By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Superintendent of Carter County Schools Dr. Jennifer Fraley began the school board’s April meeting with a clarification.
“In an effort to keep students, staff, and family informed and clarify recent posts; Carter County Schools has not eliminated the JROTC Program,” Dr. Fraley addressed those present. “The JROTC Director from the Seventh Brigade out of Fort Knox met with me to inform the district that we did not have sufficient enrollment to continue the program housed at West Carter High.”
According to enrollment requirements the school must have 100 students enrolled in the program, or ten percent of the total enrollment.
Fraley said that while the West Carter High School program is not “on paper,” the district will still be able to offer the program.
“We can still offer it at West Carter High School,” Fraley said. “It’s just that all the paperwork will be done under the East Carter High School Program. And we are going to work very hard to increase enrollment, and that work has already started.”
Dr. Fraley then turned the attention of the board and others present to students from West Carter Middle School Community Problem Solving Team. The team gave their presentation to the board, and Fraley informed everyone present that the team will be competing in the national competition in June in Indianapolis. The team’s project involved securing basic hygiene products for students in need and delivering it to those students while avoiding stigma or embarrassment. The board complimented the students on their delivery of the presentation, and encouraged them for the upcoming national competition.
The board was also informed that students will start testing for the Kentucky Assessment on May 8. That testing is set to run the last 14 days of the school year, and 2026 will be the last year the accountability system will look the way it currently appears. This is due to House Bill 257 passing, and one change that will be seen in the future is that Chronic Absenteeism will be replacing the current Climate and Culture Survey. Anyone who has questions about these changes is encouraged to contact the Board of Education. Carter County Schools has also received its first round of SAT Data, and 2026 was the first year high school juniors were able to take the SAT.
In other business, the board heard a report on progress for the new high school project. Bids came in for construction, and were reported to be less expensive than originally expected.
“We did choose the lowest bid,” Dr Fraley told the board and those in attendance. “Because of the fact that we had several combo bids included, it brought the price of the individual bids down a bit. Our bid total is $40,930,010.52. We did select the lowest bid of each package presented.”
The Carter County Board of Education voted unanimously to accept the bids.
In financial news, the board received a positive audit that reported no material internal weakness in finances. The board voted unanimously to accept the financial report.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
