Kentucky School Advocate

December 2024

By Brenna R. Kelly

Staff writer

When new board members take their seats in January, more than half of the state’s school boards will not change. In the November election, 356 incumbents kept their seats while 119 newcomers will join a board. 

The numbers are similar to the 2020 election, the last similar cycle in which three seats on county boards and two seats on independent boards were up for election. 

After the June filing deadline, there were 67 boards slated to remain the same because incumbents filed without opposition. After the vote, 88 of the state’s 171 school boards will see no changes – 56 county boards and 32 independent boards. In 2020, in which the election took place in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 94 boards that were unchanged after the election. 

This year, 93% of incumbents who ran for reelection retained their seats. In all, 119 new members will take the oath of office in January and many of those members attended KSBA’s Winter Symposium in early December to get a jumpstart on their state-mandated board training. 

Even though most incumbents kept their seats, there were eight boards that saw no incumbents reelected, either because they did not file or were defeated. Those include Carter, Elliott and Grayson counties and Anchorage, Beechwood, Corbin, Fulton and Hazard independent boards. 

Grayson County will have three new board members after all three incumbents who were seeking reelection lost their seats to challengers.  

In Anchorage Independent, there will be two new board members including a write-in candidate who won a seat on the board. Kayce Ware Deutsch had not filed for office but, after filing as a write-in candidate, she secured a seat by getting 494 votes. Deutsch edged out incumbent Rosanna Gabriele.  Incumbent Wilson Greene did not run. Joining Deutsch on the board will be Nancy-Lynne Walters. 

In Corbin Independent, none of the three incumbents filed for reelection. However, one of the new board members is a returning board member. Kim Croley, who served for 16 years on the board, lost her seat in the 2022 election but won a seat this year. Croley received the most votes in the race and will be joined by newcomers, James Hannah and Ben Childers.  

“Obviously, I wanted to do this or else I wouldn’t have gone through it again,” Croley told the News Journal. “The hard part is over, and now is the easy part, which is working with our teachers, administrators and parents in order to help our students recognize their full potential.”

Because the three experienced board members are leaving, Croley said she believed her knowledge and experience as a prior board member was needed. 

“There are so many big decisions to be made,” she said. 

Another longtime member will return to her board, despite not filing by the June deadline. Shelby County board member Brenda Jackson, who has served on the board for 36 years and as KSBA president for two years, decided not to file for reelection this year. However, when no one filed for the seat, she decided to file as a write-in candidate. In the election, Jackson defeated another write-in candidate, Sarah Behm, by a vote of 176-74. 

After the June filing deadline, there were 11 school boards where no one filed for one of the seats slated to be up for election this year. However, most of those seats were filled by a write-in candidate and, in most cases, the write-in candidate was the incumbent who failed to file by the deadline. 

This year was the first election in which write-in candidates were allowed to file in races in which no one had filed by the June deadline. Before the change, brought about by House Bill 580 passed by the 2024 General Assembly, if no one filed by the June deadline, there was no race on the ballot and therefore no one could file as a write-in candidate. 

The law did not significantly change the number of seats left vacant after the election. In 2022, there were three vacant seats after the election – this year there are two. However, had the law not been in place, 11 boards would be filling seats after the election. 

The open seats are in Trimble and Simpson counties. In those districts, the current board members will serve until Dec. 31. On Jan. 1, the boards will have vacancies and will have 60 days to appoint someone to the seats. 

Former Metcalfe County High School Principal Kelly Bell will be joining the board after running unopposed for the seat previously held by John Caffee. Bell retired from the district in 2018 after eight years as the high school’s principal to take an administrative position in Tennessee. 

Bell will be one of three new board members in January. The district had four seats on the ballot and only one was filled by an incumbent. The other newcomers are Cassie Reece and Robby Parnell. 

Former Anderson County Superintendent Sonny Fentress, who was appointed to the Anderson County board in June, won the election to retain his seat. Fentress, who has served as interim superintendent in at least 13 Kentucky school districts, won the election with 61% of the vote. 

In Hancock County, Mary Beth Emmick Morris will replace her father, David Emmick, on the board. David Emmick, who served for 20 years, did not run for reelection. Mary Beth Emmick Morris won the seat over Charles Todd Duncan with 69% of the vote. 

Two brothers will be serving on the Jackson County school board. Eddy Neely, who has served on the board for 15 years, was reelected over challenger James Bowling with 62% of the vote. Joining him in January will be his brother, Stanley Neely, who ran unopposed to replace Veronica Hisel.

There will be two board members with spouses serving in the General Assembly this year. 

Warren County board member Amy Duvall’s husband, Rep. Robert Duvall, R-Bowling Green, has represented House District 17 since 2023. 

This fall, Republican Aaron Reed was elected to represent the 7th Senate district which represents Shelby, Anderson, Henry and parts of Jefferson counties. Reed’s wife, Sarah Reed, won a seat on the Shelby County school board by getting 56% of the vote. Reed, who defeated two other newcomers, replaces Allen Phillips who did not run for reelection. 

After the election, Aaron Reed posted on his Kentucky Senator Facebook page about the race. 

“I’m very proud of my wife Sarah Hamilton Reed and her drive to serve our community. The education opportunities that our kids have available to them will define the future of our Nation,” he said. 

In Fayette County, the state’s second largest school district, a longtime public education advocate will be joining the board. Kathleen “Penny” Christian won election to the board, filling the seat held by Jason Moore who did not seek reelection. 

Christian chairs the National PTA’s Family Engagement Committee and is a member of the Kentucky Department of Education’s United We Learn Council. Christian has four children who graduated from Fayette County schools and began her involvement in the district by serving on the PTA, including as 16th District president. 

Also joining the Fayette board is Monica Mundy, who beat incumbent Marilyn Clark in the election. Mundy is a parent and member of the district’s equity council. She is assistant extension agent at the University of Kentucky and was previously an assistant professor of public health at Eastern Kentucky University.

In the state’s largest district, Jefferson County, there will be two new board members after two members did not seek reelection. Trevin Bass will fill the seat previously held by Joe Marshall. Bass is a former Louisville Metro Council legislative aide who beat Barbara Lewis with 55% of the vote. 

Taylor Everett, the father of a Jefferson County high school student, will also join the board. Everett, who works for a staffing company, ran unopposed for the seat previously held by Sarah McIntosh Cole. 

There was at least one nickel tax on the November ballot. Bath County Schools sought a nickel in hopes of renovating facilities, new construction and debt service. 

The district was seeking funding for Bath County Middle School, which was built in 1939. Superintendent Steve Evans told WKYT-TV that renovating the school would cost $28 million, while building a new one would cost $35 million.

Bath County residents voted soundly against the nickel tax, with the tax being defeated by a 73% to 27% margin. 

The board had previously voted for the tax in 2023 but rescinded it when a petition against the tax was certified. Evans, the board and district supporters are now hoping the third time is a charm.

The district will hold a special election on Jan. 14 to try to pass the tax again. The district held two forums to explain to the community that paying the nickel tax would save voters money over the board taking the rate that produces 4% more revenue each year and is planning another forum in January.