2 new board members to join the Jefferson County Board of Education for the first time since the election

On November 8, 2024By Littum

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Two new faces will join the Jefferson County Board of Education after winning their seats in the general election.

Taylor Everett ran unopposed and will represent District 7 on the board. His wife was a teacher and assistant in JCPS for 10 years and his daughter is a sophomore at Ballard High School. He is currently the director of public services for the consultancy Eight Eleven Group.

Trevin Bass defeated candidate Barbara Lewis for the District 4 seat. Bass is a grant contract coordinator for the Louisville Metro Office of Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods. He is also a JCPS parent with two sons currently in the district.

With a background in recruiting, Everett believes his experience can help the board address transportation issues caused by the ongoing shortage of bus drivers.

“With my background, I think we need to throw more resources into it,” Everett said. “We have to use outside firms and we probably have to hire more recruiters to find these people because the pay and benefits are there, it’s just a matter of being able to reach enough people to fill the positions.”

Bass tells WAVE he believes the district should have more support systems in place for drivers. Last school year, the lack caused mass calls from bus drivers over challenging routes and a perceived lack of discipline by the district when it came to student behavior on buses.

“Give support to the bus drivers, let them know we have your back,” Bass said. “You are not just an employee, you are part of a family. I want to bring that family aspect back to the JCPS culture.”

Another topic that has been at the top of parents’ minds is the new security measures JCPS is taking to prevent guns from being brought into schools. Everett believes the district should expand its use of weapons detection systems.

“For me, it’s non-negotiable that these gun detection systems should be in every school that we can put them in,” Everett said. “Also, I think we can probably add more cameras to the outside of the school buildings to record people coming closer who maybe shouldn’t be there.”

In September, parents were shaken by the shooting outside a football game at Pleasure Ridge Park High School that killed a 17-year-old JCPS student.

As executive director of the non-profit youth mentoring program, First Strike of Unity and Peace Inc., Bass said he would like to see more outreach to students to find the root causes of violence.

“One thing I do is work with kids that way and I talk to them and try to find solutions,” Bass said. “I find that most of it comes from financial opportunity. So just go ahead with it, bring everyone to the table, not just adults, bring the kids so we can have a full circle of solutions.”

The JCPS school board will also have the chance to shape the district’s future when it leads the search for a new superintendent following Marty Pollio’s retirement in July 2025.

Everett said he would like to see candidates with an educational background and possibly work experience.

“Some kind of business background, kind of a big organizational background because JCPS is 100,000 students with thousands of employees,” Everett said. “If you don’t know how to do an operation of that size, it’s just not going to work.”

“They have to be accessible,” Bass said. “They have to be able to go to the different schools, go to different events and be recognizable, and also be able to be humbled, be able to take it and say I don’t know what’s going on.”

Two other board members will retain their seats for the next four years.

Tricia Lister was appointed to the board in September to represent District 2 following the resignation of board member Chris Kolb and ran unopposed for election.

Incumbent Gail Strange held onto her seat representing District 1, beating out challenger Mark Gatton.