Citing teacher turnover, parents question Superintendent Bradley’s leadership skills

By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio

Tuesday, May 18, 2021 — Many of the parents at Tuesday’s night meeting of the Nelson County Board of Education made it clear to the board they were not in favor of the Community Campus plan to bring the district’s middle school students to the two high schools.

Superintendent Wes Bradley provided the board and the audience with a short presentation on the issues that have surfaced during the last month’s community meetings regarding the Community Campus plan.

Bradley said that the discussion about the Community Campus is one where he and the district leadership continue to “listen, learn and prioritize” — a process with will continue.

In the end, he asked the board and parents to consider one question — “What is best for kids?”

More than 100 people attended the board meeting; one side of the Boston School gym was filled with parents, the other side was mostly school staff and administrators.

When time came for input from the public, more than a dozen parents from all over the district were ready to weigh in on Bradley’s question of what’s best for the district’s children, though their comments touchedd on a variety of issues other than the Community Campus proposal.

Former school board member Rebecca McGuire-Dye admitted that change can be both difficult and scary, but called on the board to make the best choice for the education of the district’s students.

She was critical of the personal attacks and misinformation being spread on social media, particularly attacks on individual board members.

Pam Dockery also spoke in favor of the district moving forward with the Community Campus plan, as did Heidi Marksbury, who noted that her middle school and high school grades were located togehter and offered her expanded academic opportunities she wouldn’t have received otherwise.

Several parents said the community meetings had revealed to them some other issues that they felt were not being addressed, including the superintendent’s leadership skills.

Jon Snow noted that the turnover rate for teachers had increased the past three years — from 22.4 in 2018 to 24.7 in 2019, and 31.4 percent in 2020.

In addition to an unusually high number of teachers leaving the district, the district had nealry 10 percent of its teachers with emergency certification. About 800 students who live in the district attend school elsewhere.

“That’s a red flag to me,” he told the board, adding that he lacked confidence in the district’s leadership.

Amanda Deaton also spoke about the teacher turnover rate.

“The staffing issues are unacceptable,” she said. “It needs to be addressed.”

She asked the board members to speak up for the good of the district’s children, and called on the board to not renew Bradley’s employment contract.

Other parents agreed that teacher turnover was a problem. The number of teachers who hold emergency certifications is nearly double the statewide rate, one parent said, asking the board to hold the superintendent responsible, while a couple of parents suggested Bradley resign.

Fairfield area resident Pamela Waldridge told the board that people in the northeastern part of the county want the board to vote against the Community Campus model. She told the boad that if the schools in Boston and New Haven need more resources, the district should focus on improving those schools. She also called for Bradley’s resignation.

Former district teacher and Chaplin resident Josh Simpson also pointed to the number of teachers who are leaving the district each year.

“This is no longer about the merger, for me,” he told the board.

Last year, 10 of the school’s 22 teachers left the New Haven School, Simpson said. Five teacher positions at New Haven are currently posted on the district’s website.

“When I see the turnover rate — 31 percent of our teachers gone in 2020 — with more than 20 teaching positions already on the school website, that’s not acceptable, sir,” he said.

Simpson also told the board that every teacher he used to work with in the Nelson County Schools district is afraid to speak out about the Community Campus for fear of retaliation.

“I’m asking you to change the environment,” he asked the board. “It’s not about the merger anymore, its about the inconsistencies I see the more research I do.”

NEXT UP. The board meeting is Tuesday, June 1, 2021, at the Guthrie Opportunity Center in Bardstown.

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