BEREA – The Berea Independent School Board is preparing for changes in its membership after Board member Sarah Rohrer resigned and longtime members Jackie Burnside, PhD, and Tom McCay, announced they will not seek additional terms.

Rohrer, whose term began in October 2024, said she is leaving the position with gratitude for the district and the Berea community. Rohrer’s resignation took effect last month after she and her family moved out of the District. The Board accepted Rohrer’s resignation during the June 15 monthly meeting.

“I want to emphasize the only reason I’m stepping away is because my family and I have decided our next adventure takes us to new places,” Rohrer said during the meeting. “None of us on the Board or the community would have chosen the challenges put before this school district, but I have been so honored to be a part of this Board’s work of trying to figure out a path forward.”

During Rohrer’s tenure, the previous superintendent was placed on administrative leave, dozens of school staff were laid off, and a more than one million dollar shortfall required austerity measures. The District is once again operating in the black. 

Burnside has served on the Berea Independent School Board for more than two decades. A sociology professor at Berea College, Burnside was appointed to the Board in March of 2001. Her term ends in January. 

McCay has served a total of 15 years on the Board, although not consecutively. His first term was from 1995 through 2002 when he helped raise money for capital projects at Community School, including the construction of a new gymnasium. He was elected to his current term in 2018. McCay will step down at the end of this year because of his age, he told The Edge in an email. He is 78.

“The school seems to be on fairly stable financial ground and I will continue to keep my options open, and if I see a situation arise, I will continue to fight for our school as I have always done,” he said in the email. 

Donna Lovell, a former principal of Berea Community High School, was appointed last month to replace Rohrer through the November election. Jenny Hobson, who was appointed at the start of the year to replace outgoing member Nathaniel Hackett, is running to keep her seat in November. Hobson is vice chair of the Board. She has a background in family engagement, and previously worked at Berea Community Elementary School. The Board’s chair is J Morgan.

Ashley Hammond, a parent representative on the Berea Community Elementary School site-based decision-making council, said that during the overlapping tenures of Rohrer, Burnside, and McCay, the District has had to make difficult decisions, primarily around cutting staff in order to bring the District's budget under control.

“For a while we had grants [to pay for some positions], and when grants ended the administration would still keep the people in the grants, and we basically had more positions than what the state was reimbursing for," Hammond told The Edge in an interview. "That was one contributor to why we were in a deficit,” she said.

Hammond said the Board played a role in the District’s financial improvement, but also credited District administrators, especially the District's finance director, Nathan Sweet, for making the necessary hard decisions about what the District could afford to do.

“The Board has had a role in creating the surplus, in terms of approving or not approving certain items, but I think ultimately Nathan has done a good job with the budget,” Hammond said. “That’s why we have a surplus right now.”

Berea Independent Schools Superintendent Ryan Neaves, PhD, told The Edge in an email that, “Strong boards remain focused on student outcomes and long-term priorities while allowing district staff to manage daily operations."

Hammond emphasized the Board's role in communicating with families.

“If you’re going to serve on a Board, you’re going to have to have some thick skin and understand you are going to have some criticism. You’re going to get some tough questions, but people still deserve a response."