Nelson County school board adjourns meeting early amid heated discussion with parents over middle school merger

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Nelson County Schools' Board of Education voted to adjourn its meeting early on Tuesday evening over a heated argument between parents and board members.

Parents and community members packed the meeting to voice their concerns over a decision to merge schools.

Last month, in a divided 3-2 vote, the school board approved a plan to merge Boston Middle School and New Haven Middle School with Old Kentucky Home Middle School, citing low enrollment at the schools.

The merger is part of Nelson County's Connected Campus Plan to consolidate schools and reallocate resources. It's the same plan that calls for merging Thomas Nelson High School into Nelson County High School.

"I do not foresee space being an issue, I really don't," Board member Amanda Deaton said. "If you look at the numbers of students that would be transitioning from Boston to New Haven, there's adequate space at Old Kentucky Home."

Many community members and parents are against the mergers. Last October, student and teacher protests voicing their frustrations over the plan closed school for two days. Some school board meetings over the last year have been packed by members of the community voicing their opposition to the possible merger.

Those feelings persisted Tuesday among parents and even on the school board itself, which remains divided.

"The parents that are here, and the parents that have voiced their concerns, they want us to be part of that dialogue," Board member Tracy Bowling said. "This dialogue here can happen all day long, but they want us to have it with them, and that's why there is this frustration."

The board hasn't yet provided a timeline for merging the middle schools. Ultimately, Tuesday's meeting was cut short as the interactions between the crowd and the board grew more contentious.

A group of parents had already taken their merger concerns to a court filing in a civil lawsuit against Superintendent Wes Bradley and the Nelson County School Board. Another hearing in the case is planned for this Friday, Feb. 16.

The school board will hold meetings at each of the impacted middle schools later this month.

Last month's decision by the board to merge the middle schools added to a series of events occurring in Nelson County Schools. More recently, the board's attorney, Eric Farris, resigned over "ethical concerns." Farris' resignation came just before the board considered potentially firing Bradley, the district's superintendent. That never happened, however, and Bradley remains in his position.

Last year, former board member Damon Jackey, who voted against a potential merger, later resigned after serving more than 15 years on the board. At the time, Jackey said the way his colleagues on the board had acted in 2023 contributed to his resignation, even accusing them of making unethical and possibly illegal decisions. His resignation was formally accepted during a board meeting on Oct. 24, 2023.

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