LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Jefferson County Public Schools board member who criticized principals against the district’s new start times is up for reelection this November.
On Tuesday, JCPS approved a plan that would change the start times for more than 80 schools next school year. The decision came after the board voted to cut transportation for all magnet and traditional schools in April.
In a scathing open letter directed at school leaders, District 2 Board Member Chris Kolb said that some principals’ opposition to the changes have reflected “very poorly on [Superintendent] Pollio.”
RELATED: 'Reads like an articulate temper tantrum': Community reacts to Kolb's letter to JCPS principals
“There is no way around this and pretending like there is some other magical path the board could choose, as many of you have done, is simply absurd, destructive and not in good faith,” he wrote.
Kolb, who voted against the start times because the plan didn't adhere closely enough to research on start times, argued while there are many factors to consider, “JCPS can adapt to them.”
He advised district staff to “be imaginative” and work with the new changes -- and if not, “please consider that it may be best for you and for the children of Jefferson County that you step aside.”
Kolb declined WHAS11’s request for an interview on Thursday.
Will Kolb run in upcoming JCPS school board election?
Four seats on the JCPS Board of Education will be on the ballot this November, including Chris Kolb’s District 2 seat.
Kolb, a 1994 graduate of Atherton High School, has held the position since 2017.
In 2021, he voluntarily stepped down as the school board’s vice-chair after a heated Twitter exchange with State Senator Whitney Westerfield over Gov. Andy Beshear’s mask mandate for all K-12 schools, preschools, and childcare centers.
Although Kolb declined an interview, he said he does plan to run for reelection in November.
District 7’s Sarah McIntosh and District 4’s Joe Marshall are also up for reelection, although McIntosh has already said she will not be running in November. Marshall also told WHAS11 he is not running for reelection this year.
Gail Logan Strange's District 1 seat will also be on the ballot since she was appointed to represent the district after Diane Porter stepped down. Strange said she does intend to run for reelection.
Anyone who lives in one of the districts up for reelection, and meets the district's requirements, can file to run against incumbent school board members.
The deadline to file is June 4. Click here for more information.
Board members Linda Duncan, Corrie Shull and James Craig aren’t up for reelection until 2027.
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