Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson will not seek presidency of KCTCS

FRANKFORT — Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson ended speculation Monday that he might want to be the next president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, saying he was not interested in the job.

Abramson said in an email that he had "decided not to apply for the KCTCS presidency, as it's not the type of position I'm looking for at this time." He did not elaborate, but noted that he has 1½ years left as lieutenant governor.

"I'll make the decision on what to do next at a later date," he said.

Abramson, 67, had been mentioned as a possible successor to Michael McCall, who announced last year that he would retire Jan. 15, 2015, after leading for 16 years the system that oversees Kentucky's community and technical colleges. It is based in Versailles, and the job of president currently pays $321,888 a year.

Abramson, who makes $115,594 a year as lieutenant governor, said in August that he would not run for governor in 2015. He said then that he would like to be involved in improving education in the state.

He is an attorney and a former mayor of Louisville.

The 14-member KCTCS Board of Regents will decide who replaces McCall.

It began accepting applications for the presidency in May. The board hopes to review finalists Sept. 18 and 19 and announce a successor to McCall in October.

The KCTCS president oversees a system of 16 community and technical colleges with more than 70 campuses serving more than 135,000 students a year. The system has an annual operating budget of about $929 million.

This story was originally published July 7, 2014 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson will not seek presidency of KCTCS."