| Hughes, Arkansas School Faculty Memorial |
| James Wayne Staggs December 1, 1938 – September 15, 2011 Physical Education Tenure: 1964-1971 |
| James Wayne “Coach” Staggs was born December 1, 1938 at Bald Knob, Arkansas, son of Floyd and Lorene (Patterson) Staggs. After graduating from Bald Knob High School, he entered Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, where he received his B.S.E. Degree. He later attained his graduate degree from the University of Memphis. He began coaching in 1961 at Heber Springs, followed by coaching assignments at Searcy and Hughes. Coach Staggs left Hughes in 1971 to become the junior high principal at Waldron, Arkansas, after which he attained the position of superintendent. He became superintendent of schools at Clarksville in 1981, and in 1986, the Staggs family moved back to Bald Knob, where he served as superintendent. He became director of the Wilbur D. Mills Education Co-op and served as an educational consultant for Governor Bill Clinton. Coach Staggs retired in 1992, after thirty-three years in education, and spent his time on the family cattle farm and enjoying golf with his wife Linda and friends. In 2007, after seventeen years of retirement, the Arkansas State Department of Education asked Mr. Staggs to return as superintendent of schools after the Bald Knob school system was declared in fiscal distress. He co-chaired the community effort, which successfully saved the school system from consolidation. Coach Staggs was an avid sports fan. He lettered four years in football at ASTC, and he enjoyed watching the Bald Knob Bulldogs, UCA Bears, and the Arkansas Razorbacks football teams. He was past president of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators and the Arkansas School Plant Management Association. He served on the board of Citizens State Bank and received recognition as the 2008 Bald Knob Citizen of the Year. He was an active member of Central Baptist Church, where he taught the Coffee Shop Sunday school class. Coach Staggs died September 15, 2011, interment in Shady Grove Cemetery, Bald Knob, White County, Arkansas. |
