Stay the course — 06/12/09 » Editorials » Daily Independent (Ashland, KY)

Editorials

Discussion

June 11, 2009

Stay the course — 06/12/09

Boyd schools have improved under leadership of Osborne

Anonymous The Daily Independent Thu Jun 11, 2009, 05:32 PM EDT

Howard K. Osborne’s future as superintendent of the Boyd County School District could be decided by an as yet-to-be appointed member of the Boyd school board. We find that unbelievable. From our vantage point, Osborne has done an excellent job during his four years at head of the county school district and his contract — which expires at the end of June — should be extended.

Apparently, not all of the four remaining members of the school board agree with our assessment of Osborne. According to board members Randall Stapleton, chairman Bob Green and he are in favor of offering Osborne a new contract, but board members Theresa Jackson and Teresa Cornette are not.

Cornette declined to tell a reporter her position on Osborne’s future in the district, while Jackson says she has yet to make up her mind and wants to wait until the board is back to five members before making a decision.

“Some things could happen to change our minds,” Jackson said, without saying what those things are.

Board member Phillip Pruitt resigned in April because his job with county government barred him from serving on the school board.

The Kentucky commissioner of education will fill the vacancy created by Pruitt’s resignation from a list of three applicants who live within Pruitt’s district. While the state school board currently is in the process of conducting a nationwide search for a new commissioner of education, Elaine Farris is serving as interim commissioner and has the power to fill vacancies on school boards. By law, current school board members and employees of the Boyd County School District have no role in filling the vacancy.

With the Boyd board deadlocked on Osborne continuing as superintendent, then the first vote the new board member casts is a critical one. Never has the filling of a school board vacancy been so important.

Frankly, we wish Jackson and Cornette — both of whom areactive and competent school board members — would publicly express their problems with Osborne. During his four years as superintendent, Boyd County’s academic achievements have risen steadily and quite impressively. The district has met the goals established by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Osborne has steered the district past the controversy over the formation of a now defunct Gay-Straight Alliance at Boyd County High and the resulting court-mandated sensitivity training. Despite all the negative, statewide publicity created by that controversy, the school district in many ways is better from having gone through it. We often learn from adversity

The school district is expected to break ground on a new high school that may cost in excess of $30 million. The immense size of this project alone makes it a bad time to be switching superintendents.

While we are certain many of the most ardent fans of the Boyd County Lions wish they had won more football and basketball games in recent seasons, but you can hardly blame the superintendent for that. Besides, in the long run, success in academics is far more important than success in athletics.

A letter signed by 20 Boyd County teachers that was published on this page Thursday praised Osborne for his visibility. He visits each school weekly, if not more often, and personally greets the students and teachers. He’s an encourager.

Without commenting on the controversy involving his position, Osborne has only said he wants to continue as superintendent.

He should be given that opportunity. Before the next scheduled school board meeting on June 22, we hope a new board member will have been appointed and the board will vote to award Osborne with a new contract. And our hope is that the vote on the new contract is 5-0, instead of 3-2.

Text Only

Editorials

Earmarks again?
Immediately, following the midterm elections of 2010 which saw Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives and capture seats in the U.S. Senate, Republican leaders in Congress announced they had heard the voice of the voters and vowed to cease using “earmarks,” the name given to appropriations slipped into bills by influential legislators without a vote.

May 26, 2012
Best in the nation
It may surprise many readers that Newsweek’s “best high school in America” is located right here in Kentucky and is open to selected students throughout the state, but then the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green is hardly your typical high school. In fact, it would be impossible for even the best public high schools to emulate the amazing success of students at the Gatton Academy.

May 25, 2012
After the vote
We offer today a few reflections on the messages voters sent in Tuesday’s primary election in Kentucky.

May 24, 2012
A mild winter
As we approach the Memorial Day weekend, long hailed as the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, we pause to reflect upon the winter that wasn’t.

May 23, 2012
Devices banned
Emergency breathing devices that tests have proven unreliable are being phased out under a directive issued by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration. However, MSHA has given mine operators more than 18 months to remove all the air packs from underground mines.

May 22, 2012
A free weekend
In an effort to promote increased recreational use of the two lakes in the Daniel Boone National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service will offer free fishing and boating during the first weekend in June.

May 22, 2012
Ho-hum election
Psst! Want to know a secret? There’s a primary election Tuesday. And it’s right here in Kentucky! However, there has been so little interest in this election, that Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, the state’s top election official, is predicting that only betwixen 10 and 12 percent of the state’s eligible voters will take the time to go to the polls tomorrow.

May 21, 2012
A real rush job
By giving first reading approval to two identical ordinances creating the Northeast Regional Jail Authority, elected leaders in Boyd and Carter counties are reviving a 30-year-old political issue — only this time with different results.

May 20, 2012
KCTC leads way
The ability of Kentucky to compete with other states and the rest of the world for the good jobs of tomorrow keeps improving by degrees.

May 19, 2012
Slow decline?
Louisville’s Churchill Downs is seeing its shortest spring meets since 1975, and some owners, trainers and breeders fear they could get even shorter. That is unless the Kentucky General Assembly has a change of heart and gives the home of the Kentucky Derby the option of increasing its nonracing revenue by offering new forms of gambling.

May 18, 2012
More Editorials Headlines

Editorials

Search Results

Discussion

Stay the course — 06/12/09

Boyd schools have improved under leadership of Osborne

Site Map

Contact Us