Ken McLemore
HOPE – A seasoned campus administrator has been named principal at Hope High School to replace retired HHS Principal Bill Hoglund.
The HPS Board of Education named Donald Patton, HHS assistant principal, as the new high school leader in a special board session June 24. Patton was recommended by both HPS Superintendent designate Dr. Jonathan Crossley and former superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart.
Patton was recommended from a field of seven candidates for the position.
He came to Hope High School as assistant principal with 33 years of experience, including 20 years of administrative experience and 13 years of classroom teaching experience.
Patton moved to Hope from the Liberty Eylau Independent School District near Texarkana, Texas, where he had been assistant high school principal since 2009. Prior to that time, Patton was the principal at Alto High School in Alto, Texas, for four years. He was assistant high school principal in the Mount Pleasant, Texas, school district for 10 years, having also taught in grades 9-12 at Mount Pleasant for four years prior.
A graduate of Camden-Fairview High School in Camden, Patton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in general science from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. He earned a Master of Science degree in mid-management from Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1997.
Patton holds administrative licensure and certification in Arkansas, as well as certification and licensure in Life/Earth Science 7-12, Physical Education Wellness and Leisure 7-12, and standard principal EC-12 in Texas.
The board also agreed to contract with Ideal Construction Co. of Crossett for renovations at Jones Field House on the HHS campus contingent upon approval of the project by the Arkansas Department of Education. The $1 million-plus renovation will completely replace boys’ and girls’ locker rooms, revamp HVAC for the building as well as other improvements.
In other matters, the board:
--Approved a five-foot access easement across a narrow strip of property owned by the district to provide for ingress/egress by Entegrity, contractors for construction of a solar power array for the district across Lakeshore Drive from Clinton Primary School.
--Approved year-end personnel changes.
--Adopted a modification to the June 7 board minutes to reflect the proper designation for summer school teacher compensation.