Josh Mosby, Todd County Schools
Kentucky School Advocate
September 2022
Q. You were young, just 28, when you ran for school board the first time. Why did you want to serve on the Todd County School Board?
A. I have always valued education and the education I received in the Todd County school system. In college, I planned to major in education so I could come back to Todd County and teach, but two and a half years in, I realized I wasn’t best suited for the classroom. I thought that maybe I could find another way to give back to the school. One of my dad’s best friends was on the school board for many years and when Mr. Morrow became ill and his seat became open, I ran as a way to give back and as tribute to him. He did live long enough to see me elected.
Q. You are a human resources director. Does that experience help as you serve on the school board?
A. Yes. When we’re dealing with policies and procedures, I’m able to apply my expertise to policies and issues that affect school personnel.
Q. These issues are often complex, so it’s good to have that expertise.
A. I feel blessed to serve on the board where a range of disciplines is represented. We have an engineer, a social worker, a former teacher and a contractor. We mesh well with our respective disciplines. We all know when to weigh in.
Q. You’re also a member of the Kentucky Chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management and serve as its director of diversity, equity and inclusion. Is a diverse workforce important in both private and public workplaces?
A. Absolutely. Diversity is extremely important in all sectors. Different people bring different backgrounds, ideas and skills. What they experienced growing up shapes them and they’re able to bring this out in the workforce or in the school district. People have different ideas and different thought processes and when you combine them, it’s always a better outcome than just one way of thinking.
Q. Achieving diversity can be difficult in a state like Kentucky that’s largely rural, but with the influx of multinational companies do you see it becoming a little easier?
A. I won’t say it’s easier. People think of diversity sometimes as finding a diverse person to fill a seat, but you still have to have the right person for the job. Diversity is on the forefront of our minds, and we are always looking for ways to diversify our staff.
Q. What’s something that you’ve learned about the school district and its operations that surprised you during your board service?
A. When you’re not on the back end of the operations of the board and school system, you don’t see all the ins and outs. It is like a big corporation, and there’s a lot to it. I tell people, ‘if you want to see how the school board runs, come to a board meeting and see the policies we review, see the agenda items we're voting on.’
Q. You’re two years into your second term. What’s something you hope you and the board can accomplish during these next couple of years?
A. When we hear about another school shooting, my heart skips a beat, just thinking about how terrible it would be for something like that to happen in our community. As a board member, I’m always thinking about how we can keep our kids safe and whether we are doing everything possible to keep our kids and staff safe on the campus. Secondly, what is the best way for them to learn? So it’s keeping them safe and finding creative and inclusive ways for them to learn because if kids are not feeling safe, they’re not going to learn.
Getting to know
Hometown: Allensville, 15 minutes from Clarksville, Tenn.
Profession: Human resources director for Digital Ocean, a tech company headquartered in New York
Family: My parents and lots of nieces and nephews
Favorite subject in school: Business education courses
Hobbies: Playing piano for my church (I’ve been the church musician for about 20 years), traveling and spending time with family.
Book recommendation: “Do What Matters Most: Lead with a Vision, Manage with a Plan, Prioritize Your Time” by Robert R. and Steven R. Shallenberger. I've read it two or three times.
Interesting fact: I’m a history nerd and like to read biographies and autobiographies about presidents and first ladies. I’ve read about 60 to 75 percent of our presidents. I like to know how they grew up, how they live and how they became president.