SUMMIT —
A month after the dedication of a $42 million high school he spearheaded, Boyd County school Superintendent Howard K. Osborne announced Friday he is retiring to care for his ailing parents.
Osborne will retire April 1, which he said should give the board ample time to find a replacement.
“My dad is sick and my mother lives alone and has medical problems, and I want to give them the love they gave me my whole life,” he said.
“We hate to lose him,” said board chair Bob Green. “He worked so hard for the district. He put in 60, 70, 80-hour weeks. He was always visible in the district.”
In a letter posted Friday on the district’s website, Osborne wrote that the district had raised reading and math proficiency rates, boosted ACT scores and college/career readiness rates, met federal No Child Left Behind goals and become fully accredited.
The district also raised its freshman graduation rate.
“These have been eight of the happiest years of my career,” he said. “It was my honor to be able to work with the board and the community to build the new high school. This is a very difficult and emotional time for me.”
During his tenure, the district developed a science, technology, engineering and mathematics academy and early college initiatives with Morehead State University. It air conditioned the middle school and Catlettsburg elementary gyms and invested in other athletic facility improvements.
When the board passed a tax to fund building projects, the district under Osborne’s leadership planned and built a new high school that opened for its first classes this month.
In 2005, not long after taking the job, Osborne broke both legs when he fell from a ladder while hanging Christmas lights. He worked the next few months in a wheelchair and then on crutches during his recuperation.
The board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday with a consultant to review the search process for a replacement. The meeting will be held at the district office, 1104 Bob McCullough Drive.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com.
or (606) 326-2652.
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Osborne retiring from Boyd schools
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