WHITESBURG, Ky. (WYMT) – On Monday, just one day ahead of the elections, another type of vote is taking place, one that will select one of Letcher County’s most influential positions.
During a special called meeting Monday evening by the Letcher County Board of Education, board members revealed their selection. In attendance, six applicants, all from the district, hoped to their name called.
Even after 26 years serving in the district, Denise Yonts says it was a shock to be selected as superintendent. Building relationships along the way is something she says helped her prepare for this role.
“As the superintendent, you have to have a great relationship with your board of education, with your district office staff, and then at the school level with your principals, your teachers, and your students”, said Denise Yonts, who was selected to be the new Superintendent of Letcher County Schools. “You need to know your students best so that you can make decisions for them.”
Yonts takes over for Tony Sergent who retired after nearly five years. Board members say he leaves the district in excellent financial health.
“Financially, most districts in Eastern Kentucky are really suffering”, said Robert Kiser, who is a member of the Letcher County School Board. “However, we were able to give a 2 percent raise across the board to our employees this past year because of the strides we’ve made in our finances.”
Yonts says she sees economic success as a way of attracting the best and brightest teachers to the district.
“One of the most important decisions any superintendent or even principal will make is who you hire”, said Yonts. “We want to get the best people for our students.”
During Yonts’ time building curriculums, test scores for the district rose. She says that is a trend she would like to continue.
“I will stay involved as much as I can with our teachers, with our principals on curriculum, on effective teaching strategies, on closing the gap strategies”, said Yonts. “Our achievement gap between regular and special education students is a concern. So we’re going to work extremely hard to close that gap.”
Yonts will take over her new role this month. Her contract goes through 2022.
