Lincoln begins superintendent search

STANFORD — More than six months after former superintendent Larry Woods resigned, the Lincoln County Board of Education on Thursday officially declared the position vacant and agreed to begin advertising for a replacement.
The board also extended the appointment of interim Superintendent Karen Hatter an additional three months. Hatter, an assistant superintendent for nine years, was named interim on July 1 after Woods unexpectedly retired.
Under state law, an interim can only be appointed for six months, with a three-month extension allowed. The state education commissioner has to grant a waiver for an interim to serve beyond nine months.
The board will advertise for a new superintendent through the Kentucky Department of Education from Jan. 26 through Feb. 28. That will leave only one month for the applicants to be screened, finalists selected and interviewed, and a new superintendent hired before Hatter’s time as interim ends under state law.
Chairman Jim Kelley does not think the board will have any trouble meeting that deadline.
“If we have any hang-ups, we could ask for a waiver, but we don’t anticipate doing that,” Kelley said.
He said the board did not want to jump immediately into searching for Woods’ replacement because hiring a new superintendent then would have conflicted with the beginning of the school year, already a busy time.
The board felt comfortable waiting because it had Hatter, an experienced assistant, available to run the school system until a new superintendent is named.
Hatter has been with the school system for 27 years. She started as a teacher at Highland Elementary, the school she attended growing up.
She declined to say Thursday if she would apply for the job permanently.
“When they post the position, I’ll make that decision,” she said.