Conway provocateur Jimmie Cavin is giving Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. a day off today and turning to his long-running battle with the Cabot School District over its pay of Superintendent Tony Thurman.

Cavin, who’s made a stir in several places by digging up information with public records requests, has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit (Joey McCutchen of Fort Smith is his lead attorney) alleging that the School Board did not vote in public Feb. 15 to increase Thurman’s salary to $251,327 and tp extend the contract through June 2025.

Advertisement

The suit says the School Board did not announce the purpose of the executive session at which Thurman’s contract apparently was discussed, as the law requires. And if the board did vote, it did not do so in public, he says. Under Arkansas law, any action taken without a public vote is without effect. He also said the Board apparently doesn’t make or preserve video and audio of the meetings as the law requires. Minutes of the meeting note approval of personnel items, but don’t specifically reference the action on Thurman, the suit says.

The resolution the board adopted increased Thurman’s pay; gave him a $1,000 monthly car allowance and fuel expenses up to $6,000 annually, and provided 20 days of vacation.

Advertisement

The suit asks that a violation be declared and the Board be ordered to comply with the law in the future. It also seeks attorney fees.

The School District has already replied, in some fashion, to this complaint. Cavin made a criminal complaint to the police and Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham of Lonoke reviewed the case. He declined to file charges, saying the Board HAD voted in public. He has declined to tell Cavin or his attorney how he reached that conclusion. He also said March 15 meeting minutes reflected a vote on Thurman’s contract extension.  His letter to the Lonoke district court relaying his decision added that the law allows prosecution of people who swear out warrants for “frivolous, groundless or malicious” reasons.

Advertisement

Cavin is undeterred. His suit will presumably get to the bottom of whether the School Board announced in public that it was going to be considering the superintendent’s contract and whether it had held a vote in public.

Cavin is dogged. Same for McCutchen. His lawsuit brought the Huntsville School Board to heel over actions there to cover up sexual abuse of middle schoolers.

Advertisement

The public of course is owed a public vote on superintendent pay. Cavin also has another point worth considering outside the lawsuit. He argues that the mandate to put school superintendent pay on school district websites isn’t sufficient, because pay doesn’t always include car allowances, annuities, expense account payments and other additions.

Cavin promises a statewide report on superintendent compensation as compared with public website disclosure. He also is comparing pay on a per-student basis.

Advertisement