NEWPORT, Ky. — Tony Watts will conclude his role as the superintendent of Newport Independent Schools at the end of this school year after he and the district’s Board of Education agreed to mutually part ways.
The board members and Watts came to the agreement after over two hours of deliberation in closed session at a special meeting Thursday evening. The move comes only a day after the board voted to slash seven administrative positions from the district amid broader financial troubles.
“We just made a mutual agreement that we thought it was best for the district at this time that we part our ways,” Watts told our news partner LINK nky after the meeting.
Specifically, the board voted to allow the board attorney, in this case Brandon Voelker, to amend the portion of Watt’s contract related to resignation. This is a roundabout way of saying that the board will need to work out a deal with Watts to allow him to step down with conditions. The details of that deal still need to be worked out, but Watts confirmed with LINK nky that he would still be involved with the district in the future.
“I’ll still be around,” Watts said. “I’m still going to help the district out in certain ways.”
The vote to amend his contract was unanimous, and the board members declined to comment.
It’s been a rough year for the district. In January, former district Finance Director Jennifer Hoover said the school district was facing a $3.9 million budget deficit for the 2026 school year, a state of affairs that would likely lead to the loss of jobs in the district. The Newport Teachers Association, the district’s teachers union, called for a “no confidence” vote in Watts at the board meeting on Feb. 26, which failed to garner support among the board members.
On May 2, according to information from the superintendent’s office, the district sent out 30 non-renewal letters to teachers at several schools throughout the district and then just this week, the board cut the administrative positions. While statements from district staff suggest that the district will begin the next school year in the green, the long-term financial health of the district is unclear, and the board likely has more difficult decisions ahead of it.
When asked if he had anything he wanted to say to the school community, Watts said, “It’s been a pleasure, and I just hope and wish the district success.”
“We’re gonna be fine,” he also said. “We made a lot of changes, and we’ve been working hard to get things headed back in the right direction. We’re on our way.”
This story originally appeared on our partner's website LINK nky.
