Kentucky School Advocate
October 2021

By Josh Shoulta
Staff writer

KSBA’s Board of Directors gathered Sept. 24-25 at the Waterfront Botanical Gardens (WBG) in Louisville for its quarterly meeting.

Members took part in a tour of the grounds during a Friday work session and heard a presentation on the history of the site and the venue’s long-term plan from President and CEO Kasey Maier and Director of Horticulture and Education Jamie Burghardt. Board members learned about WBG’s educational programming, field trip opportunities, camps, school partnerships and the versatile use of the 6,000-square foot Leslie Botanical Classrooms.

On Saturday, the business meeting took place at the Gardens’ Graeser Family Education Center. The meeting opened with a moment of silence for those lost during the pandemic and for the September bus stop shooting that killed a Jefferson County Schools student and injured two others.

The agenda prompted in-depth discussion of the association’s strategic direction. This included setting organizational goals as part of the executive director’s annual evaluation, exploring board-prioritized initiatives and approval of KSBA’s outside auditor’s unqualified (clean) opinion regarding 2020-21 financial statements. Updated policies and processes were approved that grant KSBA staff greater work-from-home flexibility while still providing an exceptional standard of service to members.

KSBA’s next board meeting will be held Friday, Dec. 3 in Louisville coinciding with the 2021 Winter Symposium.

The association is grateful to the Waterfront Botanical Gardens for graciously hosting the September board meeting. Visit waterfrontgardens.org for more information.