Halsell gets strong support for election coming Tuesday

Jim Halsell offers vision and supports positive change in Fayetteville schools
By Janine Parry
I urge readers to support Jim Halsell for school board on Oct. 7.
Although the other candidate has an admirable resume, I am most impressed by Jim's thoughtful manner and long-standing, substantive involvement with our schools.
As the past vice president and president of the PTO at Washington Elementary, and the coordinator of the school's spectacular outdoor classroom partnership with the architecture program at the University of Arkansas, Jim has demonstrated several qualities desirable in a school-board candidate: steadfast commitment to students, teachers and parents; a collaborative leadership style; and a preference for long-term planning based on plentiful community input.
Jim Halsell has earned the enthusiastic support of parents, teachers, past school-board members and others because he is on the record as a reasoned advocate for walkable schools, a comprehensive plan for the future of Fayetteville High School (including an explicit discussion of school size) and the employment of a new superintendent with experience as a teacher and principal. He also, having attended dozens of school-board meetings over the years, is astonishingly well prepared to assist with the expansion pre-K as well as with the complicated problem of redistricting our grade schools.
In short, Jim Halsell is right on the issues; he also has a record - a long one - of concrete, continuous service to our students, teachers and community. We would be lucky to have him join our school board. Please vote early at the county courthouse (Sept. 30-Oct. 6 ) or on Election Day (Oct. 7 ). And join me in voting for Jim Halsell. He has the experience, the knowledge and the vision to help us make a positive change in this district.
Janine Parry / Fayetteville