Reed Gets Four Year Contract As Superintendent

Alan Reed will remain in his position as Adair County School Board superintendent for the next four years. It took less than ten minutes for the decision to be made during Thursday night's special called school board meeting.

The meeting began with board member Quinn Lasley addressing fellow board members and the audience by saying, "I have always been a Reed supporter. The reason I voted the way I did last week is because I only received my packet two days prior to the meeting."

Before a motion was made concerning Reed's contract, board member Lisa Burton said it was her understanding that when Reed initially took the position over three years ago that he only wanted to serve one term as Superintendent. In a somewhat tense exchange between the two, Lasley questioned Burton as to where she had gotten that information. Burton said it was common knowledge in the community.

Board members were limited in the actions they could take in the matter. Jeff Hoover, board attorney, explained that they were ultimately left with only two options - offer Reed a one-year extension to his current contract or enter into a new contract not to exceed four years.

Floyd Burton was the first to put a motion on the floor to issue a new four-year contract for Reed, it was second by Mike Harris. This was quickly defeated by a vote of 2-3, with Lasley, Lisa Burton and Terry Harvey voting no..

As a compromise, Lisa Burton made a motion to offer Reed a two-year contract. It was second by Lasley but died with a 2-3 vote, with Harris, Floyd Burton and Harvey voting no.

With little option left, Lasley made a motion to extend Reed's contract for one year but before it could garner a second by a fellow board member, Reed stated he would have no interest in a one year extension.  Lasley then made the motion for a four-year agreement under the same terms and conditions as his current contract - Floyd Burton second the motion and it passed by a vote of 3-2. Both Lisa Burton and Terry Harvey opposed the contract.

Following a quick adjournment, Reed told the Community Voice, "I would just like to say that I’m honored to continue the work and vision that this board and community have for our students. Our school district is on a different trajectory and I understand that people get emotional about things that happen in the past, but we don't live in the past anymore."

Looking to the future, Reed added, "I hope we can all get past some of this divisive business and let's make Adair County one of the best school districts in the state of Kentucky."

Members of the public were not allowed to voice their opinion considering this was a special called meeting and it was not on the agenda.