's head football coach, and to address a claimed $3.2 million cyber theft that speakers said could threaten district finances.
Members of the Pine Bluff community pressed the school board during public comment to select an internal interim superintendent and to reinstate the district's head football coach, while one speaker raised concerns about a reported $3.2 million cyber theft that he said could affect the district's fiscal stability.
Several speakers asked the board to prioritize continuity in leadership. Erline Collins thanked board members for their service and said the district's test scores "had really, really improved," noting she spoke with a deputy commissioner of the Texas Department of Education and saying the district should keep momentum by choosing an interim superintendent from inside the district — typically an assistant or deputy superintendent — so the transition is "seamless." "We don't want to go backwards. We want to continue going forward," Collins said.
Bishop J. Caulclay delivered a three-part request to the board: appoint Ms. Monica McMurray as acting superintendent; fully reinstate the former head football coach; and appoint Coach Starling to fill the vacant zone four position.
James Wilburn, identifying himself as a Pine Bluff stakeholder, also urged reinstatement of the head coach, saying the controversy has gone on "long enough" and that the coach had mentored many young men. "Where do you go to get your reputation back?" Wilburn asked, saying the board should act to restore the coach's position.
Eric Mayfield appealed to the board's oath and state ethics requirements, explicitly citing Arkansas Code Annotated 6-24-101. He urged members to consider whether their votes reflect the district's best interest, arguing that repeated turnover and hiring from outside the community have undermined continuity.
Julius Wright, closing the public-comment period, described the district as "in a state of urgency" and said the board should seek "a competent leader to ensure the education of our students and our finances are stabilized." Wright said, "We are aware that the 3.2 million cyber theft may have impact on our fiscal stability," a claim not resolved during the comment period.
No formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript during the public-comment segment. Speakers used the three-minute public-comment allotment to request personnel decisions and to press the board on financial and leadership concerns; the transcript does not show board responses or a formal decision on the items raised.
What happens next: the board's public-comment period ended after the speakers' remarks; the transcript does not record any immediate action, vote, or staff direction in response to the requests.
