Barton district faces leadership shift as principal named interim superintendent

Barton High School’s principal has been tapped to serve as interim superintendent, putting day-to-day district leadership in familiar hands as Barton weighs its next move. The change comes after Dr. Bruce Guthrie submitted a resignation letter about a month before the 2026-27 school year was set to begin, and the Barton School Board did not accept it.

For Phillips County families, the immediate questions are practical: who will steer staffing, summer scheduling and fall preparation, and how quickly the board will settle on a permanent plan. Barton School District is small and rural, with Barton Elementary School serving PK-6 and enrolling 342 students in 2024-25, while Barton High School serves grades 7-12 and enrolled 322 students that same year, according to NCES. The elementary school had 28.32 classroom teachers, and the high school had 27.69.

That scale is part of why the leadership shift carries extra weight. In a district that serves students from Barton and nearby areas out of a physical address at 5995 Hwy 49 in Lexa and a mailing address at P.O. Box 97 in Barton, even one top-level change can affect how quickly decisions move from board discussion to classroom reality. Parents want clear answers before registration and the start of classes, and teachers need to know whose direction will guide them into the new year.

The district has already seen other personnel changes at Barton High School. Carpino was named the new high school principal, and Goodin was also set to depart, adding to the turnover around the same campus. Guthrie’s exit, after 27 years in education, adds another layer to a summer that is already reshaping the district’s leadership structure.

Any longer-term decision will also unfold inside Arkansas’ state education framework, with the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education overseen by Secretary Jacob Oliva. Districts can seek waivers from certain laws, rules or standards through DESE review, which gives Barton another layer of process as it moves through the transition. For now, the district’s immediate task is to keep schools on schedule while the board decides whether the interim arrangement becomes permanent or opens the door to a broader search.