Montgomery County School Supervisors

Montgomery County ArkansasGenWeb Project

Ernest Berry Jan 1 1921 -June 30 1922
T.A. Humble July 1 1922 - May 1 1943
Roy Wright May 14 1943- Aug 31 1953
Hal Goodner Sept 7 1953 - June 30 1981
County School Supervisor Secretary 1981-1997
1997 office closed.

The Montgomery Board of Education  was form June 12, 1920 with Ernest Berry elected Superintendent of Schools for a term of six monthly beginning January 1st 1921 at a salary of $150/month. On July 1st 1922 Terry Alonzo Humble commenced his term as County Superintendent with 83 school districts. The state department of Arkansas campaign for consolidation in the mid twenties and Mr Humble encouraged it. The number of schools was reduced to eighteen with four free high schools at Mt Ida, Norman, Oden and Caddo Gap. Busing was established to transport pupils to high school.

The county school superintendent's position was dissolved in 1933 by the legislature and was replaced by the office of the county examiner. A short time later the legislature created the elected position of county school supervisor. 

Samuel Goodner was a member of the County Board of Education of Montgomery County in 1921. He taught school from 1887-1892 in School District No. 43, Oden. He encouraged his seven children to go into teaching. Thelma taught until she married Terry A. Humble.  Thelma's brother Hal taught until he became county School Supervisor in 1953. By the time Mr Hal Goodner was elected there were four main school districts and three of these schools had wing schools and all of these were brought into the main schools within eight years. 

"Mister Hal" Hal Goodner officially retired as county school supervisor last week and was honored at a luncheon given by courthouse employees and officials. Hal Goodner brought to a close a career of forty seven years of service in the field of education last week as he retired as county school supervisor.

Goodner, 69, was born and reared in Oden and finished high school in 1931. He began his teaching career that year and obtained a bachelor of science in education in secondary education from Henderson State Teacher's College (now Henderson State university), by going to college in the summertime and on Saturdays. Flossie, his wife, taught at Oden for thirty eight years. During the depression teachers used to get paid for teaching eight months and then were asked to donate one month to get the full school year in because the schools did not have enough money to pay then the full year. 

In 1953 Goodner was hired as county school supervisor, a position he held for the past twenty five years. The number of county school has been reduced from a one time high of 86 to only three and you don't have the boundary disputes you used to have.

"We are a collecting agency for the schools for one thing; we take the teachers social security and retirement funds and have a county warrant drawn up and remitted to the proper agency. The office is responsible for administrating GED tests and maintaining records. The county school supervisor's secretary assumed the duties of the supervisor and reported to the Board of Education and carried on with the work until the office was finally closed in 1997. The office was located in the courthouse in Mt Ida. Board of Education Members Dewey Horn, Caddo Gap, Emery Black, Norman, McKinney Irons, Roy Ponder, Ode Maddox, Oden and Lea Irby." Montgomery County News. July 1981

Montgomery County News. 
Hal E. Goodner, 79, of Oden died Friday, Oct 26, 1990 at his home. He was born August 30 1911, in Oden, the son of Samuel S. Goodner and Raphey Godbehere Goodner. He had been a resident of Oden all of his life. He was a retired school supervisor and teacher for the Montgomery School District. He was also a member of the Mount Ida Masonic Lodge and a well known cattleman.

Survivors include his wife Flossie Goodner of Oden; two brothers, Earl Goodner of Pencil Bluff and Seldon Goodner of Mt Ida; four sisters, Thelma Humble of Memphis Tennessee, Muriel Huddleston of Mount Ida and Gladys Garner and Mildred Hart, both of Oden, a host of nieces and nephews an friends. Services were held at 2 pm Tuesday Oct 30th in the Oden Methodist Church with Rev. Bill Fitzhugh and Rev. Bernard Rusert officiating. Pallbearers were Randy Carter, Don Monk, Ode Maddox, Wayne Hopper, Paul Whitehouse and Doyle Godbehere. Burial was in Oden Cemetery under the direction of Thornton Funeral Home of Mt Ida. 

Hal attended the First Baptist Church in Oden, the church on the hill, but his funeral service was held at the Methodist Church in Oden because it was a larger church and there was a large attendance.