The vote count for the new five member JCPS Board isn't final until a county board certifies it. Metro's Appropriations Committee approved $65,000 for a sidewalk to Seneca High, and Frankfort's education lawmakers meet Monday with the 2027 session eight weeks out.
Election night totals are unofficial until the county board issues certificates of election, and the Jefferson County Clerk's Election Results page had not posted certified 2026 general results when we checked November 7, so every JCPS Board seat below is a projected winner, not a certified one. A candidate can ask for a recanvass until 4 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, and the Jefferson County Board of Elections has until December 30 to issue certificates of election. This alert covers that count, the JCPS Board and committee calendar, Louisville Metro Council actions near schools, and what Kentucky lawmakers and the Kentucky Department of Education have in motion. Everything was checked on primary pages November 7, 2026.
Who leads each JCPS Board district on the unofficial count?
The percentages below come from WDRB and WAVE's results list, and vote totals come from the Courier Journal, which reported all precincts in.
District 1: Gail Logan Strange, the incumbent, 72.5 percent, over Jody Hurt.
District 2: Lillian Brents, 31.8 percent. Tim Shaughnessy had 29.6 percent, Robert Kahne 16.6, Phil Haming 13.4 and Alante Gaines 8.6.
District 3: Taylor Everett, the incumbent, 48.9 percent. Veda Pendleton finished second, with WDRB and WAVE reporting 35.5 percent and the Courier Journal reporting 37.5 percent, and Neil Seftor had 15.7 percent.
District 4: Deja Jackson, 46.5 percent. Michelle Patrick had 21.7, Kimberly Vinegar 18.3 and incumbent Trevin Bass 13.6.
District 5: Kyle Killebrew, 38 percent in the WDRB and WAVE list, with 9,940 votes to Carrie Donovan's 9,053 in the Courier Journal count. The Courier Journal also reports that vote total as 38 percent. William Snawder had 27.4 percent.
District 5 is the closest seat, separated by 887 votes on the Courier Journal totals. Louisville Public Media reported that all five leaders were endorsed by Better Schools Kentucky, the political action committee of the Jefferson County Teachers Association.
When could the count change, and when is it final?
Recanvass requests are due before 4 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, and any requested recanvass happens at 9 a.m. Thursday, November 12, according to the State Board of Elections' 2026 election calendar, which cites KRS 117.305. A recanvass rechecks the machine totals. It is not a hand recount.
The usual November 16 deadline on that calendar doesn't apply here. The calendar's own line excludes counties containing a city of the first class, and KRS 118.425(3) gives Jefferson County's board of elections until December 30 to issue certificates for countywide and smaller races. The same statute says the right to contest or recount under KRS Chapter 120 "shall not be impaired."
When does the new board take over?
The seven member board's terms end December 31, 2026, under Section 17 of Kentucky Acts Chapter 154, the enacted Senate Bill 4. Within ten days of January 1, 2027, the superintendent must call a meeting so the new board can organize. The district's draft 2027 schedule, on the November 10 agenda, lists that organizational business meeting for Tuesday, January 5, 2027.
Two seats are short on purpose. The Act gives the members first elected in Divisions Four and Five a two year term, then standard four year terms after that. Divisions One, Two and Three get four years. So the District 4 and District 5 seats are on the ballot again in 2028.
New members also start a training clock. Section 7 of the Act, amending KRS 160.180, requires 12 hours of training a year for members with eight or fewer years of service, and members in their first two years must include three hours of finance and one hour of superintendent evaluation. For what the board controls, see our explainer on what the JCPS Board actually decides. Not sure of your district? Use the board district finder.
What is the outgoing board voting on Tuesday?
The current board holds its regular work session Tuesday, November 10, at 6 p.m. Eastern in Stewart Auditorium at the VanHoose Education Center, 3332 Newburg Road, according to the November 10 agenda on the Kentucky School Boards Association portal. It's also streamed on the district's YouTube channel.
Four items reach well past this board's last month in office:
Next year's calendars. Proposed 2027 to 2028 and 2028 to 2029 school calendars come up for first reading only. The agenda says Policy 08.3 and KRS 158.070 require a second meeting to adopt them.
The 2027 legislative wish list. The board receives draft 2027 legislative priorities, also as a first reading.
A revised state building form puts the new Seneca High School at $114,976,803 after "unforeseen subsurface rock conditions were encountered during site excavation," the agenda says. The board is also asked to accept the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the year ended June 30, 2026, with a DRAFT watermark still on the copy while a second partner review finishes.
The same consent calendar would restore the School Based Decision Making council at Sanders Elementary, which the agenda says exited Comprehensive Support and Improvement status on October 3, 2024. The agenda says that council's authority was transferred to the superintendent while Sanders was identified for CSI, and KRS 160.346 says a local board may restore a school's right to establish a council two years after it exits CSI status; exiting CSI does not restore that authority by itself.
What did the district's committees take up in late October?
Three advisory committees met, and only their agendas are posted so far.
The District Facilities Local Planning Committee held a special meeting October 27 to vote on sending the Draft District Facilities Plan with Finding No. 01 to the board, according to its meeting page. The agenda calls a finding "a single 'minor' change" to the plan, and says the finding's text would be linked "immediately prior to meeting." As of November 4, the page shows no finding document, no vote result and no minutes. JCPS Insider isn't reporting an outcome until one is posted.
The Audit and Risk Management Advisory Committee met October 28. Its agenda lists a financial statement audit presentation from the firm LBMC, the annual financial report and changes to purchasing and procurement.
The Student Support and Behavior Intervention Handbook Revision Committee met October 27 to keep developing potential edits to the 2027 to 2028 behavior handbook, its meeting notice says. No draft edits are posted.
What has Louisville Metro Council done near JCPS schools?
The council's Appropriations Committee approved $65,000 from District 26 Capital Infrastructure Funds on October 21 for a sidewalk extension at 3500 to 3510 Goldsmith Lane, "completing the sidewalk to Seneca High School." Metro's Legistar record for CIF102126PW26a lists the item as Passed, with no further council vote on its history.
The same committee that day approved $30,000 more from the same fund for speed tables, signage, LED crossing signs and sidewalk work "to increase pedestrian safety on Goldsmith Lane at Meadow Drive," according to CIF102126PW26b.
A second sidewalk project runs past two schools. JCPS's November 10 agenda gives notice of easements letting Metro build a continuous 6 foot sidewalk on the north side of Crums Lane from Cheviot Drive to Dixie Highway. Metro pays $38,600 for the easements in front of Butler Traditional High and $8,100 in front of Schaffner Traditional Elementary.
Bus stop lighting money already passed. Ordinance O-260-26, now Ordinance No. 180-2026, passed September 24. We covered what it funds in our September board and Metro recap.
What is Frankfort doing on education before January?
The Interim Joint Committee on Education meets jointly with the Education Assessment and Accountability Review Subcommittee at 11 a.m. Eastern Monday, November 9, according to the LRC's 2026 Interim Calendar, amended November 4. The posted November 9 agenda lists a joint meeting at 11 a.m. Eastern in Annex Room 154. Lawmakers are set to hear from the Kentucky Association of School Librarians; from KDE and KHEAA on occupation based teacher certification and career and technical education dual credit; from superintendents in Casey County and Rockcastle County on dual credit; from KDE on behavior and discipline for students in grades PreK to 3; and from the Office of Education Accountability on school facility needs and funding mechanisms in Kentucky. The agenda says Kentucky Education Television covers legislative meetings and, if a scheduling conflict arises, the hearing livestreams at the LRC live stream page. The calendar notes the interim period for meetings runs through December 1.
The 2027 Regular Session convenes Tuesday, January 5, 2027, according to the 2027 session calendar. It lists February 16 as the "Last Day for Senate Bills" and February 17 for House bills, with sine die on March 30.
Two pieces of paper are already in front of lawmakers:
A fee waiver rule. KDE's amendment to 702 KAR 3:220, now marked "Amended at ARRS Committee," says a student in a Community Eligibility Provision district "shall not be automatically eligible" for a fee waiver and must qualify under the federal income guidelines. JCPS serves free meals to everyone under that provision. It was on the committee's October 6 agenda. Our guides to JCPS school fees and waivers and free and reduced lunch status explain why the paperwork still matters.
A cafeteria draft. An unofficial draft bill, 2027 BR 79, handed out September 1, would add aluminum cans and food scrap composting to school recycling plans and bar districts from buying foam lunch trays beginning July 1, 2028. It isn't a filed bill.
The October 6 meeting also put the state auditor's JCPS examination in front of lawmakers. Our breakdown of the district's corrective action plan has the counts.
What can you do this week?
Watch the clerk's results page after 4 p.m. Tuesday for any recanvass request, and again Thursday morning. To speak at Tuesday's board meeting, call the Board office through the district's main line, 502 313 4357, before 6 p.m. Each speaker gets three minutes. Questions about the count go to the Jefferson County Clerk's election office at 502 574 6100.
JCPS Insider is an independent parent resource and is not affiliated with Jefferson County Public Schools.