Anita Burnette has been an overall “exemplary” leader during her time as interim superintendent, the Owensboro Public Schools Board of Education said in their evaluation on Thursday.
The school board is required to complete an annual evaluation of the sitting superintendent at the end of every calendar year. The evaluation covers 7 different leadership areas that are scored 1-5, with 5 being the highest (exemplary).
The board scored Burnette as follows:
- Strategic Leadership – Exemplary (5)
- Instructional Leadership – Exemplary (5)
- Cultural Leadership – Exemplary (5)
- Human Resource Leadership – Accomplished (4)
- Managerial Leadership – Developing (3)
- Collaborative Leadership – Exemplary (5)
- Influential Leadership – Accomplished (4)
“[Burnette] has worked tirelessly for the past 6 months and graciously committed to a year of service in this role so we could have stability in our district and a seamless transition to a permanent superintendent by the summer of 2024,” the evaluation reads.
Board Chair Dr. Jeremy Luckett said even within a short time, Burnette has been able to accomplish many.
“I think that it’s a glowing evaluation because you’ve done an amazing job in just a short time; you hit the ground running,” he said to Burnette during the meeting.
Brunette said that she is excited for the remaining 6 months in her contract with OPS, especially now that Owensboro High School is no longer in TSI (Targeted Support and Improvement) status based on test scores from the end of the 2022-23 school year. She is also ready to work on other ways to help the district stay on track.
“We still have plenty of work to do. We have a really large ELL population, and so we’ve got to make sure we have resources in place to help those students,” Burnette said.
Burnette was appointed to the position in June 2023 after the board started the process of firing former Superintendent Dr. Matthew Constant, who is still in the early stages of court proceedings for criminal charges by Kentucky State Police.
OPS is also in the early stages of hiring a permanent superintendent.
