Kentucky School Advocate
February 2023
KSBA staff report
A nominating committee of KSBA’s board of directors, chaired by Immediate Past-President Ronnie Holmes, at its December meeting selected four locally elected school board members – Hannah Barnes, Kristy Carey, Tom Haggard and Debbie Hammers – to serve three-year terms as directors at-large. In addition, they selected Pamela Morehead as the association’s next president-elect.
The selections will be ratified during KSBA’s Annual Conference this month.
Pamela Morehead
Morehead is in her 25th year serving on the Eminence Independent school board and is currently the chair. She has served on the district’s education, calendar and superintendent search committees during her board tenure.
Morehead began serving on KSBA’s Board of Directors in 2016 as the Fifth Region chair. Following that three-year term, she was selected for a three-year term as a director-at-large. During her time on the KSBA board, she has been on the Governance Committee and served as chair of the External/Members Relations Committee. Morehead represented KSBA on the National School Boards Action Center and a member of KSBA’s Delegate Assembly for three years.
She is a graduate of Eminence High School and Morehead State University. She has certifications in medical terminology and fundamentals of billing and coding from the Professional Healthcare Institute of America.
Morehead is a member of her local planning and zoning board, the Merriweather King Street Scholarship Foundation and the Shared Governance Committee at University of Louisville Hospital. She is a patient advocate at UofL Hospital.
“It is my passion to serve, and to be a champion for public education. My main focus is equality and equity for all the students of Kentucky,” she wrote in her president-elect application.
Hannah Barnes
Barnes is beginning her fifth year as a member of the Anchorage Independent school board and is the chair.
Barnes recently completed a three-year term as the Fifth Region chair on KSBA’s Board of Directors.
Barnes has a bachelor’s degree in food science & human nutrition from the University of Maine and a Ph.D. in food science & technology from the University of Georgia.
She is a founding board member of the First Light Early Education Center, a National Association for the Education of Young Children accredited center. She is a parent volunteer for the Anchorage Chess Club.
She is a private family foundation director.
Kristy Carey
Carey has served 15 years on the Harrison County school board and is the current chair.
She is president of the Harrison County School District Finance Corporation, served on the Comprehensive District Improvement Plan Committee, chaired the Harrison County High School School-Based Decision Making Council and served on the Superintendent Search Committee.
She graduated from Deming High School in Robertson County, has an associate degree in nursing from Maysville Community College and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Kentucky.
She works as a senior oncology sales manager.
Tom Haggard
Haggard is beginning his third year as a member of the Covington Independent board and is board chair.
He serves on the Finance Committee and Student Conduct Committee, and sat on the General Assembly’s School Funding Task Force from March until November 2021.
He serves on the board of directors for Neighborhood Investment Partners and the board of commissioners for the Housing Authority of Covington.
He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Thomas More University, a master’s of public administration from Northern Kentucky University and a policy fellowship with the Riley Institute at Furman University.
Haggard is the director of the Kentucky Out-of-School Alliance.
Debbie Hammers
Hammers has served 13 years on the Butler County school board and is currently vice chair.
She recently completed a three-year term as the Third Region chair on KSBA’s Board of Directors.
On her local board, she has served on the Calendar Committee. Hammers is an advisory council member for the Butler County Area and Technical School, serves on the Butler County Steering Committee and is a member of her local chamber of commerce.
She graduated from Ohio County High School and has a technical/occupational certificate from Bowling Green Vocational School.
Hammers retired as an area specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Richard Kazsuk
Kazsuk is beginning his ninth year as a member of the Russell County school board and is the current vice-chair. He was appointed in December to fill an unexpired term as a KSBA director-at-large that will run through February 2024.
He has held several different offices with the Jaycees during the 25 years he has been a member.
Kazsuk has a bachelor’s degree from Western Kentucky University and a master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University.
He is a retired area technology center principal.