David Gillum, Madison County Schools superintendent, delivered his final superintendent's report to the board and announced that this was his last such report before retirement. Gillum summarized district progress—saying attendance is up roughly 1 percentage point over the prior year—and listed recent engagements including principal evaluation site visits, an EKU airport announcement and the KESS state conference. He closed by urging the board to look beyond test scores and consider broader community metrics such as poverty and literacy rates when judging district success.

Board members responded with extended tributes. Several members praised Gillum's leadership and character, credited him with improvements to facilities and programs (including the Ignite Academies), and described his mentorship of new board members and staff. One board member said Gillum's "character and integrity just shines throughout this district," while another noted the lasting impact of his 32.5-year career.

In his remarks, Gillum recounted milestones and the number of board meetings he attended in various roles and thanked staff, teachers, principals and his wife, whom he acknowledged in the audience. He encouraged the board to continue pursuing community-level improvements, saying local measures such as literacy and average household income should be used alongside academic metrics to evaluate progress.

No formal action was taken regarding his retirement during the meeting; the session proceeded to closing motions and adjournment after board comments.