Keith will retire
By Eugenia Jones
The regular November McCreary County Board of Education meeting ended with a surprise as McCreary County School Superintendent Corey Keith announced his pending retirement. Keith said he will complete the 2021-2022 school year with his last official day as school superintendent on June 30.
Keith, a McCreary County native, was serving as Garrard County School Superintendent when he returned to McCreary County to be superintendent on July 1, 2019. Prior to that, Keith began his career in education by teaching one year at MMI. Subsequently, Keith taught math for ten years at Whitley City Middle School and one year at McCreary County Middle School, served as principal for four years in Larue County, Kentucky, worked for the Kentucky Department of Education for four years, and served as assistant superintendent for two year and superintendent for three years in Garrard County.
During his three years as superintendent, Keith feels the district has been successful in several key areas including financial management and management of COVID-19.
“I think we’ve done a good job managing our finances,” Keith shared. “We’ve had positive audits and have developed sound processes and procedures for using our federal funds. Our Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program is in place. We’ve also worked hard to maximize instruction while keeping students and staff safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. I think we’ve done a really good job navigating COVID.”
As for his future, Keith has a definite plan.
“I see a lot of family time in my future,” he shared. “Plus, I’ll also be prayerfully considering which path to take.”
According to Keith, the procedures for choosing his successor are basically defined by legal statute. Typically, the Board employs an agency such as the Kentucky School Board Association or Kentucky Association of School Administrators to conduct a superintendent search. Keith anticipates the Board will make a decision soon on proceeding with the search.
