LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Late Friday afternoon, Jefferson County Public Schools addressed the premature annoucement of Brian Yearwood being offered the JCPS superintendent's job.
What You Need To Know
- Brian Yearwood was prematurely named as the next superintendent of Jefferson County Public Schools
- The Jefferson County Board of Education voted Thursday night to extend an offer to Yearwood. Nothing was supposed to be official until JCPS had a signed contract
- Yearwood replaces Marty Pollio, who had held the role since 2017
- He was most recently superintendent of the Columbia Public Schools in Missouri
According to a statement from the district, "The Jefferson County Board of Education has extended a contract offer to Dr. Brian Yearwood and we are currently working through negotiations with him. The Board voted last night (Thursday) in open session to authorize the chair to begin contract negotiations with one of the finalists. Those negotiations are ongoing. If negotiations are successful, the Board will be calling a special meeting to approve a contract with Dr. Yearwood."
Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, announced Jefferson County Public Schools' new superintendent on social media Friday.
On his Facebook page, Nemes said the Board of Education voted for Dr. H. Brian Yearwood. During Thursday's school board meeting, it was said the name of the new superintendent wouldn't be announced until contract negotiations were finalized.
Lyndon Pryor heads the Louisville Urban League. He was also one of the people who served on the district’s superintendent search advisory committee.
He told Spectrum News, “I don’t believe it was an accident.” Pryor added, “So I am, like many other people, was disappointed to see Representative Nemes posting about the selection. This has not been made public by the district.”
From the beginning of the superintendent search, Pryor explained it was always understood that the school board would make this announcement once a finalized contract had been signed. Thursday evening the board voted 5-2 to select Brian Yearwood over Ben Shuldiner.
He added while the community-led advisory committee did not provide a recommendation for who the board should hire, the Urban League narrowly leaned toward the person who was picked.
“Both candidates were actually very, very close in terms of their scoring from that, from us. So we felt very good and confident about either candidate coming forward by Dr. Yearwood did have a small advantage over Mr. Shuldiner,” Pryor said.
Yearwood's background
Yearwood most recently served as the superintendent of Columbia Public Schools in Missouri. He replaces Marty Pollio, who was JCPS superintendent from 2017 until 2025, when he retired.
Originally from Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Yearwood earned his associate’s degree from the New Mexico Military Institute. He received his bachelor’s degree in geology from Texas Tech University, followed by a master’s degree in educational administration and his doctorate in educational leadership and statistics.
Yearwood left the Columbia Public Schools, the fourth largest district in Missouri in Nov. 2024. JCPS said under Yearwood’s leadership, the Missouri district achieved milestones, highlighted by a 16-point increase in its Annual Performance Report score, reaching 86.5%.
An open records request submitted by Spectrum News found he received $667,000 in a separation agreement with the district to leave his superintendent’s position early. It equals roughly three times his annual salary.
The agreement included a provision Yearwood and Columbia Public Schools would not comment on his departure beyond a mutual public statement.
“After careful consideration and deep reflection, I will be transitioning from my role as Superintendent of Columbia Public Schools, effective Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. I will continue serving in an advisory capacity during the transition period to support the district to ensure a smooth handover. My retirement will be effective Dec. 31, 2024, at which point I will step away to return to Texas to explore opportunities closer to family,” Yearwood said in a statement.
He has over 25 years of experience in public education, beginning his career as a middle school science teacher and tennis coach. He left the classroom and focused his career on administration, becoming an elementary and middle school assistant principal and principal. In Texas, Yearwood became assistant superintendent at Manor Independent School District, responsible for curriculum, HR, academics and operations.
During a May 20 Q&A session, Yearwood said he supports diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
“We must have diversity because each child comes with a unique personality, learning style, ability,” Yearwood said. “How can we address all that if we move diversity out to say, ‘This is how we are going to teach everyone.’ You can’t.” Yearwood said he wants to work with the state legislature to help JCPS succeed, address budget concerns and concentrate on teacher retention.
After a month’s long search, Yearwood and Ben Shuldiner were named the two finalists for the JCPS position.
Last summer, superintendent Pollio announced he would step down at the end of this school year. He was at the helm as the district navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, a bussing system meltdown and sweeping changes to what schools students are assigned to attend.
Pollio will become the Ivy Tech Community College System president on July 1. The college system is in Indiana.