Willie Cowgur
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2026
Willie Cowgur holds the Zone 4 seat on the Bentonville School District Board of Education in Arkansas. He has served on the board since 2011 and won re-election in the general election on September 16, 2014.
Biography
Cowgur holds a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Arkansas. He works as a senior director at Sam’s Club. He is married and has three children.[1]
Elections
2014
In the September 16, 2014, general election, incumbent Willie Cowgur ran against newcomer Kirsten Johnston for the Zone 4 seat. Former board member Travis Riggs challenged incumbent Lisa Clark for the Zone 5 seat.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Willie Cowgur Incumbent |
72.4% | 344 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kirsten Johnston | 27.6% | 131 | |
| Total Votes | 475 | |||
| Source: Tiffany Rouse, "Email communication with Benton County Election Coordinator Kim Dennison," March 5, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Cowgur did not file a campaign finance report with the Arkansas Secretary of State.[2]
Endorsements
Cowgur was endorsed by the Northwest Arkansas Times.[2]
2011
Cowgur won election to the board in 2011.
| Bentonville School District, Zone 1 General Election, 3-year term, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Willie Cowgur |
42.2% | 460 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Quinn | 32.5% | 354 | |
| Nonpartisan | Todd Franke | 25.3% | 275 | |
| Total Votes | 1,089 | |||
| Source: NWA Online, "Bentonville, Rogers School Board Results," September 20, 2011 | ||||
Campaign themes
Cowgur's campaign website listed the following as his campaign themes for 2014:
| “ | The Bentonville School District offers a great education for our students, employs highly qualified teachers, provides exceptional facilities, and offers calendar options (traditional and non-traditional) for parents/students. That being said, there are great challenges facing our district. I want to be intentional about making sure that the decisions made are in the best interest of our students and teachers. Some of the issues I feel strongly about are:
1) Addressing the need for two high schools. I have mixed feelings when it comes to a 2nd high school. I'm enjoying the success that our athletic programs are having. That being said, it's not something i want to do but i think in the next 7-8 years we will not have a choice but to build a second high school. A second high school would give more kids an opportunity to participate in athletics and other activities. I feel that pulling the freshmen out of the high school and having them attend a freshman campus or Junior High is just a temperoary fix with the growth rate we are seeing in the school district. Eventually we are going to have to go to a second high school for the following reasons: overcrowding (safety concerns), teacher to student ratio, infrastructure that can't support 5000 students. 2) Expanding the non-traditional calendar into a middle school. I have received great feedback from parents and students on this topic. I feel we should continue to give our parents and students a choice between traditional and non-traditional calendars as they enter middle school. Turning one middle school into year round would be ideal. 3) Giving non-college bound students more options. The focus on preparing our high school students for college is necessary and beneficial but realistically some students will choose to enter the work force upon graduation. They should be given the opportunity to learn a skill or trade that will aid them in this process. 4) Listening to our teachers input. Our teachers are highly qualified individuals who are in the schools among the students on a daily basis. They have first hand experience of the issues and their input should have considerable value and weight when decisions are being made within the school district. 5) Start time of the school day. I feel that we have it backwards as we have our elementary and middle schools start prior to 8:00 and the junior highs and high school start at 8:30 or later. It's a struggle to get a elementary school student up and around to school by 7:30. I feel that this needs to be switched to help prepare our high school stundents for college and the work force by attending class prior to 8:00. [3] |
” |
| —Willie Cowgur campaign website (2014) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Willie + Cowgur + Bentonville + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ NWA Online, "Two Compete For Bentonville School Board's Zone 4 Seat," September 5, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Financial Disclosure Search," accessed September 7, 2014 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "finance" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Willie Cowgur for Bentonville School Board," accessed July 18, 2014
| 2014 Bentonville School District Elections | |
| Benton County, Arkansas | |
| Election date: | September 16, 2014 |
| Candidates: | Zone 4: • Incumbent, Willie Cowgur • Kirsten Johnston Zone 5: • Incumbent, Lisa Clark • Travis Riggs |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
