The Covington Independent Public Schools Board of Education has officially decided to begin searching for a new superintendent. The vote to begin the search was unanimous and occurred at the board meeting on Thursday.
The text of Thursday’s resolution allows “Board Chair Tom Haggard to provide formal written notice that the Board does not intend to re-appoint Mr. Alvin Garrison as Superintendent of the Covington Independent School District.”
The board members and Superintendent Garrison, who has been with the district for 12 years, did not engage in discussion on the topic at the meeting. However, Garrison provided a written statement (the entirety of which you can read here) to LINK nky afterwards.
“I have had a fulfilling tenure as a superintendent,” Garrison begins his statement. “I am grateful for the unwavering support from the boards during my first nine years in this role. The past three years have posed significant challenges, but I remain committed to prioritizing the best interests of our students, families, faculty, staff and community in my final year.”
Haggard had broached the topic of beginning the process of seeking out a new superintendent at the board’s first meeting earlier in June. Haggard said at that meeting that the decision to begin the search was due to Garrison’s own intimations, as well as the fact another district in the region, Newport Independent, had recently separated from its superintendent and that he wanted to begin the process as soon as possible to stay competitive. Newport appointed an interim superintendent on Wednesday.
The text of the resolution indicates the board and the law firm that represents it, Adams Law, will present information about possible consulting firms the board could hire to aid in the search for a new superintendent no later than July 24. Possible contracts and negotiation information would need to be presented by Aug. 28.
As Garrison suggested in his letter, the relationship between the elected board of education members and the superintendent, who acts as the district’s professional, administrative head, was sometimes strenuous with disagreements arising over money, communication and district facilities.
One community member, Dan Francis, a retired pastor who is active in community life and generally supportive of Garrison, spoke during the public comments section of the meeting.
“Why can’t the board and our superintendent find a way to make it through?” Francis asked. “What would be a better solution for everybody, particularly the kids of Covington?”
Francis commented on what he described as the “fairly uncaring relationship” the board sometimes had with Garrison and encouraged them to find a way to reconcile.
“We are getting ready to approach a 200-year celebration of public education in our city,” Francis said. “Will our board of education and our superintendent be a sad story of egos and personal agendas or a glad story about the ongoing work of the longest-tenured Black superintendent in the state of Kentucky?”
Haggard also provided some comments after the meeting, in which he said that as the district approached the aforementioned 200-year life of public education in the city, “we must also prepare for the next chapter–one defined by student-centered leadership, stronger partnerships with families and educators, and measurable progress in reading and math outcomes.
“We’re not dwelling on the past; we’re choosing a future where every child has the opportunity to succeed.”
LINK nky will report more on the superintendent search process as it occurs.