Simpson superintendent receives state's top honor
By Chuck Mason

Jim Flynn, superintendent of Simpson County Schools, is Kentucky’s Superintendent of the Year, honored this morning in a surprise announcement before students at Franklin-Simpson High School.

“It’s humbling to get an award like this because it’s not about me, it’s about we,” Flynn said.

After introducing several people there to support and celebrate the occasion, including friends and family members, Flynn mention his father, James Flynn Sr., who is ill.

And in a special video message prepared for the presentation, the father spoke to the son.

“His mother and I are very proud of him,” Flynn Sr. said. “It makes me feel a lot better. You’ve done a great job.”

Flynn, a 1982 Bowling Green High School graduate, has been superintendent in Simpson County for 12 years. He is now automatically nominated for possible selection as American Association of School Administrators next national Superintendent of the Year, an honor given by the AASA for nearly 30 years.

“It’s taken 11 1/2 years to get him where we wanted him,” said David Webster, chairman of the Simpson County Board of Education. “The board that hired him saw something, a vision. Congratulations on a job well done.”

Flynn was nominated for the honor by Milli McIntosh, director of human resources at the Simpson County district.

“I’ve watched our school district grow over the years,” said McIntosh, who has been with the district for six years. “We are filled with champions all through the district.”

“Dr. James Flynn is an excellent candidate for this award because he always displays strong discipline, tremendous intellect and a propensity to achieve greatness for our district,” McIntosh wrote in her nomination letter.

“With a perpetual smile that is constant, his dedication, relentless work ethic, and acceptance of a multitude of district and community challenges without hesitation, has molded him into a true leader; as evidenced by some of the outstanding awards earned by our school district,” she wrote.

Wayne Young, executive director of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, presented Flynn with the award, and then topped it off with a $2,500 check from Classworks, one of the award’s sponsors. The money is a scholarship for a Franklin-Simpson student.

“It’s an eye-opener for people,” said Steve Thurmond, executive director of the Franklin-Simpson Chamber of Commerce, “to see how we have progressed in public education. There was a time when we took our lumps there, but in recent years we are at the very top of the mountain when it comes to the schools.”

Prior to Flynn taking over as Simpson superintendent, the county district had experienced a rapid turnover in the top post.

“He deserves it,” McIntosh said of the honor. “There’s a lot of momentum in Simpson County.”

Ninety-eight percent of FSHS seniors graduated in the spring with a college and/or career readiness credential as defined by Kentucky. Simpson County has a proficient rating of 86th percentile in the School Report Card and FSHS has a distinguished rating with a 97th percentile. The high school is designated a Hub School by the Kentucky Department of Education, serving as a training ground for teachers and administrators throughout the commonwealth.

The quality of the public schools is critical when potential businesses are thinking of locating to Simpson County, Thurmond said. He added that Flynn will be the first to point out that educational achievements are a team effort between the community, school administrators and parents.

The state selection is the first of a series of steps toward national designation, according to the AASA website. Once a superintendent is named state superintendent of the year, he or she is reviewed by a national blue-ribbon panel of judges and four finalists are selected for the national honor. The panel interviews the four national finalists in Washington, D.C.

The blue-ribbon committee is expected to determine the four finalists early next month. The 2015 AASA National Superintendent of the Year will be announced Feb. 26 at the 2015 AASA National Conference on Education in San Diego, the AASA website noted.

Flynn serves on the Franklin-Simpson Chamber of Commerce and the Franklin-Simpson Industrial Authority Board of Directors. He is a board member of the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative, serves on the Local Superintendents Advisory Committee and the Superintendents Advisory Committee to the Commissioner of Education in Kentucky. He served as president of the Kentucky Association of School Superintendents in 2013-14. He also has served as a superintendent mentor in Kentucky.

Prior to serving as Simpson superintendent, Flynn was principal of Shelby County High School for six years. He has also served as a teacher, dean of students and assistant principal in a more than 25-year career in public education.

Flynn earned a bachelor’s degree in 1986 in biology from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree in biology and secondary education from Texas A&M University. He earned his Rank 1 educational leadership with a high school principal certificate and a superintendent certificate at WKU. In May 2013, he received a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Northern Kentucky University.

He and his wife Natalie live in Franklin. Natalie Flynn is a reading specialist at Briarwood Elementary School in Warren County. They have three children.

“There’s a lot of people who worked hard to keep me in the dark about this,” Flynn said. “Thank God for all the blessings bestowed on me, my family and our school system.”