Scott Gatlin, who submitted his resignation to the Jackson-Madison County School Board in May, released a statement on his resignation early Monday morning.
Here’s what Gatlin said in that statement:
“It has been an honor to serve on the JMCSS school board for the past two years. I am proud of the strides that our district has made.
“I can confirm that I have offered my resignation from the JMCSS School Board in order to pursue a position with the school district in the area of school safety. I believe that my background makes me a desirable and capable candidate in this area.
“I can also confirm that I am leaving my job at Youth Town as school principal in good standing. My departure from Youth Town is unrelated to the JMCSS job pursuit.”
Gatlin was appointed to the school board in December of 2020 by the Madison County Commission after former board member Shannon Stewart resigned because she was moving to another city.
He ran unopposed for the seat in 2022’s local elections and had three years remaining in his term.
The county commission will vote to appoint his replacement, which will probably happen at its meeting in August.
While the resignation has been submitted, it won’t be official until it’s accepted by the county commission at their next meeting on June 20. After that, they are required to leave the position open for 30 days to allow for any citizens who live in the district who want to apply.
They would vote on the replacement in their next meeting. There’s no scheduled meeting in July, so unless there’s a special called meeting beforehand, the August meeting would be when an appointment would be voted on.
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
Scott Gatlin has submitted his resignation from the Jackson-Madison County School Board.
Gatlin was first appointed to the board in December of 2020 to fill the rest of the term left open by former board member Shannon Stewart and was elected during last year’s Madison County local elections.
Gatlin was a longtime administrator for private schools in Arkansas and Jackson Christian before resigning from Jackson Christian and taking a leadership position at Youth Town.
Gatlin’s resignation won’t be official until the Madison County Commission officially accepts it, which could happen at their next meeting on June 20.
There are two school board meetings before then – the special called meeting on June 5 and the regular monthly meeting on June 15.
Gatlin will still be a board member and can vote in those meetings.
If the County Commission were to accept the resignation, they would appoint a new board member at their next meeting in August since there isn’t a scheduled meeting in July, unless the Commission felt a need to call a special meeting earlier to make the appointment.
That appointee would serve until the next school board election, which would be in 2024. The person that wins that election would serve a two-year term until the seat would regularly be up for re-election.
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
