LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Jefferson County Board of Education member announced his resignation Friday.
In a letter to Board Chair Dr. Corrie Shull and Vice-Chair James Craig, Chris Kolb said he would be resigning from the board "effective immediately."
Kolb said he is resigning to become a teacher for Jefferson County Public Schools "ideally before the first day of school."
Legally, he is not allowed to work for the district as a member of the board, where he has served since 2016.
Kolb, who represented District 2, dropped out of the race for reelection in June following the Jefferson County Teachers Association's decision to not endorse any candidates running for the school board from his district.
In his resignation letter, Kolb cited his frustrations over the past few years "by the board's failure to raise the revenue needed to address the staffing crisis and by the board's refusal to take responsibility for the challenges this has created, including the transportation debacle on the first day of school in 2023."
Kolb also accused Shull and Craig of putting their "own political aspirations above the needs of JCPS students by going against Dr. Pollio's recommendation and preemptively lowering the tax rate in 2023 rather than taking action to address the staffing crisis."
"I realize now that I will not be successful in convincing this board to focus on student outcomes or to raise the revenue needed to address the staffing crisis, so I am choosing to do what I can as an individual by becoming a JCPS teacher," Kolb said in his resignation letter. "However, I am just one person and the board itself has only three choices in the face of the staffing crisis: raise the revenue required to attract and retain staff, join me and resign from the board to work for JCPS, or admit to yourselves and the community that you don't care that much about the future of the district."
Kolb said he would have resigned even if he wasn't looking to become a teacher for the district because he "simply cannot be on the board any longer under the current board leadership."
In May, Kolb sent a scathing letter to district employees following a controversial vote to change the district's start times for a second year in a row. When asked if he regrets that letter, Kolb said he did not.
Kolb denied an interview request Friday afternoon, and said he will let his statement stand for itself.
In a statement sent to WDRB by JCPS Spokesperson Carolyn Callahan, the district said "We thank Chris Kolb for his service to the children of Jefferson County. We appreciate that he plans to continue to help kids and the District by applying to be a teacher in a JCPS classroom."
Callahan added that Kolb's resignation has to be accepted by the board.
You can read Kolb's full letter by clicking here or in the PDF embedded in this story.
This story may be updated.
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- JCPS board member drops out of upcoming school board race
- JCPS board member sends scathing letter to principals
- 2 JCPS board members will not seek reelection
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