Fort Smith Public School Board approves more than two-year contract for Morawski

BusinessEducationFort Smith

by Tina Alvey Dale ([email protected]) November 30, 2020 7:17 pm 1,125 views 

The Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education approved a $215,292 annual superintendent salary for Dr. Terry Morawski. The board voted unanimously during a called meeting held Monday (Nov. 30) to make the contract effective from Dec. 31, 2020, to June 20, 2023.

The salary is the same as the current salary for Superintendent Dr. Doug Brubaker, who announced Nov. 10 he would leave the FSPS to take the superintendent position of Texarkana, Texas, Independent School District.

The board agreed to promote Morawski as the new FSPS superintendent Nov. 10 after accepting Brubaker’s resignation. TISD will formally name Brubaker as superintendent on Tuesday (Dec. 1), following the state-mandated 21 day waiting period. His first day on the job will be Jan. 4, according to a Nov. 10 TISD press release.

At the Nov. 10 meeting, the board approved a mutual termination of Brubaker’s contract effective Dec. 31, conditioned upon him receiving a contract from the Texarkana School District.

Brubaker was hired in December 2016 to begin as the superintendent in January 2017 with a salary of $210,000. Dr. Gordon Floyd, who served as the interim superintendent after Dr. Benny Gooden retired as FSPS superintendent in April 2016, had a salary of $202,000 as did Gooden when he left the position.

Morawski is the district’s deputy superintendent, a position he has held since 2018. He has worked in public education for more than 20 years. During that time, he has held a variety of roles, including deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent, chief operations officer and director, according to Zena Featherston Marshall, FSPS executive director of communications and community partnerships. He has an education doctorate degree in kindergarten through 12th grade educational leadership from Dallas Baptist University.

In 2019, he earned a Level 1 Certification as a curriculum auditor. He also completed the National Aspiring Superintendent’s Academy through American Association of School Administrators in February.