Maize superintendent reportedly finalist for Arkansas school position

Maize superintendent Doug Powers is one of two finalists for the superintendent position for the Fayetteville, Ark., school district, according to media reports.

Powers has led Maize schools since 2009, when he replaced longtime superintendent Craig Elliott, who retired in 2007. Powers’ annual salary is $175,685.

A Fayetteville news station reported that Powers was interviewed by the school board earlier this week for the position. He and a junior high principal from Fayetteville are the only remaining finalists, the station reported, after two other candidates withdrew their names from consideration.

Lori Buselt, spokeswoman for the Maize school district, said Saturday she could not confirm whether Powers is a finalist for the Fayetteville job. She did not comment further. Powers could not be reached for comment.

The Fayetteville school district has about 9,400 students.

Maize school board members unanimously selected Powers in 2009 to lead their rapidly expanding district.

Powers, who grew up in El Dorado and was superintendent of Marysville schools, told an Eagle reporter at the time that moving to Maize would be “kind of like coming home.”

One of his first challenges was to shepherd the opening of Maize’s second high school in 2009.

Maize, a district of about 7,000 students, includes much of west Wichita. Recently the district has been grappling with several major issues, including whether to establish attendance boundaries or a feeder system for assigning students to schools.

The Maize school board also is considering a possible bond issue to build a new middle school and an aquatics center and to make athletic improvements and other upgrades.

Powers has been the target of some criticism over the past year from parents unhappy about the way the district assigns students to middle and high schools.

Unlike most districts, Maize has no geographical attendance boundaries that determine where a child goes to school. Instead, the district assigns children to elementary schools during their initial enrollment and employs a preference-card system for secondary schools.

This story was originally published April 26, 2014 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Maize superintendent reportedly finalist for Arkansas school position."