Clinton County School Board attorney Lindsey Bell, during a call meeting of the Board of Education last Friday afternoon, issued a brief oral statement in regards to Superintendent Charlotte Bernard’s contract. Bell made the statement following an approximate 50-minute closed session on possible or pending ligation last Friday afternoon, June 20.

The superintendent’s contract had come under some scrutiny earlier this month by a former employee who claimed that under Kentucky Revised Statutes pertaining to superintendents, the latest contract renewal was invalid and also threatened filing a civil action over the issue in circuit court.

Bell, who was board attorney during the original contract awarded Bernard as well as the renewal last year, said that in his opinion, “the superintendent’s (current) contract is valid. He said it was given for an additional four years, and the new contract, which was approved last September, doesn’t take effect until July 1 of this year. “It is my opinion,” Bell added, “that the contract is valid and enforceable between her (Supt. Bernard) and the board. I see no problem in the contract whatsoever.”

The only other item of business that was the focal point of both special sessions was selecting an insurance carrier for the schools commercial auto, commercial umbrella and workman’s compensation insurance, and board members were divided on the issue.

Some board members felt they should continue all coverage through KEMI (Kentucky Employers Mutual Insurance, an affiliate for Liberty Mutual, with the local representative Pedigo-Lessenberry due to past experience with the company. Others, however, felt they should go with Roeding Insurance based in Lexington, which had the cheaper rate for commercial auto and umbrella coverage.

During the first meeting, a motion to renew with KEMI for all coverage, made by Paula Key and seconded by Goldie Stonecipher, resulted in a 2-2 tie with one abstention. Board members Kevin Marcum and Jeff Sams voted no and Junior Cecil abstained. and after about a half-hour discussion, the matter was tabled and a second call meeting on the issue was held Monday evening of this week, June 23, again with all members present.

Following more discussion, it was learned that Pedigo-Lessenberry had the lower rate for workman’s comp while Roeding had the lower quote for overall commercial coverage.

After almost another half-hour of discussions, board member Cecil made a motion to award the workman’s comp policy to Peddigo-Lessenberry at $50,861 and commercial auto and umbrella coverage to Roeding at $138,200 annually. That motion eventually passed 4-1 with Marcum voting no.

The meeting was then adjourned.

The next regular meeting of the Clinton County Board of Education is scheduled for Monday, July 14 at 5 p.m. at the Central Office board room and is open to the public.