My first one hundred days as the superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) are defined by honest feedback, urgent action, and a deep commitment to building the future our children deserve. I’ve listened and engaged with your concerns directly at our community conversations, in school hallways and through countless meetings with principals, district leadership and community partners. JCPS is facing one of the most financially and organizationally challenging periods in its history, with our students' futures at stake. That fact fuels my resolve to bring forward a stronger, more efficient JCPS.
The feedback we’ve received from our families has been instrumental in shaping our priorities and guiding immediate actions and long-term reforms. One hundred days in, we’ve taken the following steps to right-size the district.
Charting our financial future
The 2026-2027 budget deficit has been the most significant barrier to everything we want to accomplish. The truth is that the financial situation we’re in is structural and not situational. Revenues aren’t keeping pace with rising inflation, utility costs, and necessary investments.
Within this obstacle lies an opportunity to revisit our district with fresh eyes and clear deadlines, ensuring that every decision we make is right for our students and the community at large.
My commitment and steps taken:
Targeted reduction: We’re in the process of defining a $132 million reduction for the next fiscal year.
Central office assessment: I’m in the process of reviewing, reorganizing and reducing central office staff. When making cuts to staff, the central office will be my priority for reductions.
Prioritizing teachers: We are working with the Jefferson County Teachers Association (JCTA) to prioritize raises for classified staff once the budget is balanced.
Establishing Measurable Academic Growth
Educational achievement is my central moral and professional obligation, limited only by the constraints of the district budget. I’ve made it my mission to ensure every student achieves academic success. In order to accomplish this, we are shifting our focus from generic benchmarks to specific student-focused metrics of progress.
I’ve defined the following focus areas and targets:
Prioritize growth: We are prioritizing our focus on growth-based accountability models, measuring student growth through a combination of standardized scores and supportive metrics.
Strengthening proficiency: We are strengthening resources for early literacy with evidence-based reading instruction to support a goal of 70% proficiency by the third grade and at least 65% proficiency by the eighth grade.
Accountability: We are strengthening the use of data in decision-making, more closely monitoring the return on investment for specific interventions.
Fostering a culture of safety and accountability
I heard clearly that concerns of community violence, trauma and unmanaged student behavior are driving burnout and resignations. To effectively teach our students, we must protect our teachers and staff.
These are the steps I have taken:
Discipline Review: We are conducting a review of our existing zero-tolerance policies (fighting, assaults) and completing a comprehensive discipline data review to align with Guardrail 4 and reduce disproportionality.
Support and Training: We are expanding trauma-informed and restorative training and ensuring continued support for Mental Health Professionals (MHPs). We are also developing a progress monitoring system for safety actions.
Trauma-informed care: We are expanding trauma-informed training and restorative practices. We’re also diving into the data behind disciplinary actions to track and monitor root causes of behavioral issues.
Addressing staff turnover: We are actively addressing the cultural and behavioral factors that contribute to staff turnover. I’ve directed members of my cabinet to immediately investigate specific staff misconduct claims and any potential compliance concerns.
My next steps
My first one hundred days focused heavily on assessing the reality of our district. This mid-year check-in reflects our strong foundation for long-term educational and financial stability.
My immediate next steps are:
Finalize and propose the 2026-27 budget with a $132 million reduction.
Deploy academic dashboards for transparent and public reporting
Provide strategic support to schools and staff as they transition to the next school year.
Strengthen school climates and discipline systems
Thank you for trusting me with the future of our district and the students we educate. I hope you’ve seen a positive impact from my work in these early days and look forward to working with you toward an effective and resilient future for JCPS.