We the members of the Raceland-Worthington Independent Schools community—parents, grandparents, alumni, taxpayers, teachers, staff members, and other citizens--are asking that you sign this petition to show school board members—Sandy Loperfido, Jeff Vance, Don Rambo, Brad Fairchild, and Jason Coldiron--that we want school board meetings to remain at 6 p.m.—as they have been for many years now.

In two recent meetings--one in January and the other in February--the board voted on changing the meeting times. In January it was a 3-2 vote to keep the time at 6 p.m. (the proposal from Vance was to move it to 5 p.m.) and then in February one member, Vance, didn’t like the time remaining at 6 p.m. and asked to vote again. This time the board members voted 3-2 (Loperfido, Vance, and Rambo) to move it to 4 p.m. They did this knowing that the newest member, Jason Coldiron, would not be able to attend due to his work schedule. This time change also hinders the attendance of parents and community members—many of whom work until 5 p.m.

Several long-time Raceland-Worthington citizens state that for many years the board of education meetings were held at 7 p.m. Then they were switched to 6 p.m.and held then for years. Further, Kentucky statute requires that "All meetings of all public agencies of this state, and any committees or subcommittees thereof, shall be held at specified times and places which are convenient to the public."

We feel this change (for which the three board members voted) is a tactic to push the newest board member, the community voted overwhelmingly (top vote getter among the five candidates who ran for the two seats) to elect to represent it, out and to keep the public away from board meetings. It is just another political move--on the part of some board members--among many such moves since August 2023.

Thank you for your time and please consider signing the petition.

Sincerely,

Stacy Bradley