Local attorney to run for Fort Smith school board
A local attorney announced Tuesday his intent to run for an at-large position on the Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education.
Dalton Person plans to seek election for one of two soon-to-be vacant positions. The at-large position is currently held by local lawyer Greg Magness.
The election will be held March 3, 2020, on the same day as the statewide preferential primary.
“This is an exciting time for the Fort Smith Public Schools district,” Person said in a release. “With the passage of the millage (increase) in 2018, we are positioned to not only provide the highest level of quality education to students but do so with safe, up-to-date facilities and infrastructure. Having the opportunity to be a part of that effort is exciting.”
Person is a 2009 graduate of Southside High School, which recently held a groundbreaking for the multimillion-dollar campus upgrades. These include the up-to-date facilities and secure infrastructure to which he refers. His wife, Claire, also attended Fort Smith Public Schools.
Person said he has a long history of volunteering for the district. He said his roles include, but are not limited to, a team leader for the Career Planning Action Team to guide administration on how to improve career planning for students, a member of the Citizens Committee for the Vision 2023 strategic plan development and execution, and a mentor for Ramsey Junior High and Southside students.
“I look forward to the chance to serve the families, students, educators and staff of the Fort Smith Public Schools,” Person said. “I’m a product of FSPS and I’m motivated to be able to give back to the system that played such a pivotal role in my life.”
As an associate attorney with the Jones, Jackson & Moll law firm in Fort Smith, Person works on cases related to business, real estate, contracts, employment and civil litigation. He has previously represented the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority in the settlement with former Executive Director Ivy Owen and served as counsel on a land use change.
Person is the Sebastian County Bar Association vice president and previously served as a law clerk for Judge P.K. Holmes III of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2013 before earning a juris doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville School of Law.
If elected, Person would replace Magness who has served on the school board since 2017. Magness is running for the Sebastian County Division IV circuit judge position, hoping to replace Judge James Cox who will retire.
Jeannie Cole, Zone III representative, is also not running for re-election. She has served on the school board for two decades and she said she is excited for the young new leadership in Fort Smith.
The filing period closes Tuesday, and voters must register for this election by Feb. 3, 2020, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office.