Pamela Morehead, Eminence Independent Schools
Kentucky School Advocate
February 2025
Q. You’ve been on the Eminence Independent Schools board for 26 years. What made you want to run for local school board?
A. I had no intention of running but sometimes people see things that you don’t see in yourself. A couple of people in the community approached me about it, and I brushed it off. Then one day they pulled in right behind me when I got home from work and said, ‘We have to go to New Castle,’ our county seat, ‘so you can fill out your papers, then we’ll walk around with you to get your petition signed.’ So, I thought, ‘I’ll go, but I know I’m not going to win.’ And I won.
Q. Tell me about why you’ve stayed on the board all these years. What’s kept you motivated?
A. I have realized the importance of having someone stand up for all our kids and for public education. I stand on the platform for equality and equity and that issue is important to me right now on a local, state level and national level. I was on a national board that advocated for full funding and modernizing the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Act). I also plan to promote that. I have a meeting with Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman after I take office as KSBA president and that’s something I will speak to them about.
Q. You were the first African American chair of the Eminence board. How did it feel to reach that achievement?
A. It felt important not only as an African American but as a woman. I realized, I have to step up and represent females as well as representing African Americans. Because young ladies who look at me and come behind me, I want them to see that ‘Yes, we can.’ It makes me feel good when somebody says, ‘Oh, I look at you and I know that I can do this.’
Q. This month you will become KSBA president after serving several years on the KSBA board of directors. Why did you want to get involved in KSBA leadership?
A. When I was on the Eminence board, we had heard the regional director for the Fifth Region was going to roll off. I thought, ‘I want to see what KSBA is about.’ I’ll start here and see. I was chosen and was a regional director for three years, then I became a director-at-large. Then, when people were putting their name in the hat to be president, everybody said, ‘Oh, I can see you in this role. I hope you put your name in.’ So, I did, and I was chosen unanimously. I think it goes back to people seeing stuff in you that sometimes you don’t see in yourself.
Q. What are some things you hope to accomplish during your two years as president?
A. Of course, the issue of equity and equality but also, I think there are board members who do not take the service as seriously as they should. I think it’s time for us to reach out, even with the board of directors, and explain, ‘we need your attendance, we need your thoughts. We need to know what’s going on in your school district. We need to know what we can do to help you.’ I intend to be out, meeting with people. Like I said, I’m meeting with the governor. I intend to meet with senators, whoever I can meet with. When I was on the national board, I went to Washington and met with Mitch McConnell and with Rand Paul because they had promised 15% IDEA funding. It still hasn’t reached that level. So that’s one of my things, too.
Getting to know
Occupation: Patient access representative, U of L Health, Shelbyville Hospital
Hometown: Eminence
Family: Son, Cory Morehead, married and living in Tampa; two grandsons, Caleb and Treshaun Morehead
Favorite subjects: English and drama. I was a speech and drama major/minor at Morehead State University. My favorite role was in a Black history play called “Moses.”
Hobbies: I love to do adult coloring books. It’s my relaxing time.
Book recommendation: “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Spencer Johnson. It’s a good read, because things change and people change.
Interesting fact: Muhammad Ali and my father were cousins. When we would be at my grandparents in Jeffersonville, Ind., Muhammad Ali’s father and mother would come to their house in their pink Cadillac.
And I was born in the backseat of a car. My mom went into labor when she was visiting her mom in Eminence and she tried to get home to Jeffersonville – her oldest brother was driving – but by the time they pulled up at the hospital, I had been born.