The Christian County School Board approved establishing a school-based law enforcement agency, appointed community members to the Local Planning Committee and received a preview of the 2025-2026 academic year calendar at their Thursday meeting.
To start the meeting, new student board members, Mollie Goode and Aniyah Lewis were sworn in by School Board Attorney Jack Lackey. The pair will be responsible for attending board meetings and providing a student’s perspective to their fellow board members.
Goode is a senior at Hopkinsville High School and is an active member in the National FFA Organization. She also serves as the president of her local chapter and vice president of the Pennyrile Region chapter. Lewis is a senior at Christian County High School and is a member of the Student Superintendent Advisory Council, the Student Ambassador program, the Black Student Union and many other organizations.
Christian County Public Schools Superintendent, Chris Bentzel welcomed the pair and says he is glad to have two excellent students start their tenure as board members.
Moving on to school safety, the board approved the establishment of a school-based law enforcement agency. Currently, officers from the Hopkinsville Police Department and the Christian County Sheriff’s Office serve as school resource officers.
Student Services Director Kim Stevenson says they intend to continue working with city and county law enforcement, but after reviewing their budget and SRO flexibility she says it’s in their best interest to hire their own SROs.
At the end of the current fiscal year, Stevenson says they will hire four SROs to replace those from the sheriff’s office then at the start of the 2026-2027 academic year they will hire 10 more SROs to replace those from the police department. The incoming SROs will undergo three training programs hosted by the Kentucky Center for Safe Schools.
Further concerning safety, the board approved establishing the positions of Director of School Safety and Security and Chief of School Safety and Security.
Turning toward the Local Planning Committee, the board was responsible for appointing three community members to the group and they selected Tiffany Mumford Brame, David Wimpy and Mark McGee. The trio were selected from eight candidates and Assistant Superintendent Kevin Crider shared why they were chosen.
Pupil Personnel Director Melanie Barret presented the proposed calendar for the 2025-2026 academic year. The school year will start on August 18, 2025, and concludes on May 22, 2026. The board approved the calendar and will revisit it at a future meeting.
As usual, the board approved some construction change orders for the consolidated Christian County High School. The changes include the addition of a window in the health science wing, wiring for display monitors, linear shower drains and a fund transfer.
Along with the changes, the board approved purchasing access controls for the consolidated high school.
