Superintendent Brian Crawford (right) speaks about the tentative budget during Thursday’s special called Bell County Board of Education meeting as Board Chairman Doug Ramsey looks on. (Photo by Jay Compton)

The month of May is always a whirlwind for school administrators. There are graduations, one school year is ending and planning for the next year is front and center. That has all led to a challenging transition for Brian Crawford as he was named Bell County’s new superintendent starting May 1 after serving in the same role for McCreary County the last two years.

“It’s not been easy transitioning in May. The end of school is always a busy time of the year and that’s been a little difficult.  I was in the process of closing out the school year and doing staffing at McCreary and the next thing you know I’m here having to wrap my head around a whole different school district,” he said. “Once we get school closed out and we can start moving forward with next year’s plans I think things will start to come a little easier for me and start falling into place.”

Crawford grew up in Bell County and served as the principal at Lone Jack School Center and Bell County High School before becoming the McCreary superintendent.

“I am extremely grateful to the people of McCreary County. I had a wonderful board out there and worked with some amazing people,” he said. “I had a great administrative staff and it was a great first job for me, it really was. They were in need of leadership,  they’ve been through several changes.”

When he took that job, Crawford thought it would be his last in education, but when Tom Gambrel announced his plans to step down as Bell County superintendent those plans changed.

“It was never the plan to come back honestly, the contract I had out there was going to carry me until I was 55 and I was planning on retiring at that time. Then Mr. Gambrel, he stepped out a little early on us. He was approached with an opportunity I guess he couldn’t pass up,” Crawford said. “When this job came open, obviously, this is home to me. I was excited that they were interested in me. It was an opportunity that opened up that was not expected.”

The chance to come back home was too great for him to pass up.

“There’s no place like Bell County.  I know you’ve probably  heard that before, but this is where I was born and raised, where I went to school and to think that I’ve been given the opportunity to sit in this chair is just beyond any dreams I had when I started out in education,” Crawford said.

Gambrel has stayed on as a consultant through the months of May and June to help with the transition. It has also helped Crawford to be able to work with a board that includes some of his former colleagues such as Doug Ramsey and Larry Elliott.

“I’ve got an amazing group of guys that I work for here on the board — Mr. Elliott was my grade school principal and old ball coach. I’ve got to come back and work with these guys and be around the people that I worked with for many years,” he said. “I’m excited for the opportunity and I look forward to growing on the successes that my predecessors have left here. It’s a very prideful school system, a very prideful community and I hope that I can leave it better than I find it.”

Crawford rejoins Bell County as the district, like many others in southeastern Kentucky, is facing some difficult decisions as the loss of student population hits home. Because of the effects of the COVID pandemic, the state has funded schools based on enrollment from the 2018-19 school year. For 2023-24 districts received two-thirds of that funding and last year they received one-third.

Bell County has lost about 400 students since 2019 which means a loss of approximately $700,000 in funding starting next school year. Crawford has been working with Finance Director Steve Silcox all month to put together some recommended cuts to erase that deficit.

“It’s not the easiest thing to come in and take over and start making cuts right off the bat, but we’ve hit the edge of the cliff, so to speak,” Crawford said. “It’s hard making those decisions, period, but when it’s people that you’ve grown up with and families that you know it gets more personal to you.

“At the end of the day you have to do what’s best for the kids and do what’s best for the district — that’s what I’ve always tried to do in any administrative role that I’ve had. As long as we keep the kids in the forefront of our mind, we may not make the most popular decisions but you can lay your head down and go to sleep at night.”

Once the district staffing puzzle has been completed, Crawford says his vision for Bell County Schools won’t be much different from how the schools have operated over the last several years.

“I will probably lead differently than Tom. My background has been as a principal in the schools so I will try to be more present in the buildings and be around my principals more. I’m probably going to expect more out of them,” he said. “None of that is to say that Mr. Gambrel didn’t do a phenomenal job because he did. Financially, Tom is a genius when it comes to money. Hopefully I can continue to build on that. I would like to see our schools academically at the top of the state. I’ve been very fortunate that every building that I was a principal in was able to grow academically a substantial amount. Hopefully I can lead by example on that front.”

He also praised the work of Silcox and Gambrel on maintaining and upgrading the facilities around the district.

“Our facilities are second to none and we are looking at doing some upgrades over at Bell Central to the bathrooms and some other things that are kind of dated. What we’ve done at the high school is really nice and we’re wanting to do some of the same things over at Bell Central and just continue with the path that our district has been headed in,” Crawford said. “(Yvonne) Gilliam did a great job, Tom has done a phenomenal job since her, hopefully I can fall right in line with them.”

Overall, Crawford is happy to be back at home and working to make Bell County schools as good as they can possibly be.

“I look forward to being back in my home community and working with people that I’ve grown up with and have grown to love,” he said. “I’m just excited about the opportunity to say the least. I don’t know if ‘excited’ really says how I feel — I’m honored, I’m humbled by the opportunity but I am excited to get in and go to work.”