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Union-backed candidates win all five seats on Louisville's new school board

Union-backed candidates win all five seats on Louisville's new school board

Rule Changes Louisville, KY local

A $560,000 PAC campaign fills a board cut from seven seats to five, as JCPS faces a projected $188 million shortfall.

Yesterday: Union slate wins all five board seats

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

The board that runs Kentucky's largest school district is shrinking from seven members to five, and candidates backed by the teachers union won every seat. All five were on Tuesday's ballot at once, under maps the legislature drew this year, so one organized campaign could take the whole board in a single night.

The winners take office in January with a projected $188 million shortfall for the 2025-26 school year, program cuts and a superintendent, Brian Yearwood, hired in 2025. The board sets budgets and policy for 94,000 students. The union's political action committee spent at least $560,000 getting its slate in front of voters.

Why it matters

One union-funded slate now holds every vote on the board that sets the budget and hiring for Kentucky's largest school district.

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Key Indicators

5 of 5
Seats won by union-backed candidates
Better Schools Kentucky's slate took every seat on the newly drawn board.
$560,000
PAC spending as of election day
Reported by Better Schools Kentucky; final-week spending was not yet counted.
94,000
Students in the district
Jefferson County Public Schools is Kentucky's largest district.
$188M
Projected 2025-26 shortfall
Figure calculated by Yearwood's administration after the board approved the year's budget.
7 → 5
Board seats before and after redistricting
House Bill 4 cut the board and redrew all five districts in 2026.

Voices

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People Involved

Maddie Shepard
Maddie Shepard
President, Jefferson County Teachers Association
Leads the union whose PAC funded the winning slate
 Brian Yearwood
Brian Yearwood
Superintendent, Jefferson County Public Schools
Superintendent since 2025; the board that hired him is being replaced
GS
Gail Logan Strange
Board member-elect, District 1
Won with 54% of the vote; incumbent
LB
Lillian Brents
Board member-elect, District 2
Won a five-candidate race with 24% of the vote
TE
Taylor Everett
Board member-elect, District 3
Won with 27% of the vote; incumbent

Organizations Involved

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS)
Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS)
School district
Kentucky's largest district, facing a projected $188 million shortfall

The district enrolls about 94,000 students and is governed by a five-member elected board as of the 2026 election.
JC
Jefferson County Teachers Association
Teachers union
Parent union of the PAC that won all five board seats

The union represents JCPS teachers and sponsors Better Schools Kentucky, its political action committee.
BS
Better Schools Kentucky
Political action committee
Spent at least $560,000 on the 2026 board races

The political action committee of the Jefferson County Teachers Association, funded by member dues and donations.
Jefferson County Board of Education
Jefferson County Board of Education
Elected school board
New five-member board elected in full on 2026-11-03

The elected body that sets budgets, hires the superintendent and writes policy for Jefferson County Public Schools.

Timeline

November 2022 November 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Union slate wins all five board seats

    Latest Election

    Candidates backed by Better Schools Kentucky win every seat on the new board.

  2. Legislature cuts JCPS board to five seats

    Legislation

    House Bill 4 reduces the board from seven members to five and redraws all districts.

  3. PAC spending drops, then rebuilds

    Election

    The PAC spends $294,000 backing two board candidates, according to quarterly reports.

  4. Union PAC's most expensive board cycle on record

    Election

    Better Schools Kentucky spends nearly $798,000 backing candidates in four JCPS board races.

Scenarios

1

New board moves to replace Superintendent Brian Yearwood

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Louisville Public Media reporting on the board's 2025 split over his hiring; no outlet has published a formal forecast

Everett voted against hiring Yearwood in 2025, Strange voted for him, and the projected $188 million shortfall gives the new majority a financial argument for a change. A termination or buyout needs three of five votes. The trigger would be the board's first closed session on his contract, likely in the first half of 2027.

2

Board restores bus service to magnet schools

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Louisville Public Media reporting on Strange's criticism of the magnet transportation cuts

Strange campaigned against cutting transportation to magnet schools, the district's most sought-after programs, and the union slate now holds every seat. Restoring the routes costs money the district says it lacks, so the practical test is the 2027-28 budget adopted in spring 2027.

3

State education officials open a financial review of JCPS

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: No published forecast; the size of the shortfall is the main signal

A $188 million shortfall in a 94,000-student district is the kind of number that draws attention from the Kentucky Department of Education. A management audit or state assistance team would come with public findings and a corrective plan, and would constrain what the new board can decide on its own.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

June 1989 - April 1990

Rose v. Council for Better Education and the Kentucky Education Reform Act (1989-1990)

In June 1989 the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the state's entire public school system unconstitutional, finding it inadequate and inequitable. The legislature responded in 1990 with the Kentucky Education Reform Act, which rewrote school funding, created school-based decision-making councils and expanded the state's role in local districts.

Then

Lawmakers overhauled school funding and governance in a single 1990 session.

Now

KERA's funding formula and school councils still shape how Kentucky districts, including JCPS, operate.

Why this matters now

Kentucky's legislature has restructured local school governance before; the 2026 redrawing of JCPS's board is the latest version of that habit.

November 2022

Jefferson County school board race (2022)

Better Schools Kentucky spent nearly $798,000 backing candidates in four Jefferson County school board races, according to quarterly finance reports cited by Louisville Public Media. It remains the PAC's most expensive school board cycle.

Then

Union spending on board races fell to $294,000 in 2024.

Now

In 2026 the PAC spent at least $560,000 on a five-seat race and won every seat.

Why this matters now

The 2026 sweep is the third straight cycle of heavy union spending on a race most voters treat as low-profile.

November 2024

Chicago's switch to an elected school board (2024)

Illinois began replacing Chicago's mayor-appointed school board with a 21-member elected one. Voters filled the first 10 seats in November 2024, with the rest on the 2026 ballot.

Then

Mayoral control, established in 1995, began to unwind.

Now

The Chicago Teachers Union, which had pushed for an elected board, became a direct electoral player in district governance.

Why this matters now

Same pattern as Louisville: a legislature changes how a big-city board is chosen, and the teachers union organizes to fill it.

Sources

(3)
Louisville Public Media Between the Lines (Ballard High School) WLKY