Incumbents Melissa Bacon, Daryl Love win Fayette school board races

Melissa Bacon and Daryl Love, incumbents on the Fayette County school board, won re-election in Tuesday’s general election.

Board chairwoman Bacon’s opponent in District 1, Samantha Rodarte, and Love’s opponent in District 5, Sharon Mofield-Boswell, were both political newcomers. They are active in the PTA and other school-related groups.

Bacon, a former bank employee who describes herself as “a full-time mom,” defeated Rodarte, locations manager at Lexpark, in the 1st District, which is in west Fayette County and includes the neighborhoods of Meadowthorpe, Cardinal Valley and Cave Hill.

Bacon was appointed to the Fayette County Board of Education in 2006, and elected in 2007, 2008 and 2012. She was elected chairwoman earlier this year following the death of longtime board chairman John Price.

One issue facing the Fayette school board is closing the achievement gap between students of color, those that are low income, those that are disabled and all other students. Overall student achievement is also a problem. Statewide tests results for 2015-16 show that the Fayette County school district’s overall classification dropped from “proficient” in 2014-15 to “needs improvement,” where it was two years ago.

Superintendent Manny Caulk has launched a Blueprint for Success that includes new initiatives and the district will soon have a long-term strategic plan. On Tuesday night, Bacon said she would continue supporting Caulk’s efforts and “make sure we are making strides to close our gaps.”

In the 5th District, incumbent Love, manager of community relations at Valvoline Inc., defeated Mofield-Boswell, a teacher at Porter Memorial Church in the Weekday Education Program. Love was appointed in 2010 and elected in 2012 to the school board.

“I’m excited to work with our board team and superintendent as we continue our current momentum of transforming our school district to meet the needs of every child,” Love said Tuesday. “As we move toward the adoption of our long-term strategic plan, I’m committed to making sure we foster a winning culture.”

District 5 includes the neighborhoods of Zandale, Rosemont Garden and Waterford.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Incumbents Melissa Bacon, Daryl Love win Fayette school board races."