Four elected to Jefferson County Board of Education

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Two new members won election to the Jefferson County Board of Education on Tuesday, while two current members will keep their seats.

The board overseeing Jefferson County Public Schools had four of its seven seats on the ballot, including two members who had been appointed to replace elected members who had stepped down.

One of those current members, Gail Logan Strange, defeated Mark Gatton 75%-25% in the race for District 1, which includes western and downtown Louisville.

"Now I have to continue working hard again, making sure that we get transportation back for our children... in magnet and traditional schools, that we pick the best superintendent that we can get, and that we work on the achievement gap," Strange told WDRB.

Another current member, Tricia Lister, won her race for the District 2 seat that takes in parts of St. Matthews and areas off Bardstown Road and Taylorsville Road, among others. She had no opponent after challenger Abby Berthold dropped out of the race in September.

In a contested race for District 4 in southwestern Louisville, Trevin Bass beat Barbara Lewis 55%-45%.

The election for District 7, which stretches across southeastern Louisville, had just one candidate on the ballot. Taylor Everett won election to the board with no opposition and is set to replace outgoing member Sarah McIntosh, who didn’t seek reelection.

The board faces pivotal issues that will include deciding the next superintendent of the embattled Louisville school district.

Here’s a breakdown of the candidates in the four districts:

District 1

Strange has held the seat since her appointment last December. She replaced Diane Porter, who resigned due to health reasons.

Strange and Gatton differed on key policy issues. Strange opposed a Constitutional Amendment 2 paving the way for state lawmakers to direct funds for public schools to private schools, telling WDRB News that the measure would “devastate the public school systems.”

Voters turned back that proposal on Tuesday.

Gatton backed the ballot initiative, saying it would give parents an alternative to public schools. “School choice, I think, is a great thing,” he said.

District 2

Lister joined the board after the previous District 2 representative Chris Kolb resigned. She told WDRB she didn’t support Amendment 2 and opposes changes to the school district, such as breaking it up.

District 4

The seat became open when Joe Marshall chose not to seek another term.

Bass and Lewis share similar views on key issues, with both opposing Amendment 2 and splitting up JCPS.

District 7

Everett told WDRB he doesn’t support breaking up the district and plans to bring a businesslike approach to finding the next superintendent to replace Marty Pollio, who announced he will retire after the current school year.