by Dennis K. Brown

With the Lewis County Board of Education only days away from naming a new superintendent they received news early Monday that Interim Superintendent Donald W. Pace died unexpectedly.

Board Chair Bryan McRoberts expressed sympathy upon hearing of Pace’s passing.

“The Board and I are deeply saddened by the sudden and unexpected passing of Mr. Pace,” McRoberts said.

“He had a passion for helping school districts and brought that same passion to the Lewis County School District,” McRoberts added.

He was as dedicated to this district as anyone could have been,” he said.

Pace had expressed his fondness of Lewis County and the district in a regular column in The Herald to keep the community updated on the school district.

He oversaw the beginning of the school year and credited staff, students and parents for helping make sure things went smoothly.

Pace was named as interim superintendent in June and was to have served until a new superintendent is named.

Pace assisted the board in setting up a screening committee and had worked closely with board members through the process of advertising the position and conducting interviews of the candidates.

McRoberts said Pace was chosen based on his experience working with school districts.

Pace was a former superintendent of Clark County Schools and had served as short-term superintendent for districts in Mason, Campbell and Montgomery counties.

He most recently served as interim superintendent for the Campbell County School System before coming to Lewis County on July 1.

Pace was interim superintendent for Mason County Schools during the 2014-15 school year. In 2012-13 he was interim superintendent for Montgomery County Public Schools.

Pace’s local appointment came during a special meeting of the Lewis County Board of Education and became effective upon Belinda Forman’s resignation effective on June 30. Forman had held the position for less than a year.

Pace was officially retired. He had spent 32 years as a teacher, administrator and superintendent. In 2008, after retiring as superintendent from Clark County Public Schools, Pace became a part-time executive director of the Central Kentucky Educational Cooperative. Early in his career, Pace was a teacher and coach in Butler County, Ohio, and worked as an administrator at Walton-Verona Independent Schools.

Pace has served as an adjunct professor for graduate educational administrative classes at Eastern Kentucky University while working as superintendent for Clark County. Pace has been an active member of the Kentucky Retired Teachers Association with emphasis on health insurance, according to information on a Campbell County Schools news release after his appointment there.

Pace, a resident of Winchester, is survived by his wife, Betty, also a retired educator.

“Please keep his family in your prayers as they deal with his passing,” McRoberts said.

“The board will immediately take necessary steps to ensure statutes are followed in the coming days,” McRoberts added.

“The process of choosing our new superintendent is nearly complete. We were truly blessed to have Mr. Pace here to help guide us through this time,” McRoberts said.

Arrangements were incomplete at press time.