Kentucky School Advocate
September 2024
Three new members join KBE
Gov. Andy Beshear has appointed three new members of the Kentucky Board of Education. The new members served at their first meeting Aug. 7- 8. The new members are:
• Juston Pate who has served as president and CEO of Elizabethtown Community and Technical College since January 2017. He began his career as a high school English and humanities teacher before transitioning to higher education, serving as provost of Maysville Community and Technical College and as interim president of Hazard Community and Technical College. Pate will represent Supreme Court District 2.
• Mike Borchers who retired as superintendent of Ludlow Independent in June after 13 years in the role. He spent his entire 29-year career in Ludlow, including as a teacher, coach and administrator. Borchers also served as a member of the Local Superintendents Advisory Council for two years. Borchers will represent Supreme Court District 6.
• Paul Long, a Stanford lawyer. He served as Lincoln County Attorney from 1990-1997 and is currently on the Lincoln County Industrial Board. Long and his wife, Carol, established an endowed scholarship in honor of his parents, James and Bettye Long, to help students in Lincoln County attend Lindsey Wilson College. Long will represent Supreme Court District 3.
They replace Patrice McCrary, Jamie Bowling and JoAnn Adams, whose terms expired. The new members must be confirmed by the state Senate during the 2025 legislative session. Beshear reappointed Holly Bloodworth, Sharon Porter Robinson, Lu Young and Steve Trimble to the board.
Unexpired term filing deadline passes
Because of a change in state law, the filing deadline for board seats that are on the ballot to fill unexpired terms was Aug. 13. An unexpired term is a term that would not typically be up for election this year, but has been filled by an appointment following a vacancy.
Under state law, unexpired terms for school board “with one year or more on August 1 after the vacancy occurs shall be filled for the unexpired term by an election to be held at the next regular election after the vacancy occurs.”
This year there are at least 17 unexpired terms on the ballot, including 13 county seats and four independent district seats.
After the Aug. 13 filling deadline, there were a total of 21 candidates seeking to fill an unexpired term. Most incumbent appointees filed for their seats and are unopposed. However, some seats garnered a lot of interest. The seat with the most candidates is in Montgomery County where appointee incumbent Emily Settle will face three opponents.
Another seat with multiple candidates is in Clark County, where three people, including incumbent Jennifer Simpkins, are vying for the unexpired term.
In Jefferson County, incumbent appointee Gail Logan Strange will face one opponent.