By Brad Hughes
Special to KyForward
Stu Silberman, executive director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence for the past four years and former Fayette County school superintendent, will retire Sept. 4 to spend time with his family in advance of an operation needed to address a rare kidney disease.
Silberman, a longtime educator who also served as superintendent of the Daviess County school system, shared the word of his decision in emails and a post on the Prichard Committee’s Facebook page Monday afternoon.
“It is with mixed emotions that I write to let you know I will be retiring, effective Sept. 4, 2015. This comes after four years of service with the Prichard Committee and 41 years in education serving students and their families,” he said.
“As many of you know, I was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease several months ago and will need a kidney transplant sometime in the future. After much prayer and discussion with my family, we agreed that it would be very important to spend time together before a transplant is imminent. That is the sole reason for my decision to retire,” Silberman said.
“I have been blessed to have had this opportunity to work side by side with such great people. I know that, because of them – because of you, the Prichard Committee is on very firm ground and will continue its strong advocacy for progress,” he added. “I have greatly enjoyed my time with the committee and know the significant differences it continues to make in the lives of the children. I have great confidence that this will continue.”
According to Silberman, the Prichard Committee board has appointed a selection committee to begin a search for his successor, and it plans to begin interviews in the near future.
Brad Hughes is director of member support for the Kentucky School Boards Association and writes for the association’s eNews service.