UPDATED: Here’s who is seeking open District 3 Fayette County school board seat

At least six candidates have told the Herald-Leader they applied for vacant District 3 Fayette County school board seat as of Monday afternoon November 27.

The filing deadline was 5 p.m. November 20.

It’s unclear how many candidates in total have applied for the seat. Fayette County Public Schools officials on November 20 would not say who had filed and said the Herald-Leader would have to file an open records request to get the names.

The Herald-Leader filed a request on November 21 and had not received documents by November 27.

Kathleen “Penny” Christian, former president of the 16th District PTA that includes Fayette County; Laura Hartke, a former teacher and leader in KY120 United AFT, a union; Mark Walden, an account representative in food service; and dentist Isaac Sebourn all told the Herald-Leader they are seeking the seat vacated by Tom Jones when he resigned Oct. 23.

Last week, Amy Sohner, the director of Bluegrass Greensource, an environmental education non-profit that works with schools, said she had filed for the seat, too.

On Monday, former Fayette County Public Schools teacher and now stay-at-home parent Amanda Baumstark-Cope told the Herald-Leader she was an applicant.

Why they are seeking seat

A “majority-minority school district deserves proper representation, but representation that is effective and strong enough to challenge policies and policy makers that consistently harbor barriers to equitable access to education,” said Christian, who has been the chair of the National PTA Family Engagement Committee.

Hartke said she has “a passion for public education and for Fayette County Public Schools.”

“I feel that the seven years I spent in a title one school in an FCPS classroom, both pre and post pandemic, give me a unique perspective,” she said.

Hartke said she taught 18 years total — 11 in Gallatin County and seven in Fayette County. She resigned in June from Cardinal Valley Elementary School.

Walden said in a message to the Herald-Leader that he wanted to make sure conservatives are being heard. Kids need to learn about a variety of perspectives and topics, and parents should be “stakeholders” in the curriculum, he said.

“We need to make sure we are focused on the kids and not rewritten knowledge based on agendas detrimental to traditional basic teaching in the primary grades and critical thinking in middle and secondary grades, while integrating American values,” Walden said.

“I’d like to represent District 3 because public schools are the backbone of a community and I know I could make a positive influence in our school system in a way that can benefit all students, parents and teachers in the county,” said Sebourn.

“The public schools I attended were under funded and poorly managed and it minimized the opportunities of students like me. I have two elementary aged children, with another starting next year, and I want my children’s school environment to be effective, welcoming and full of opportunities. I want to focus on increasing math and reading scores and adding as many STEM opportunities as possible,” Sebourn said.

Sohner said all students in Fayette County deserve equitable experiences and schools are uniquely positioned to help each of them succeed. She was on the school decision making council at Squires Elementary School for three years.

Her experience at Bluegrass Greensource “not only broadens my understanding of student and teacher needs, it also has given me experience developing a budget, working with a board of directors and a staff, and has equipped me to be a leader in the region,” said Sohner.

Baumstark-Cope said she spent her career in education and was committed to serving a diversity of students and “meeting their needs wherever they are.”

“I admire FCPS’s commitment to our community and to offering a variety of educational opportunities. I would like the chance to be a part of the future of this district and help lead it to even more diverse options for our students,” Baumstark-Cope said.

District 3 encompasses the eastern section of the county, including Hamburg, Chilesburg and outbound Richmond Road. The selected applicant will hold office until the November 2024 election, when they will have the opportunity — along with other interested candidates — to run for a full four-year term.

At its Oct. 23 action meeting, the board accepted a letter of resignation from Jones, who was elected in 2020. Jones said he resigned for personal reasons.

Jones opened the school board’s September regular meeting with an apology for comments he made during a budget meeting earlier in the spring. The comment was criticized by a member of the Fayette County Schools Equity Council committee as a “racial microaggression.”

The school board will select a new board member by December 23 as required under a state law. Recent changes in state law have made local school boards responsible for filling vacancies among their ranks.

District spokeswoman Dia Davidson-Smith said school board members could vote by December 14. The new board member will be sworn in the first of the year.

This story may be updated.

This story was originally published November 20, 2023 at 6:02 PM.