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Residents accuse Nelson County board of 'rot' ahead of school-board election
Summary
Several residents used the public-comment period to accuse the current board majority of corruption, alleging mismanagement of facility projects, excessive legal spending, and calling for replacement candidates in the Nov. 5 election.
At the Nelson County Board of Education meeting Oct. 15 at Bloomfield Elementary, multiple public commenters accused the governing majority of corruption and urged voters to replace board members in the Nov. 5 election.
Amy Durbin, speaking for a group called The Forgotten Ones, said the district is suffering from what she called "the rot of corruption," alleging that a facility project was overturned by the Kentucky Department of Education and that the board had hired "not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 board attorneys to cover up the rot." Durbin told the board, "Stop the rot," and urged attendees to "vote for Karen Lee and Jody Gilliland."
Jeff Parrish of New Haven, speaking for a group, said the board majority had "single handedly lost $3,000,000 in taxpayer money on the community campus" and described a sharp rise in legal spending. "The board has racked up $500,000 in legal fees to cover up their corruption," Parrish said, and presented budget excerpts he said showed legal costs consuming other line items.
Representing NC Forward, Jessica Hoag called for fact-based discussion and challenged some circulating claims. Hoag said an open-records request "debunked" reports that books had been removed from a middle-school library and accused some campaign rhetoric of spreading misinformation. She also raised concern about a radio remark suggesting consolidation to one high school without public input.
Karen Lee, a candidate for the board, addressed facility planning concerns and said she is "not in favor of closing Bloomfield Middle School" and has no intention of voting to close local schools. Lee urged decisions that reflect "the students, parents, teachers, taxpayers and individuals served by the Board of Education."
Board members did not take formal action on allegations during the meeting. The public-comment period featured repeated calls for transparency, with callers on both sides asking voters to weigh claims as part of the upcoming election.
