Another JCPS board member has resigned. Here's what happens next

For the second time in less than a year , a member of the Jefferson County Board of Education has resigned , leaving an empty seat that needs to be filled.

Chris Kolb, who has represented the Highlands and its surrounding neighborhoods since 2017, sent an email to the board's chair and vice chair Thursday announcing he would be resigning "effective immediately."

Kolb's seat is already up for grabs in November, after he announced he wouldn't run for reelection . But the board cannot let it sit empty for that long.

The board has 60 days to fill Kolb's seat, according to Kentucky state statute . The board will solicit applications for two weeks and then vote on which applicant to select.

Applicants must be at least 24 years old, have been a resident of Kentucky for three years and be registered to vote in the district.

The selected board member will hold the District 2 seat until the November election, with two candidates vying for the spot.

Why did Chris Kolb resign from the JCPS board?

Kolb's service on the board has been bumpy as of late.

Kolb initially filed to run in the upcoming election to keep his seat but later said he was dropping out of the race . He did not provide an explanation for the change to The Courier Journal, but the decision came about a month after he wrote an open letter to JCPS principals, criticizing them for opposing a new start time proposal. In the aftermath, a petition calling for his resignation was started and multiple community members sent opinion letters about Kolb to The Courier Journal.

Kolb also showed dissatisfaction with the board recently when he declined to participate in the annual process of evaluating Superintendent Marty Pollio . One of the reasons, he wrote in an email, was that "the board has largely sought to avoid any responsibility for the transportation crisis when, in fact, much of the root problem lies in our unwillingness to raise the needed revenue to better recruit and retain staff, including bus drivers."

"This is disingenuous and will almost surely continue during the evaluation as we lay blame solely at Dr. Pollio’s feet," his email continued.

In his letter announcing his resignation, Kolb said he is applying to become a JCPS teacher, and he again criticized Board Chairman Corrie Shull and Vice-Chair James Craig for not raising revenue to address the current staffing issues.

He also claimed board members were putting "their own political aspirations above the needs of JCPS students."

Who are the candidates running for the District 2 seat?

Abby Berthold, a former JCPS teacher, and Tricia Lister, an attorney, are competing for the seat in the General Election.

Berthold is the founder of Liam & Hold , a consulting agency. She worked for JCPS as a math teacher for about 12 years and has a master's in teacher leadership from the University of Louisville.

Lister has worked as an attorney since 2005 and is currently with the Complex Motions and Appeals Practice. She previously ran to be a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge in 2022, securing 41% of the vote.

Other school board seats on the November ballot are:

• District 1, which covers most of west Louisville and downtown
• District 4, which covers most of southwest Louisville
• District 7, which covers southeast Louisville

Contact reporter Krista Johnson at kjohnson3@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Another JCPS board member has resigned. Here's what happens next