As we all know, the Fayette County Board of Education is responsible for educating our most valuable resource: our children.
It’s a complicated charge, allocating an $800 million budget to 42,000 students in 71 schools and programs led by 3,000 teachers. Like many districts around the country, the school board faces numerous questions about its spending, its facilities and its results. There is perhaps no more important job in the province than the people who oversee this important challenge. Given the seriousness of the allegation, they must be able to tell their constituents exactly what they are doing and hold their employees accountable.
It’s a tough job, but here are the candidates we think will be most successful at it.
Ward 1: Monica Mundy
Both Marilyn Clark and Monica Mundy care deeply about the students and teachers of Fayette County Public Schools.
But we give Mundy the edge because she has a focused determination to challenge the status quo based on her own experiences with the district.
Mundy got involved in education, like most of us, through her own child. Her daughter was in the early girls science program, Rise Stem, at the old Linlee Elementary, and basic supplies were often in demand. So Mundy joined the PTA to help, learning about all the other needs Rise had along with other schools.
In March, parents were told that despite promising the program would continue through high school, it was ending at fifth grade. The magnet application window was already closed.
Mundy decided that she and other parents needed more transparency and accountability from the school system, and the best way she could get that was by running for school board.
Mundy, an associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Human Environmental Sciences, conducts research on teacher well-being, specifically how to alleviate stress and burnout. She wants to see more evidence of financial transparency from the district to concerned parents, more evidence of outreach to the district’s most vulnerable students, and even more improvement in student achievement.
She is more than willing to demand answers to many of the questions parents have about these issues, and that’s why we support her.
District 3: Penny Christian
It’s inspiring to see how many people care enough about our public schools to run for school board, and the District 3 candidates are no exception. Penny Christian, Danny Everett and Isaac Sebourn should be commended for their willingness to step up.
But it is an easy choice for us to support Christian because we know her from many years of fierce advocacy for children in Fayette County, in Kentucky and across the United States.
Christian’s four daughters attended Fayette public schools. She started in their school PTAs and then rose to the presidency of the 16th District PTA in Fayette County from 2019-2021. She served as Vice President of Leadership Outreach for the Kentucky PTA and serves on the Legislative Committee for the National PTA.
She has also been deeply involved with the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, particularly the Institute for Parent Leadership.
Christian understands the micro view of schools and the macro view of issues affecting education nationally. She is, as she says, ‘for the babies’ and will not let anyone stand in her way of ensuring they get the best education possible.
She is concerned about equity, that a child at Booker T. Washington receive the same curriculum and quality of education as at Cassidy Elementary, and vows to fight for every child in the district, not just the child she represents. She is concerned about administrative burdens and financial transparency at the district level, but also believes that in a growing district, staff and teachers need to be supported.
People have asked her to run for school board before, but she was hesitant to do so before her youngest daughter left for college. We are pleased that she has made the decision to run for office and fully support her candidacy.
District 5: Amy Green
District 5 also has an excellent choice to make between Amy Green and Betsy Rutherford, a retired principal.
Rutherford has worked in schools across the district, most of which were filled with some of Fayette’s most vulnerable students. The work she has done to improve achievement at Russell Cave Elementary is especially commendable.
But we’ll give the edge to Green, himself a former teacher who has spent the past two years educating herself about the district. She is also willing to ask questions and hold the administration accountable.
She celebrates Fayette’s recent gains in state test scores, but also pushes for better performance across the district. She is also rightly proud of the pay increases for teachers and the provision of allowances for teaching materials – “because good teaching is decisive, despite socio-economic factors.”
Green also praises the district’s new paid parental leave policy and focus on the district’s many deferred maintenance needs.
The school board must ask tough questions of its sole employee, Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, but board members must also do more than throw bombs and make an effort to work together for the well-being of our children.
We believe Green can find that balance and support her for the seat.
