Fayette school board will fill empty seat with one of these applicants. Check the list

Fourteen people have applied for the open District 3 Fayette County Board of Education seat, district officials announced Thursday.

That far outnumbers the four candidates who sought the District 1 seat in January 2023 when other school board members chose Marilyn Clark.

The applicants are seeking the seat vacated by Tom Jones when he resigned Oct. 23.

A Thursday district news release confirmed that the applicants are 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; dentist Isaac Sebourn; Amy Sohner, the director of Bluegrass Greensource, an environmental education non-profit that works with schools; and former teacher and now stay-at-home parent Amanda Baumstark-Cope.

Those applicants recently talked to the Herald-Leader about their backgrounds and reasons for applying.

The additional applicants, according to the news release, are Danny A. Everett, Melissa Mohanram, Jason D. Moore, Larry E. Moore, Daryl R. Privott, Owens G. Saylor, Travis Shaddox and Kennedy D. Wells.

According to documents the Herald-Leader received under the Kentucky Open Records Act, Everett is an adjunct professor at the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky; Mohanram works in recruitment and credentialing for Lexington Clinic; Jason Moore works for the Drug Enforcement Administration; Privott works at Morehead State University assessing higher education courses for adults; Saylor is the Kentucky Executive Liaison for Franklin Covey Education; Shaddox is the owner/operator of Agricultural Consulting Services; Wells is director of membership of a nonprofit; Larry Moore is a retired executive health care consultant.

Larry Moore said he is strongly committed to public education and the impact educators will have on a young child’s life, according to documents the applicants filed.

Everett said he wants to serve because school boards are the “first line of defense for democracy in this country.”

Monranham said she wanted the seat because “we have the opportunity to identify creative solutions to challenges facing the district, while continuing to drive the positive change and growth that is already in gear.”

Jason Moore said he would make sure limited resources are dedicated to the benefit of students.

Privott said he is an advocate for public education. Saylor said one of his interests is giving teachers and administrators the best possible training.

Shaddox said his child is excelling in the Fayette school district and he wants to give back.

Wells’ focus would be to address student and employee morale in Fayette County Public Schools.

Board members are continuing to review applications for the District 3 board vacancy and will soon choose the new member.

District 3 includes the eastern section of Fayette County, including Hamburg, Chilesburg and outbound Richmond Road.

”The Board is committed to doing our due diligence on behalf of our students and community to faithfully review each candidate, assess their qualifications, and follow the timelines and obligations set by statute,” Fayette County Board Chairman Tyler Murphy said in the news release.

Applications were accepted from October 26 through 5 p.m. on November 20. The school district previously declined to give the Herald-Leader the applicants’ names and said the newspaper would need to file a Kentucky Open Records Request.

The 14 candidates announced Thursday meet the legal qualifications for board service. Board members are in the process of vetting each applicant. They will then review feedback and input from the community and select a pool of finalists to advance to the next stage of interviews, the news release said.

“Because students must be our number one focus, the first step for finalists will be a student-led forum,” Murphy said.

Finalists will then interview with the board. Board members anticipate selecting a finalist prior to the December 14 board action meeting.

Under the law, the Board has until December 22 to fill the vacancy.

The successful applicant will serve until the next general election on November 5, 2024, and can run for election to a four-year-term of their own.

“We all take this responsibility very seriously,” Murphy said in the news release.

This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 2:44 PM.