Humbled by your support

Humbled. It’s the only word I can think of when discussing my service to the Clay County Board of Education.

Three board seats were up for the November election with Robin Combs, Roy Glenn Allen and I all on the ballot. The deadline to file for these positions passed without anyone filing against us. This overwhelming show of support from the community is deeply appreciated and serves as a strong motivation for us to continue our work.

The three of us started this journey in the fall of 2011 when we decided to run for the board. We took office in January 2012.

We inherited a district that was near financial crisis. Our auditors told us that if we didn’t change the way things were being done, we would be broke within a few years.

These decisions were not easy, and we understand that they were not always popular. However, we made them with the best interests of the community at heart, and we remain committed to serving you to the best of our abilities.

Since then, we have become financially stable, have a large contingency fund, have given 18.5% raises, not counting bonus pay at Christmas, and have completed several construction projects.

A new technology center is being built on campus at Clay County High School, Manchester Elementary and Oneida Elementary received renovations, a new storage facility for Christian Appalachian Project donations to distribute to the community, new baseball, softball, and football fields were built, CCHS gym and auditorium complete renovations, and a new basketball museum will open in December.

But we aren’t stopping there. We are gathering information on renovating Paces Creek Elementary very shortly.

That’s the most significant thing we’ve accomplished in the last 12 years.

Our biggest accomplishment is the academic progress our schools are making. When we ran for office, the Lexington Herald-Leader ranked our school district among the ten worst in Kentucky.

We recently had the number four ranked elementary school in the state, Burning Springs, and four schools that achieved ‘blue status’ in state test scores. All our schools showed improvement, and we have a staff and superintendent working hard to keep improving and educating our children to the best of our ability.

On a personal note, since taking office as chairman of this board, my family has had to make huge sacrifices. They’ve sacrificed hours upon hours of not having me at home as I was either at meetings, training, or on-site with all these projects. Some of those things were required, but many hours were not.

I treat being a board member like a job. I put many hours into making this school system the best it can be, showcasing our talented students and providing them with every opportunity to excel.

I want to thank my family for making this possible, especially my wife, Tracie, who is always by my side and helps me in every way possible. I also want to thank my children for being understanding of my time away from them and their children as I do these things and for always being supportive of my efforts.

I also want to thank the voters of my district for trusting me and supporting me in representing you to the best of my abilities. I am humbled and grateful you have granted me four more years to serve you.

It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a great wife and family to make a board of education member successful. Thank you!