Olivia Krauth's Hot Takes on JCPS
who are these men?!
I’ve heard y’all loud and clear: You want hot takes on the JCPS superintendent search and finalists. So here I am.
I understand The Gallery Pass is a hot girl’s guide to Kentucky politics, not a hot girl’s guide to JCPS drama, but anyone who thinks the superintendent of Kentucky’s largest school system/Frankfort’s favorite education-related punching bag isn’t political is sorely mistaken.
For those of you who may be new here: Hello, my name is Olivia Krauth. I’m an independent journalist who spent the bulk of my career covering JCPS before switching to the politics beat.
Please understand I’m not some random person yelling at the sky about JCPS; that field is incredibly oversaturated. I come with actual credentials, such as being named one of the nation’s top education reporters and once interviewing Marty Pollio’s distant cousin, Marty Pollio.
Oh, and playing a key role in ending busing. Can’t forget about that flex.
All that said, here are the hot takes.
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What’s going on with the JCPS superintendent search?
So, basically, to catch everyone up, current JCPS Superintendent Marty Pollio announced several months ago he will be retiring at the end of June, so we need a new superintendent.
The JCPS board, which is the superintendent’s boss, launched a national search for his replacement. Until the two finalists were announced a few weeks ago, the entire search process was conducted behind closed doors.
Now, I’ve covered way too many hiring processes in the world of Kentucky education, so I understand the need/desire to keep job candidates’ names secret until necessary. I don’t always love it, but I get it.
But a secret recruitment and interview process until the final stage can result in a situation like what we’re seeing with JCPS: Finalists are announced and everyone is like, um, who? And also, why are there no internal candidates?
Outside of the finalists’ merits, the lack of internal options is a huge sticking point for me. As an education reporter, I met so, so, so many talented, dedicated, passionate educators doing great work with Louisville’s students. They understand this community and its student body; they know the district’s challenges and often have solid ideas rooted in classroom experience to help improve the district.
Many of them have advanced degrees, years of experience in JCPS on their CVs and a track record of internal promotions. You mean to tell me none of them — none — were qualified? Because there are so many of them, you can’t argue that none of them applied.
On top of that, you mean to look at me and tell me that not ONE of the literal hundreds of people within JCPS making six figures were qualified to even be a finalist?! None of the central office administrators? None of the principals? No one?
I believe in paying people what they’re worth, and in my time combing through JCPS salary data, it is rare to see someone who isn’t worth those six figs. But it is difficult to sit here and continue that stance against claims of administrative bloat in a situation like this.
Who are the JCPS superintendent finalists?
The JCPS superintendent finalists are H. Brian Yearwood and Ben Shuldiner.
Basically every Louisville news outlet has talked to/looked into them, so feel free to check other sources for more details. But here are super brief overviews:
H. Brian Yearwood
Last served as superintendent in Columbia, Missouri — a district of roughly 20K.
Left under mysterious circumstances that involved a more than half-a-mil payout.
Said he had cancer, needed to spend more time closer to family, but then spent a bunch of time applying for leadership roles across the country.
Really big on “turning around” schools and rapidly boosting students’ scores.
Folks on Reddit really do not like him, celebrating news he resigned and warning those in Louisville to maybe pick someone else.
Ben Shuldiner
Last/current gig: Superintendent of Lansing, Michigan’s school system — roughly 10K.
Really big on boosting graduate and attendance rates.
Also has some experience with English language learner students — a growing chunk of JCPS’ student body.
To my knowledge, no Reddit threads warning JCPS against him.
Was recently a finalist to lead a different big school system, didn’t get picked, told everyone at home he was happy, then applied at JCPS.
Do you even go here?
So, now we’re in a situation where the two people who could become the next superintendent of JCPS are random men with zero apparent ties to JCPS or even to Kentucky, who have zero experience leading district even a quarter of the size of JCPS, and seem to mainly be interested in the job solely to further their careers.
Like, these are your party people? I know I sound critical, and that’s because I am. I literally have more experience with JCPS than both of these men combined.
Several in the JCPS community are hesitant to trust outsiders with their district. They’ve been burned before. I think one of the reasons Pollio was able to gain so much buy-in was because he’s spent his entire career in this district. And when he sat there and tried to make changes, he could look people in the eye and honestly say he knows what he’s talking about. Neither of the finalists can say the same.
And outside hires, particularly ones without ties to Kentucky, in my experience, tend to signal career hoppers. These are folks who take a job to get the title, get the bullet points for the resume, and then move on in two to three years. Enough time to drum up hype and promise around you; not enough time to actually see those ideas through — flaws and challenges and compromises and failures and all.
They’re shiny and new, full of promises and potential. And then they bounce to the next thing before they need to actually fully see their promises through. And then the cycle continues with their replacement, and — yet again — JCPS students, staffers and taxpayers don’t get the stronger results they have been routinely promised for decades.
And even if the finalists say or suggest they’re in it for the long haul, what else would they say? They want this job (especially in this economy, let’s be real). Why would they say, “Oh, I actually only plan on being here for a year and a half or so, and then I’m gonna bounce if that’s cool with y’all.” C’mon now.
JCPS shouldn’t be a stepping stone. Pollio has been in this role for more than seven years. Do you know how rare that is? Flaws aside, Louisville got lucky.
My questions for the JCPS superintendent finalists
This list is incomplete, and it is going to sound like a joke, but I fear these are serious questions:
Have you ever been to Kentucky?
Have you ever been to Louisville?
Do you know what a Frankfort is?
What is busing? (purposefully vague question because in JCPS, the correct answer is, “Do you mean busing for transportation or busing for desegregation?”)
Why should this community trust you when you have no ties here?
What does JCPS — and Louisville as a whole — gain from bringing you in?
Have you ever yelled at a lawmaker before?
Have you ever sternly talked at a lawmaker before?
Have you ever taken a more than half-a-mil buyout and if so, why and why should Louisville taxpayers trust you with their hard-earned money?
Do you prefer UK or U of L?
Anywho, the finalists faced the public
ICYMI, JCPS held two public forums Tuesday to hear directly from the young gents who wish to lead our children to a better tomorrow.
You can watch the playback of one of the livestreams on the school board’s YouTube page.
It seems like the finalists’ presentations largely mirrored what they shared behind semi-closed doors earlier in the day, where I was told both guys had strong qualities that would benefit JCPS, but one appeared to have more strong qualities than the other.
One of the finalists has already been repeatedly tweeted about by anti-DEI-in-college guru Michael Frazier, who lowkey begged this individual to try and come to Kentucky and support DEI efforts. Called the district “precious.”
I know neither of the finalists are super familiar with Kentucky, so let me be clear: If you are trying to become the next JCPS superintendent and you’ve already managed to piss off Michael Frazier by accurately understanding the situation in Frankfort and saying you’ll stand up for equity-focused initiatives — a must to close achievement gaps in JCPS — congrats and welcome to the Bluegrass State.
Well, that was fun. Let’s do it again maybe? Don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already and share this post with anyone you’d like.