Will face Hopper in race; incumbent not running
Jeff Morrow has announced his candidacy for the Benton School Board.
Morrow, 39, is seeking Position 6, currently held by Amy Daniel, who is not seeking re-election.
The race also includes Clark Hopper, who recently retired from the Benton School District’s support staff.
The school election is Tuesday, Sept. 16.
Morrow is a certified public accountant with Acxiom, where he has been employed since 1997. He serves as a client relationship and sales manager for the firm. Before that, he was employed at Stephens Inc. investment firm from October 1993 to April 1997.
He is a major with the Army Reserve and served from May 2006 to July 7 with Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he advised, trained and mentored the Iraqi Army at division level with a manpower of 10,000 soldiers. He received a Bronze Star for that deployment.
Morrow holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Ouachita Baptist University at Arkadelphia and a Bachelor of Science in Business degree from University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
He said he considers it “humbling” to to ask voters to trust him with their tax dollars, but “more importantly, with your children’s and grandchildren’s educational opportunities.”
“Realizing the importance of this responsibility, I ask you for your trust and your vote on Sept. 16,” he said.
Morrow said he believes the school district has several areas that deserve special attention.
First, he wants to increase community awareness and recognition of the value and contributions of teachers, support staff and administrators.
“As a community, we should recognize the hard work and dedication of each group,” Morrow said. “As a board member and father of three children who attend our schools, I will work hard to ensure we acknowledge the unique contributions and efforts teachers and students achieve collectively and individually. Every citizen needs to recognize the importance of teachers in shaping the attitudes and beliefs of our students — especially their attitudes toward a life of learning.”
He contends that the “value of these contributions should be reflected in teachers’ compensation and benefits packages.”
Another area of concern for Morrow is financial management of resources and accountability.
“Across Arkansas, there are examples of schools and institutions in crisis because of the lack of financial accountability,” he said. “As a CPA and corporate manager, I have developed the necessary skills to analyze financial information, conduct cost-benefit analysis and understand generally accepted accounting principles.
“In addition, I have experience writing contracts with both civilian and governmental entities that require benchmarks and service-levels,”he said.
He noted that he has more than 15 years of experience in these areas, which can be beneficial for budgeting and monitoring the use of resources from the most recent school millage election.
He said he is concerned with sustaining and continuing improvements on academic measurements and pledged to encourage the district’s academic leaders, through the principals, to sustain the recent historical trend of improving math and literacy benchmark scores for local students.
He said he believes the district should “work to increase focus on science, technology, career and technical fields,” he said. “In the current economy, we must have more emphasis on careers that are in high demand, such as health-care professionals, nurses, architects, engineers and teachers.”
He favors a curriculum that will contribute to the employment appeal of students to the sectors that are hiring and growing in today’s market.
Still another goal for Morrow is to “foster and embrace a view that a complete educational experience will reward our community.”
“It is our responsibility to develop the wholeness and quality of students through a variety of educational opportunities,” he said. “These include but are not limited to academics, music, arts, athletics and discipline. The complete educational package allows students to contribute more to society through critical life skills, such as character, integrity, respect and judgment.” He added that parents and religious institutions play a vital role in this endeavor, but noted that “our schools share the responsibility and cannot ignore that role.”
It’s not just one person that will move Benton Schools closer to accomplish these objectives, Morrow said. “It is the body of everyone in the community to build upon our rich history, heritage and tradition to build a better future,” he said.
Board members should demonstrate leadership, expertise and courage, Morrow said said. He said he possesses these qualities and has the experience and background needed to serve in the position.
Morrow and his wife, Miki, an accountant, have three children. Grayson, 10, is a fifth-grader at Howard Perrin Elementary School; and the couple’s 8-year-old twins, Kati and Colen, are second-graders at Howard Perrin.
The Morrows are members of Benton’s First United Methodist Church, where Morrow served as chairman of the Finance Committee in 2003-04 and treasurer of the United Methodist Men in 2002-03.
His hobbies include running, golf and tennis.
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