(Mr. Bill Benson, Dr. Paige Cash, Ms. Beckie Cox, Mrs. Penny Golden, and Mr. Tim Hurst)
At the December 2023 meeting of the Pulaski County School Board, the outgoing members of the board were recognized for their many years of service to Pulaski County Public Schools.
"Tonight Pulaski County Public Schools celebrates five amazing school board members," Mr. Robert Graham, Superintendent of Pulaski County Public Schools said. "They are taking with them 39 years of collective service."
Each board member was asked to provide a statement about their time on the board.
William Benson – "I want to start off by saying that is has been a real pleasure working with such a wonderful group of people, each of which brought their own expertise and perspective to the board. This board was also fortunate to have the guidance of Dr. Kevin Siers as well as Mr. Graham and of course Ms. Brenda Crawford. This board working together accomplished many things, too many to list. Pulaski County Middle School was our biggest accomplishment. Our school buildings are in the best shape they have been in for many years, but even more important, we have been able to provide salary increases and cuts in health insurance cost for all our employees. I am a firm believer in the fact that happy teachers make for happy students and learning will take place and it has. In closing I would like to say I wish the best for each of you in your future endeavors but more important the faculty/staff and STUDENTS!"
Dr. Paige Cash - "Irish poet William Butler Yeats said, "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." The mission to provide the fuel for that fire has driven my eight years on the board. The board has sought and retained highly qualified faculty and staff who are experts in their content areas, and we have consistently compensated them for their dedication to our students. When Pulaski County Public Schools built a new state-of-the-art middle school, we established ourselves as a county that valued the education and safety of our students. We have established the Cougar Scholars Program so every Pulaski County Public Schools student can earn an Associates Degree while they are in high school, and we have planned for the long-term sustainability of the school district by partnering with Stride to enroll virtual students and increase ADM. And we have the Region 7 Superintendent of the Year to oversee it all. While I, along with my colleagues on the board, move on to other challenges, I think we leave Pulaski County Public Schools positioned to light the fire of student learning."
Beckie Cox: "It has been an honor to represent the students, staff and citizens for eight years. Great things have been accomplished. My goals when I decided to run for the board are achieved. We have worked together as a great team with unique and individual perspectives. All students deserve, and have, a pathway to success. I am proud to leave a legacy in this county with a middle school, an accomplishment years on a wish list that was made reality by School Board Members and Superintendents from 2016-2023. Our legacy will live on for years."
Penny Golden: "During my four-year term, we have accomplished a great deal while facing great challenges. We worked as a team and it has been an honor to represent Pulaski County Public Schools."
Timothy Hurst: "T.E.A.M. – Together Everyone Achieves More – An acronym that gets used over and over to the point of being redundant. I hope that’s not the case for Pulaski County Public Schools. Working as a team we fulfilled the dream of longtime Superintendent Kenneth Dobson with the construction of Pulaski County Middle School. Working as a team we have been able to promote additional opportunities for PCPS students through our CTE programs such as CyberSecurity. Working as a team, our High School now has more dual enrollment opportunities for our students – saving Pulaski County parents on college tuition costs. Working as a team, our faculty and staff have received step increases and raises over the past eight years, and pay less for health insurance than they did eight years ago. Working as a team, we were able to navigate through one of the most difficult times for public education in recent history – the COVID pandemic! I am extremely proud of the work of this team over my nine years serving on the Pulaski County School Board. However, this team is so much more than a five-member board, it is every single person who works, volunteers, or supports the Pulaski County Public Schools, and we have the BEST!!!"
From Mr. Graham
"On behalf of Pulaski County Public Schools, we applaud you for your dedication, grace and seriousness you took being a part of the Pulaski County School Board. Each of you carefully deliberated on matters before the board even when the decisions were difficult, you kept the best interest of the students/faculty/staff in the forefront. It has been said that 'wisdom is knowing what to do next, virtue is doing it.' Each of you are wise and virtuous, and I am grateful that you shared those qualities with the Pulaski County School Board. I, along with Ms. Crawford, Dr. Grant, Dr. Polcha, Administrators, Faculty and Staff will miss working with you as a board but look forward to staying in touch with you for years to come. Forest Witcraft states, 'A hundred years from now, it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove. But the world may be different, because I was important in the life of a child.' Thank you for being important in the lives of many children."