KY school district will ‘promptly’ change leadership after controversial staffing cuts

Berea Independent School District officials say they are “promptly” working on a leadership change as controversial staff cuts have left parents calling for Superintendent Diane Hatchett’s resignation and students have walked out of class in protest.

A statement posted on social media Monday by the district did not specifically say Hatchett would leave her post, but it did say she was in discussions with the school board chairman and made reference to her contract rights.

The Richmond Register reported Monday afternoon that Hatchett had stepped down, but school board chairman John Morgan said about 4:30 p.m. Monday, “There have been no changes since the message went out this morning. We will be making all announcements via the district’s communications channels and will update the public in a timely manner.”

Hatchett did not immediately respond to questions from the Herald-Leader.

“We recognize the urgency members of the public have expressed about the need for change in leadership at the District,” the district wrote on Facebook. “...We agree that it is in the best interest of students, families, school staff and the district to make the change promptly.

“To that end, the Board Chair and the Superintendent are discussing options to make that happen as quickly and efficiently as possible. As you may expect, there are legalities and contract rights of the Superintendent that must be addressed. We appreciate your patience and commit to provide updates as quickly as possible,” the statement said.

Berea Independent is a small district in Madison County, which borders Fayette County. In the latest Kentucky school report card for 2023-2024, there were 948 students, three schools, and 81 teachers.

A petition on change.org calling for Hatchett’s resignation said “recent reports of the district’s financial mismanagement, including excessive and unjustifiable travel expenses, have placed an unnecessary strain on the very fabric of our educational system. “

“The per capita income in Berea is around, $26,600, and Dr. Hatchett has spent almost double that in travel in this school year alone, with expenses of $41,626. Dr. Hatchett’s disregard for prudent fiscal responsibility has led to the non-renewal of numerous contracts for teachers and staff, many of whom are integral to the quality of education our children receive,” the petition said. “These cuts are not only detrimental to our school community but are also a direct result of failed leadership at the top.”

The Richmond Register said eight district positions were eliminated, while the staff of the elementary school was reduced by 10 positions, the middle school by 5 1/2, and the high school by 8 1/2.

Preschool was reduced from three classes to one, and special education instruction staff was cut.

The aim was to reduce personnel expenditures by $1.2 million, Hatchett was quoted as saying in the Register.

Additionally, Hatchett and Finance Director Nathan Sweet were quoted as saying they were tightening spending limits, reducing student transportation costs, pausing technology purchases for two years, freezing hiring, and eliminating some middle school athletic teams, combining them with high school teams.

Assistant coaching positions were also to be cut. Some extracurricular activities would be discontinued, such as the school’s engineering program “and the award-winning Jobs for America’s Graduates program,” the newspaper said.

Hatchett said the Kentucky Department of Education is allowing the district to implement its own recovery plan, the newspaper said.

“They could have come in here, if they wanted to, and taken us over and not blinked an eye,” Hatchett was quoted as saying about KDE. “They could have gotten rid of all the principals, [allowed] one principal for the whole school, no guidance counselors, no band, no music, no art, nothing. But instead, right now, they are letting us go with this plan. We’re trying to save as many jobs as possible.”

“KDE has been providing assistance to the district,” Kentucky Department of Education spokesperson Jennifer Ginn told the Herald-Leader Monday in response to Hatchett’s reported statement. “In order for KDE to take over the district, there would have to be a management review and action by the Kentucky Board of Education per statute. Neither one of those actions has been taken.”

WKYT reported that students walked out of school last week at a protest where staff members were also present.

WKYT reported Hatchett said of the staff cuts, “It’s not impersonal. They’re not a number. They matter. They matter to our kids. They matter to each one of us. And we do care.”

Hatchett previously told WKYT that the overspending comes from having an abundance of staff but lower enrollment. She said a lot of the positions being cut were created during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the cuts are a way to return to pre-COVID staffing.

Hatchett said the staffing cuts would save the district $1.27 million, WKYT reported.

Hatchett said the district plans to support the staff whose jobs were cut as much as they can and will even write letters of recommendation.

In a January message to families, Hatchett said during the December 2024 school board meeting, she informed the board of her decision to retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. She said her final day of service would be June 30, 2025, marking the conclusion of a 35½-year journey in education that began in December 1989.

This story was originally published March 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM.