Clinton County Board of Education, meeting in special session last Thursday, May 4, with all board members present, accepted the retirement of Superintendent Dr. Paula Little.

The board also acted on other items of business on the call meeting agenda, some in relation to the retirement, and early stages of finding a replacement.

Superintendent Little was not present for the brief meeting, which lasted less than 10 minutes, but did issue a brief statement via email which states:

“After 35 years in education, I will be retiring effective June 30, 2023. I have valued my time in the Clinton County School District and have been blessed to work with some truly wonderful people. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to serve, and I look forward to the next chapter in my life. I will continue to support the school district, its students, and my community in any way possible.”

Dr. Little’s decision to step down as schools chief comes less than one year after her official tenure began in mid-2022, after serving a few months as Interim Superintendent.

Little, who began in the classroom and graduated to administration not long after, served several years as Supervisor of Instruction, as well as Assistant Superintendent.

She was named as Interim Superintendent after the resignation of Dr. Tim Parson, who had served less than two years prior to leaving in 2021. Little had been among the finalists for the position when Parson was hired.

The outgoing superintendent is also well-known locally as a first class grant writer, and is credited for penning grants that brought not only the school district, but Clinton County as a whole, thousands, if not millions worth of state and federal dollars that benefitted many people.

Little is also a member of several other civic organizations in Albany and Clinton County.

At last week’s special meeting, the board, on a motion by Gary Norris, voted to accept Dr. Little’s retirement, which was followed by a motion by board member Ronald Albertson to declare a vacancy in the position, effective July 1 of this year.

Also on a motion by Norris, they approved the start of the search for a new superintendent, with the motion to include assistance from the Kentucky School Boards Association (KSBA).

Board Chairwoman Leslie Stockton, noting the timing was still too early, recommended tabling the appointing of an Interim Superintendent, which the board voted to table by unanimous vote.

The only other item of business was to approve work done by Duo County for broadband service.

Technology Director Justin Mercer said previously the state had not allowed broadband service providers to cross school district property, but a new law has changed that scenario, and school property can be included.

Board member Bobbie Stone moved to approve Duo County to do broadband service work at Clinton County High School, which passed unanimously.

No public comments were taken and the short meeting was adjourned.

The school board also held another special call meeting on Tuesday evening, May 9–too late for press deadline. The only action item on the agenda was the approval of the KSBA superintendent search proposal, followed by an executive session.

More information on the superintendent search process will be published in the coming weeks, as well as the announcement of an Interim Superintendent, who will be appointed to serve until a permanent replacement is hired by the board.

It should be noted that local boards of education hire only two personnel members, those being the schools superintendent and board attorney. All other school staff are hired by individual schools’ Site Based Decision Making Council.

The school board will hold its next work session on May 18 and next business meeting on May 22 at 5 p.m. at the Clinton College & Career Center. Both meetings are open to the public.