Contact: Lisa Deffendall • First Posted: Thursday, November 6, 2008

Three members of the Fayette County Board of Education were re-elected to four year terms this week. Chairwoman Becky Sagan, vice chair John Price and board member Melissa Bacon each ran unopposed in their respective school board districts.

“I have said many, many times that we have one of the best Boards of Education that Lexington has ever seen, and to have these three members returning is a true blessing for our kids and community,” said Superintendent Stu Silberman.

All three board members said they were excited to continue to be a part of the improvement efforts under way in the Fayette County Public Schools.

“Having that stability in school board leadership is really a key for our district being able to continue to move ahead,” Silberman said.

Becky Sagan, who represents District 5 on the school board, said she that’s one of the reasons she sought re-election.

“I saw the momentum that Fayette County has, and I wanted to continue that,” she said. “I know I have skills that can help move Fayette County forward.”

Sagan was elected to her first full four-year term in November 2004, but was appointed by the commissioner to fill an unexpired term and began her service early – in December of that year. Her election Tuesday will be her second full four-year term.

Having served as vice chair since 2006, Sagan was elected board chair in August of this year. She said she’s proudest “of the focus on student achievement support we have given the schools to do what they need to do for their students.”

She’s anxious to see the success she’s witnessed during her tenure continue, especially at the middle and high school levels.

“I’d still like to see that it doesn’t matter where you live – you have an excellent school,” Sagan said. “We’re definitely closer to that goal, but there’s still work to be done in some of the schools.”

A former special education teacher, she has served as a volunteer in the Fayette County Public Schools for 18 years. She has also been PTA president at three schools and a member of the site-based decision making councils at two schools.  She also served as the 16th District PTA president from 1999-2001 and on several districtwide committees, including the superintendent search committee that helped hire Stu Silberman.

Married to Ken Sagan, Becky has three grown daughters who all attended Fayette County Public Schools. She is 49.

John Price, District 3 board member and board vice chair, was appointed by the state education commissioner in May 2003. He was elected to the seat for a one-year term in November 2003 and was re-elected to full four-year terms in 2004 and 2008.

During the past five years of service, Price said he is most proud of “the hiring of Stu Silberman as superintendent and the gains in achievement which we have been able to make with his leadership.”

Price’s involvement with schools began more than two decades ago when he served as a mentor with the Fayette County Experienced-Based Career Education Program. 

Price, who is president of and an accountant with Price Stagner & Co., PLLC, has been an invaluable resource as the board has faced financial difficulties and has always been a voice for equity and children.

A consummate volunteer, Price has held leadership positions in local school, district and state parent teacher organizations and served on the Equity Council and districtwide committees. His decision to run again was based not only on how much the district has accomplished, but also on the path he sees ahead.

“We still have more work to do,” he said. We’ve got to close the achievement gaps, and we need for every school to be so good that parents do not care what school building their children are assigned to.”

He said he looks forward to Fayette County being in the top 10 performing county school districts in the state.

Price, 55, is a widower with a grown daughter who graduated from Bryan Station High School and the University of Kentucky.

District 1 board member Melissa Bacon agrees the district is on the right path to accomplishing excellence in every building.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of this district. I’m most proud of the progress that we have seen at our elementary school level and look forward to seeing that same type of progress at our middle and high school levels,” Bacon said. “I’m also looking forward to seeing our facilities plan move from paper to reality so all students have the benefit of going to school in a state-of-the-art facility.”

First appointed in October 2006, Bacon was re-elected to serve the remainder of her term in 2007 and elected to first full four-year term this week.

Since her children have been in school, Bacon has been active with the Parent Teacher Association at Garden Springs Elementary and Beaumont Middle schools and has served on the school-based decision making council at Garden Springs. She is a graduate of the Commonwealth Institute for Parent Leadership and a participant in the Parents Partners in the Arts program, both run by the Prichard Committee for Educational Excellence. Bacon has also been a member of the district’s Elementary Super Council, a collaborative of school council representatives from around the county.

Bacon, 43, is married to Chris Bacon and has two children, one who attends Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and one at Beaumont Middle School. A Lexington resident since the age of 4, Bacon is a graduate of Lafayette High School and studied English at the University of Kentucky.

“We have such a cohesive board of education, and I continue to be impressed with the caliber of teachers, administrators and other employees that I have the opportunity to interact with,” Bacon said of her decision to run again. “We have so much momentum in this district, and I wanted to continue to be a part of that.”