After eight years of growth and improvement at the Guy-Perkins School District, Kerry and Rose Saylors have decided to go home.
Kerry Saylors said he recently resigned from his superintendent position at Guy-Perkins after accepting the same position in the Jasper School District in north Arkansas, where many of his relatives live. His wife, Rose, will be leaving her position as principal at Guy-Perkins Elementary School to teach fifth-grade in the Searcy County School District in Marshall, he added.
"My reason for leaving is just the opportunity to get home and closer to my parents," Kerry Saylors said Tuesday. "My family and I have really enjoyed the eight years we've spent here in Faulkner County and I have enjoyed having the pleasure of working with some very good educators at this district and in surrounding districts."
The couple said although the move will be an exciting change, they are both grateful to the town for providing a great place for their family to live and said they will miss the Guy-Perkins community.
"The first thing I will miss will be the students the children of this district have been a joy to work with, but I'll also miss the support this community has given me and has always given the district," Kerry Saylors said. "This community takes a lot of pride in this school district and is very supportive and willing to help the children in any way they can."
Kerry Saylors is completing his 21st year in education and has filled the district's superintendent position for the past six years. He said in his time overseeing the district, the most significant changes revolve around student enrollment.
"Three of the most significant changes have been the growth in the district, the construction of new facilities and we have increased our balance from around $300,000 to about $2 million," he said.
According to Kerry Saylors, the Guy-Perkins School Board has been holding several special meetings to interview the 20 superintendent applicants and he said the group hopes to hire for the position by the end of the week. The contract of the person hired for the job will begin July 1.
"I think the next person that comes in as superintendent is stepping into a very good situation with the community and board support that we have enjoyed," he said. "And I look forward to seeing this 45,000-square-foot elementary complex being completed and just wish them the best of luck."
Kerry Saylors said although he will be several miles away from Guy-Perkins, he and his family will always be willing to help the district in any way, whether it's with the transition into new administration or future projects.
"If there is ever anything I can do in the future for Guy-Perkins, I will do it," he said. "I'm forever indebted to the opportunities that this district and this community have given me."
Rose Saylors has held the elementary principal position in the Guy-Perkins School District for the past five years and although she is ready to get back in the classroom, she said she is proud of the improvement she has seen in her students. She said for every year her family has been involved with the district, the students' scores on the Benchmark Exam have risen.
The couple has two children, Champ, who is in the first-grade and Jade, a junior at Guy-Perkins High School.
(Staff writer Jessica Bauer can be reached by e-mail at jessica.bauer@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1236. To comment on this and other stories in the Log Cabin, log on to www.thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit)
