Kentucky School Advocate
October 2018
Eminence board member chosen for NSBA’s action center board
KSBA regional chairwoman Pamela Morehead-Johnson has been selected as a member of the board of directors for the National School Boards Action Center (NSBAC). Morehead-Johnson, an Eminence Independent school board member, was one of only two state association members chosen from a nationwide pool of candidates.
NSBAC advocates for local governance and smart federal education policy. Its efforts have influenced policy decisions on education funding, child nutrition and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“I’m excited to be able to represent Kentucky and I hope that I can stand for the students, teachers and staff,” she said. “I look forward to communicating with and learning from the legislators.”
Kerri Schelling, KSBA executive director, said the post fits Morehead-Johnson’s dedication to students.
“Pamela is a champion for public education in Kentucky and the students are at the center of every decision she makes as a board member,” Schelling said. “Now, school districts nationwide will stand to benefit from her expertise and passion.”
Morehead-Johnson will serve on NSBAC until 2020.
Jump on board
The Kentucky School Boards Association is seeking nominations for a new president-elect and four new directors-at-large to serve the association’s board.
Any board member who will be serving in 2019 is eligible to serve a three-year term as a director-at-large, with certain exceptions. The president-elect, who serves a two-year term, must be a member of the current board of directors. The president-elect will become the association’s president for two years, then will serve as the immediate past president for two years.
Nominations are due by Nov. 12. The form for directors-at-large can be found on KSBA’s website at bit.ly/KSBAnominations and the form for president-elect will be provided to all current KSBA board members.
Three of the current board of directors – Larry Dodson of Oldham County, Ramona Malone of Newport Independent and James See of Lawrence County – have completed their eligibility. The fourth, Sheila Wicker of Russell County, is eligible to serve a three-year term.
The nominees will be chosen by a committee of the board of directors. The committee will report its selections in January with ratification on Feb. 23 at the business session of KSBA’s annual conference.
The KSBA Board of Directors, which meets at least quarterly, sets association policy, legislative positions and annual budgets, and works closely with the association’s professional staff on issues important to Kentucky’s public elementary and secondary education system.
Start from scratch or improve schools?
In a national survey on public education issues most respondents said they would rather reform the public school system than remake it. Phi Delta Kappa International’s annual poll showed that nearly eight in 10 Americans would prefer reforming the existing public school system rather than finding an alternative approach – more than in any year since the professional educators’ association began asking the question two decades ago. There’s no difference closer to home: 78 percent say they’d rather reform than replace their local school system.