West Memphis names new superintendent

WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (WMC) - On Tuesday, the West Memphis School Board unanimously voted to appoint Dr. Terrence Brown as the school’s new superintendent.

Brown is the current deputy superintendent at Forrest City School District.

Board president JoAnn Faulkner says there were four finalists for the job, but could not say how many people applied.

“He’s going to be the best fit for this district,” said Faulkner. “He’ll hear when the news spreads that we selected him. We’re glad to have Dr. Brown.”

She says Brown was selected because of his vision for the district.

“His leadership has been proven,” said Faulkner. “It’s a long list. I wouldn’t dare try to go over that. He came in with a 100-day plan. He’s already got that in place if we selected him. He’s willing to work with the board to see where we go moving forward.”

Dr. Brown is currently the deputy superintendent at Forrest City Schools, less than 40 minutes away from West Memphis.

He’s been in the position since July 2022, focused on expanding that district’s career and technical education program.

He also has 30 years of education experience, some of those years in Memphis where he was a former principal at Kingsbury High School and executive director of the Division of College, Career and Technical Education.

Dr. Brown’s official start date has not been announced yet but he is expected to begin in time for the beginning of the new school year.

The interim superintendent’s last day will be June 19.

The news comes a month after the board fired superintendent Richard Atwill.

Atwill was appointed in May 2022 after former Superintendent Jon Collins resigned.

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