Kentucky School Advocate
August 2024
By Josh Shoulta
Staff writer
Altogether, they represent more than 95 years of school board service. Former KSBA presidents Ronnie Holmes (2019-2021), Brenda Jackson (2005-2007) and Davonna Page (2021-2023) share nearly a century of war stories and institutional knowledge. This year, they will also share a curtain call as each decided not to seek reelection to their local boards.
Ronnie Holmes (pictured at left) will conclude his service this December after 40 years on the Graves County Board of Education – one of the longest active terms of school board members in Kentucky.
As if service on both his local board and KSBA’s board wasn’t already enough of a commitment, Holmes threw his hat in the ring as a nominee for KSBA president. That equated to six years as an officer (two years as president-elect, two years as president, two years as immediate past president) and would often mean making the four-hour drive to Frankfort, to KSBA conferences and numerous Regional Meetings – all of which he did gladly.
“I am appreciative of my family for allowing me to take on the added responsibility that comes with serving KSBA – the evenings away, the meetings, the phone calls,” Holmes said in 2021 at the conclusion of his presidential term. “Sometimes, they probably enjoyed having me out of the house more than they let on!”
Brenda Jackson (pictured center), of Shelby County, has tallied 36 years on her local board. Like many school board members, she is a product of her local school system. Jackson was a member of Shelbyville High School’s first integrated graduating class in 1964. This past summer, she celebrated her 60th high school reunion.
When she was a student, the current board room at Shelby County’s central office was an auditorium for the old Shelbyville High School. She remembers the school wheeling out a TV so that she and classmates could watch the World Series.
As a board member, Jackson is most proud of how the district was able to make significant improvements to the alternative school programming and, in doing so, changing the often-negative perception of how the community viewed the students enrolled there.
“The whole goal was to meet their needs and keep them in school even if it’s not in a traditional setting like others were used to,” she said.
To date, no one has filed to run for her seat, something Jackson attributes to the considerable commitment of time and being a mostly volunteer position.
“It’s a good opportunity if you’re interested in seeing that your students get a solid education, but you have to be willing to donate a lot of time,” she said. “You’re not serving for the money!”
KSBA Immediate Past President Davonna Page (pictured at right) of Russellville Independent will also sunset her service for her local district and the association.
In 2003, Page first won school board election for the remainder of an unexpired term and never looked back. She was elected KSBA’s Third Region director in 2014, ratified as an at-large member in 2017 and selected as the association’s president-elect in 2019.
“My core belief is the same as many board members in Kentucky: public education is the great equalizer,” she said. “That belief is stronger today than when I first took office, and I will continue to promote that message and advocate for public education.”
Her last official act as immediate past president will be to oversee the committee charged with selecting KSBA’s next president at this December’s Winter Symposium.
“KSBA’s board of directors is committed to our mission,” Page said. “It’s an honor to preside over the committee, and I am excited to see who emerges.”