MURRAY – In an eventful special called meeting this morning, the Murray Board of Education not only hired a new superintendent but also announced receiving approval from the state to purchase real estate located off of Doran Road for the purpose of building a new elementary school.
The two-hour long meeting was dominated by two executive sessions. While the first lasted a mere five minutes, the second continued for nearly an hour and 45 minutes; regardless of their length, the board took actions today that will have a lasting impact on the district for years, likely decades, to come, after emerging from each.
The first executive session concerned the land acquisition. Upon reconvening in open session, board attorney William “Chip” Adams, III, read a proposed motion authorizing the board chair or vice-chair and secretary to execute documents necessary to complete the purchase of approximately 15.118 acres of real property from Vinlou, LLC, for $644,759. The motion was formally made by board member Adam Seiber, seconded by Gina Winchester and unanimously approved.
The board announced plans in January to purchase a parcel of land near the intersection of Doran and Wiswell roads to be the site of a new elementary school, which would house kindergarten through fourth grade and boast a capacity of 750 students.
At the time, Adams explained that school districts cannot purchase real estate without going through KDE’s approval process, which, he advised, the district initiated last summer. A request for approval to purchase the parcel was sent to KDE in mid-January, and the district received word last Thursday the request was approved.
The plan to build a new elementary school was announced in December 2023 as part of the district’s long-range facilities plan. After the new school is built, the current elementary school building will be repurposed to house the central office, maintenance shop and some of the district’s six preschool/Head Start classrooms; which classrooms will be determined at a later date.
After the meeting, Adams advised a minor subdivision plat will have to be drawn and approved by the Murray Planning Commission before a deed can be executed. He further advised that ingress/egress to the facility has yet to be determined as it depends on the design of the school.
But that was just one of the two announcements that came out of today’s meeting. At 10:10 a.m., the board relocated to a conference room down the hall for its second executive session. Around an hour later, they returned to the boardroom but remained in executive session. For the next 40 minutes, roughly, it was apparent the board was involved in some kind of negotiation, with Adams serving as a messenger between those in the boardroom and those in the conference room.
When the board reconvened in open session at approximately 11:55 a.m., and upon a motion by Winchester, seconded by Robyn Pizzo, all board members present – Crouch, Pizzo, Shawn Smee and Winchester; Sieber was present for the negotiations but had to leave before the vote took place – voted to offer the position of superintendent to Dr. David Meinschein. Before adjourning, Meinschein signed a four-year contract with a salary of $185,000 per year.
“I am humbled to come here, and I’m looking forward to joining this great team,” Meinschein said after the meeting. “I’m excited about coming here – wonderful school district, wonderful community and a sense of pride and tradition.”
Meinschein is currently the superintendent for the Livingston County School District, where he has been for the past four years. He has served on the Murray State University Board of Regents since 2022. Prior to his tenure at Livingston County, Meinschein spent 10 years with the Ballard County School District, serving, first, as the principal of Ballard Memorial High School before becoming assistant superintendent.
Although he has spent the past 14 years in the field, Meinschein said his background is quite different from other educators. He was a military officer, served in the United States Army in the 101st Airborne and the 25th Infantry divisions. After the military, he worked for a Fortune 500 company as well as a startup tech company.
He and his wife Mary have seven children. Their youngest will be a senior at Ballard Memorial next year. Two of their children attend Murray State and the others are disbursed from South Carolina to Georgia and Florida.
Meinschein said his leadership philosophy is to hire/retain great people, give them autonomy to do their jobs and cast a vision that people are excited to be a part of.
“I believe in authentic leadership,” he added. “What you see is me. There’s no hidden agenda. You’ll never have to worry about what I’m thinking. And I want people to know who I am. Beyond that grace and mercy are very important to me in my job. I try and lead with it because I guarantee I’m going to need it on the other end.”
Meinschein is set to take the reins after the district’s current superintendent, Coy Samons, retires at the end of June. Samons, who has been served as superintendent since 2017, announced his retirement in February.
“After 37 years, I felt it was time for me to pursue some other interests and endeavors,” Samons told The Sentinel about his decision. “I was always told by some very influential mentors I’ve had over the years that when it’s time to retire, you know; and I know.”
When asked about his plans for retirement, Samons said he is not thinking much beyond June 30. Regarding his successor, he called Meinschein an “excellent candidate.”
“He’s not only a leader in west Kentucky, but he’s a leader throughout the commonwealth,” Samons said, adding, “I think he will take the district to continued heights.”
