By RICK KRON
Leader staff writer
The deputy superintendent for the Pulaski County Special School District has resigned from the district to take the position of headmaster of the Baptist Prep School System in Little Rock.
Dr. Laura Bednar has served six years with the district, three as deputy superintendent and three as the language-arts coordinator for the district with stints as the Stuttgart superintendent and state deputy commissioner of education in between. She said in her resignation letter that she was “at a point in my career where I needed to make some changes.”
She continued, “I’m realizing how fragile each day is, and how short life really is. I also have a three-month-old grandson I rarely get to see in person and that has to change!”
Bednar, whose last day is the end of June, continues to work, especially at helping to make the separation of PCCSD and Jacksonville run as smooth as possible.
“I’ve always got my yellow pad out and wake up often in the middle of the night to jot down something else that needs to be done,” she said, adding that she is very optimistic that years from now people will look back and see that both districts are stronger and succeeding because of the separation.
She said someone recently told her that she would be glad come July 1, the official separation date. “Oh, the work won’t all be done by then,” she answered back. “Since this has never been done before, we are finding hurdles and issues that weren’t even thought of, and will work through them well past the separation date.”
She said what will make the separation work is the continued cooperation between the districts and their leadership, the support of the teachers and open communication to keep parents and students informed.
In her resignation letter to the district, Bednar wrote, “As we close this school year, I want to thank you for the way that you have each dealt with all of the issues related to the ‘transition’ we are working through. You have handled tough situations in such a professional manner at all times. It has truly been a pleasure to work with each of you.”
She also wrote, “We truly never know what a day is going to bring and certainly need to make the most of each and every day we are given.”
She said that heading up the Baptist system would certainly be a change. “They have a student population of about 700 and two campuses compared to our 30-plus campuses.”
