Fayette Superintendent Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Caulk dies at age 49 after a ‘brief illness.’

Fayette Superintendent Manny Caulk has died, school board chairwoman Stephanie Spires said in a message to families just before midnight Friday.

“Tonight I write with a heavy heart to inform you of the death of our Superintendent, Emmanuel Caulk, who has led our district since 2015,” Spires wrote. “We are grateful for Manny’s servant leadership and passion for our two moral imperatives – to accelerate achievement for students who have not yet reached proficiency and to challenge students already proficient to achieve global competency.”

“Superintendent Caulk passed away following a brief illness,” Spires said on behalf of his family. Spires said she had no additional details.

Caulk, 49, had been on medical leave for several days. Spires announced the leave last week but provided no information about his medical condition. Caulk was absent from the Nov. 23 monthly school board meeting, but he had appeared at a virtual school board meeting 10 days before.

In 2015, shortly after he was hired to lead Kentucky’s second largest district, Caulk underwent an 18 hour surgery to remove a malignant tumor from his sinus cavity. He said at the time he had made a complete recovery.

“From the moment Manny arrived in Lexington and became our superintendent in 2015, the best interests of our children were at the basis of every decision he made, every initiative or program that was created, and every refinement made in the operation of the district,” said Commerce Lexington Inc. President & CEO, Bob Quick.

Quick said Caulk’s leadership raised the profile of Fayette schools, a district of about 41,000 students, on a national and global scale.

In 2018, the Kentucky Association for School Administrators named Caulk Superintendent of the Year.

Caulk told the Herald-Leader in 2015 when he moved from Maine to become the Fayette schools chief that eighty years before, his grandfather moved from Delaware to Pike County, Ky., “in search of the American dream.”

Caulk’s grandfather and his great uncle became coal miners. Caulk’s father was born in Kentucky.

That’s why Caulk said he already thought of Kentucky as home.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said Caulk fought every day to create a more just and equitable education for everyone in the community.

“The best way for us to honor him is by continuing his commitment to creating opportunity for all children through the life-changing power of education,” he said.

Under Caulk’s leadership, the district developed its first strategic plan in a decade, worked in partnership with local business leaders to redesign high schools, launched a volunteer campaign called “Give 10,” and placed education in the center of community discourse through his Superintendent’s Book Club, the district website said. Under Caulk, Fayette County was the first school district in Kentucky to establish a grant-funded Office for Educating Boys of Color focused on meeting the needs of Black and Hispanic male students.

Spires has said Caulk was excited about the expansion of the all-male Carter G. Woodson Academy to include elementary grades. The expansion is set to open in fall 2021.

“Every child born represents a promise,” Caulk told community leaders in 2019. “A promise to love, to protect, to guide, to nurture, and to teach.”

Penny Christian, president of the 16th District PTA that includes Fayette County, said in a social media post that Caulk always welcomed parent voices when fighting for children.

“He lived by the mindset that if you aren’t working for kids, get out of the way,” Christian said. “I pray he knows how hard I will fight to not just uphold his legacy, but move his mission forward. “

In March 2017, a Kentucky Department of Education report after an audit, concluded that Caulk “has brought stability to the district,” highlighting dozens of accomplishments from the Blueprint for Student Success and affirming that the district has “capacity” to lead future improvements.

Chauncey Morris, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, said Caulk was a motivating factor in the association and 22 farms and businesses including Keeneland and National Thoroughbred Racing Association investing in the equine program at the district’s Locust Trace Agriscience Center.

“He spoke of education, diversity and holistic social well-being in equal measure that was unique and impressive,” Morris said.

Before joining Fayette County schools in August 2015, Caulk had served since 2012 as superintendent of Portland Public Schools, Maine’s largest school district. He previously was an assistant superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia, serving 167,000 students. He also was assistant regional superintendent and deputy chief for the office of instruction and leadership support, and was assistant superintendent for high schools of the 46,000-student East Baton Rouge Parish School System in Louisiana.

Prior to that, he was a special education teacher in a juvenile detention facility, an elementary principal, and a high school principal. He also previously practiced law and was a former assistant prosecutor for the state of New Jersey, the website said.

Marlene Helm is currently acting superintendent, a role she has held in the past when the Fayette superintendent’s position was open.

Caulk was hired as superintendent after Tom Shelton resigned in 2014, and Helm served as acting superintendent during the transition between the two.

After serving as acting superintendent before Caulk’s arrival, “I have remained a part of the district team in different roles and seen the good work happening in our district these past five years,” Helm said in a message earlier this week.

“My role will be to ensure that our organization remains focused on challenging students to learn at high levels,” she said.

Caulk’s death comes at a time when district officials are grappling with trying to find a safe way to return to in-person instruction amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Spires said current and incoming members of the Board of Education were working together to ensure a smooth transition.

“Once the new board members take office in January, we will begin the arduous task of finding a new Superintendent to continue our commitment to ensuring that all students reach their unlimited potential,” said Spires.

“We ask that you keep Manny, his family, and everyone who loved him in your thoughts and prayers, while also respecting their privacy during this incredibly difficult time. Arrangements to honor his life and work are incomplete at this time, but will be sent out to our FCPS Family when finalized,” she said.

At a district equity meeting on Tuesday, Spires said Caulk did not want people to worry about him.

“The way that you can honor him is to continue the work that he has done in the district ... continue to focus on equity,” she said.

“Rest well Manny Caulk,” Renee Shaw, a journalist at Kentucky Educational Television, posted on Twitter early Saturday. “Prayers for his wife Christol and children.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 12:32 AM.