An Old Dog, Up to Old Tricks
Did Randy Rutherford lie on his résumé to get extra money from the Little Rock School District?
Updated 7/20/19 — Scroll to the bottom!
This is the second post in a series on Randy Rutherford, the Parkview principal who is getting promoted to Little Rock School District (LRSD) central office as “Executive Director of Secondary Education.” To read the first post, click here: “Who Is Randy Rutherford?”
In that first post, I explored several ethical issues that ought to make any superintendent hesitate before hiring Randy Rutherford — let alone promoting him. Obviously, LRSD Superintendent Mike Poore has no objection, but that’s just a testament to Poore’s own ethics and intelligence.
In case you haven’t read my first Rutherford post, here are two details you should know:
- When Randy Rutherford was superintendent of the Bryant School District, his district got caught altering employee personnel files by adding fake years of “service” so that certain staff members could collect higher salaries than they really deserved.
- The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (published by charter activist Walter Hussman, who serves on the board of Arkansas Learns with “school choice” lobbyist Gary Newton, who is the nephew of the chairperson of the State Board of Education, Diane Zook) posted an announcement of Rutherford’s promotion on July 10, 2019. It says Rutherford has been principal of Parkview Arts and Science Magnet School since 2016, which is not true. Here’s the July 10 article by Cynthia Howell:
And here is a 2017 article from the same newspaper, announcing Rutherford’s new job as Parkview principal — in 2017, not 2016:
Cynthia Howell is a conscientious reporter, not accustomed to making errors of fact. I didn’t want to assume she made a mistake, so I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request directly to LRSD central office for “copies of all communications dated July 2019 to/from Cynthia Howell (of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) regarding Randy Rutherford.”
In response, LRSD sent me the “Executive Director of Secondary Education” job description, Randy Rutherford’s résumé, and a statement from LRSD Communications Director Pamela Smith regarding Rutherford’s new salary.
Cynthia Howell didn’t report inaccurately. She quoted — accurately — the documents she received.
Randy Rutherford lied on his résumé. He said he became principal at Parkview in 2016, instead of 2017.
Why did Rutherford lie on his résumé? Well, probably to bilk LRSD for extra money. It’s what he appears to have done in Bryant, for his favored employees.
LRSD announced the salary range for Randy Rutherford’s new position as $69,549-$122,633, based on experience. The more years of “experience” Rutherford claims, the more money he can earn.
Of course, that doesn’t explain why Randy Rutherford will be earning $125,833, or $3200 MORE than the HIGHEST possible salary for his (newly-created) position. Maybe it’s a car allowance, or some kind of stipend? Either way, Randy Rutherford’s fake experience (plus some kind of additional pay) seem to have “earned” him more than the highest possible salary.
Congratulations, Randy Rutherford. You’re clearly the very best possible person for this (newly-created) job. You’ve arrived just in time to capitalize on LRSD’s death gasps. You must feel pretty proud of yourself.
At least the Parkview teachers won’t have to put up with you any longer.
Postscript added 7/20/19 — From an LRSD teacher: “I begs the question of how does Marvin Burton feel about losing his job to a white man whose school improvement record is worse than his and who makes more money than he does.”
Now THAT is a really good question. Examining their contracts, it’s actually Burton who makes more money. Examining their records, Burton (who is leaving LRSD central office to take a job as principal at the new high school) is a more successful administrator. Examining their photos, however, Rutherford has lighter skin. I guess that’s what Poore and Key are hoping to get into central office.
From another LRSD teacher:
“ I think he lied on his resume for the following reasons:
- To show that he was successful at Parkview for at least one year (2016–17) during his alleged tenure;
- To claim the ”B” school letter grade as his own;
- To claim the $ 54,000 award/reward that Parkview received from ADE as a success under his administration;
- To increase his salary on the administrative salary scale;
- To justify his promotion to the public if they pull the ADE Parkview data during his tenure.”
