The Conway School Board now has an almost direct line to make sure everything it does pleases Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. On Tuesday night, the board voted 4-1 to appoint Thomas Kennedy, the husband of Sanders’ chief legal counsel, as its newest member.
In another development, it became clear that Linda Hargis is not resigning from the board despite her recent arrest for drunk driving.
The board had five candidates vying to fill the seat vacated by the death of Bill Milburn. Their choice, Kennedy, is an Air Force veteran and a lieutenant with the Conway Police Department, where he began working in 2010. He is also a member of the state’s Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. His wife is Cortney Kennedy.
 100vw, 683px”>Thomas Kennedy <span class=)
Before making their choice, sitting board members interviewed the candidates. Two issues still on some board members’ minds were the controversies surrounding a decision two years ago to remove two transgender-themed books from school library shelves and to require students and adults to use the school bathrooms that match the gender they were assigned at birth. Anyone uncomfortable with the assigned restroom can request private accommodations, according to the policy. A similar version of the bathroom measure later became state law.
During Tuesday’s meeting, board president Dr. David Naylor Jr. described both books as “sexually explicit” and asked the candidates if they agreed with the board’s decision on them.
Kennedy praised the Conway school board’s decision to remove the books and mentioned another transgender-themed book, “This Book Is Gay,” which he said is among four or five other books that “might need pulled.”
“The school system is not here to teach children their sexuality. The school system is here to teach them academics,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy also applauded the district’s bathroom policy, saying, “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
He even joked about it. “I just used one,” King said, referring to a men’s restroom. “I felt really good in there. Thank you for that.”
The sole member who voted for another candidate was Sheila Franklin, who supported Leona Walton, a respected community activist, particularly in the Pine Street neighborhood.
Walton had earlier dared to say that she thinks book decisions should be left to librarians and parents. An older Black woman, Walton also said the policy mandating which restroom to apply “struck a nerve” with her because, as a child, “I couldn’t go to the bathroom you went to because of the color of my skin. So, I felt at the time that we were going backwards because of sexual orientation.”
After being told that other accommodations would be provided if someone wasn’t comfortable with the gender bathroom assignment, Walton said she believed she could follow the policy with some clarification.
The board also heard public comment on whether Hargis should resign in lithe of her DWI arrest Aug. 25. She did not. Even before the board heard public comment, the board agreed she should continue in her position.
One speaker called for Hargis to resign and another speaker suggested a person in Hargis’ situation should not serve on the board, but never referred directly to Hargis or to the DWI. That speaker urged board members to drive home safely. Others speakers suggested Hargis should remain on the board.
As for Hargis, she gave a tiny speech, her voice at times breaking with emotion.
“Nobody is as disappointed in me as I am myself. I was devastated, I was heartbroken, and I was crushed,” Hargis said. “And I honestly didn’t know if I was ever going to pull myself back. But by the grace of God, I did. And He chose to surround me with hundreds of people who embraced me, who showed me kindness, who showed me support . ..
“Many of them said to me, ‘This doesn’t define your life, Linda.’ I am 76 years old. … I’ve come to realize … this event … does not define who I am. I want to move through this to the other side, and I want to come out being a better me and what God expects and wants of me.”
