Mahan selected to be superintendent of Fort Smith Public Schools

The Fort Smith Public School Board of Education voted during a special called meeting Tuesday (April 8) to negotiate a contract with Marty Mahan to be the next FSPS superintendent of schools.

The board was in executive session almost three hours before re-adjourning and voting unanimously to hire Mahan, who is expected to start as the new superintendent July 1. No salary had been included in any of the postings for the position during the search for a new superintendent.

Superintendent Dr. Terry Morawski’s salary is $253,838.98 annually. He was hired as superintendent at the end of 2020 when Dr. Doug Brubaker left to take the superintendent position of Texarkana (Texas) Independent School District. His starting annual salary was $215,292. When Brubaker was hired as FSPS superintendent on Jan. 16, 2016, his compensation package was $210,000, $8,000 more than Dr. Benny Gooden’s annual salary of $202,000 when he retired.

Mahan has more than 30 years of experience in education and school administration. He is the deputy superintendent of FSPS, a position he has held since December 2020. During his tenure with FSPS, Mahan has held a variety of roles, including assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, assistant superintendent of human resources and campus support, executive director of human resources and director of secondary education, among others.

He has a bachelor’s degree in education from Henderson State University and a master’s degree in education from the University of Arkansas. He also holds an educational specialist degree from Arkansas Tech University.

The board interviewed three finalists for the highest position in the district April 1-3. Along with Mahan, the board interviewed Jason Black and Anne Martfield. The board went with the recommendation of McPherson Jacobson LLC, the search company helping the district find a new superintendent, for the three finalists.

Black is the deputy superintendent for Conway Public School, a position he has held for just over three years. Martfeld is a Fort Smith native and a graduate of Southside High School. She is one of two assistant superintendents at Pea Ridge Public Schools.

The FSPS school board agreed during a special called meeting Feb. 3 to expedite the search for a new superintendent of schools, setting a Feb. 20 deadline for applications. Person told the board during the Jan. 27 board meeting that Superintendent Dr. Terry Morawski submitted his resignation Jan. 17 with his last day to be June 30.