The Adair County school board had a special called meeting Tuesday night and elected Troy Grider as chairman for the remainder of 2021. Terry Harvey will remain as vice chairman.
The election was required to fulfill former chairman Lisa Burton’s term. Burton resigned her post at last month’s meeting.
“I told Lisa that we’re going to blame everything on her,” laughed Grider. “I told her she has led in a very great manner. We understand her reasons for why she resigned, and I would have probably done the same thing. It is a very humbling experience for me, and I just hope I can do as good of a job as she did.
“I didn’t necessarily want or campaign for the position, but if my peers think I can do the best job at it, then obviously that’s what I want to do.”
Grider said he does not go into his new position with any agenda of what he wants accomplished during his term. He just wants to do the best job he can.
“With this board, we have always had some very good cooperation, compromise and ease in working together. Really, I just want to continue that,” Grider said. “We know within boards and especially within schools there sometimes is a lot of old politics. My goal is to try and keep that out. I want to be purpose driven, and that purpose is to do the best job I can for the children.”
The board then went into a working session for a presentation from Sarah Lamere, Brian Buckner, Kevin McCalla, and Greg Hosfield of Ross Tarrant Architects of Lexington. The group, well known for building schools around the state, worked with board members to discuss possible plans for a new middle school in the district and where it would best fit on campus. No decisions were made, but future meetings were discussed.
“We were just looking at potentially where we could build a new middle school,” Grider said. “We’re just excited to look at new ideas, and this firm did a good job of helping us do that.”
The board is seeking applications to fill Burton’s seat in District 3. The appointment will be effective until the 2022 general election. Applicants must be 24 years old, be a Kentucky citizen for at least three years, be a registered voter in District 3, and have a high school education or GED.
Applications are available at the Board of Education, 1204 Greensburg St. The appointment and swearing in are planned for July 22.
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By Scott Wilson
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