Published: October 14, 2009 10:27 am      

Armstrong takes temporary helm of Lawrence schools

Board hires temporary superintendent

LOUISA — A turbulent six-year period came to a quiet end Tuesday when the Lawrence County Board of Education accepted the resignation of embattled Superintendent Jeff May and hired retired educator Michael Armstrong as his temporary replacement.

The board, which last week had scheduled the meeting to discuss firing May, took about two minutes and voted unanimously to approve his resignation.

A round of applause from about 20 in attendance was the only reaction.

“It’s good that he resigned,” said board chairwoman Barbara Robinson. “I just think it’s time we move on and start growing in Lawrence County.”

The board took another hour to finalize its choice of Armstrong, a retired educator who lives in Lawrence County, graduated from Louisa High School in 1973 and held a variety of teaching and administrative positions at the district and state level.

“He is fair and honest and has a vision for Lawrence County,” Robinson said.

Armstrong, who starts the job immediately, acknowledged he has some heavy lifting ahead. Not the least of his challenges is ensuring trust and cooperation in a district that has been divided by supporters and opponents of May.

“People trust me. People know me,” Armstrong said. Topping his priority list is establishing relationships with district staff and instilling confidence in his leadership, he said.

He also will have to grapple with, and try to improve, several years of lackluster accountability testing scores. “Probably our biggest challenge will be for us to show the state and the county that Lawrence County students can do just as well as other students in the state,” he said.

The board hired Armstrong on a contract for six months or until it hires a permanent superintendent.

His resume of mostly administrative positions includes six years as state director of special education in Kentucky and a year in a similar state post in Ohio. Most recently he spent a year as a special education consultant in Qatar.

A search committee of faculty, staff and parents will vet applications and recommend candidates for the board to interview.

May was not at the meeting. He told The Independent on Friday that he has health problems and is taking disability retirement.

He had been superintendent since 2003 and for most of that time was locked in battle with opponents who repeatedly called for his ouster.