FORT MITCHELL, Ky. — Beechwood Independent Schools Superintendent Mike Stacy, who announced his retirement in March after a controversial contract extension the year before, has been permanently barred from renewing his certification to work in Kentucky schools, according to meeting minutes from the Education Professional Standards Board.
According to the board’s June 4 minutes, Stacy “shall not be employed in a certified position after July 1, 2025.” Stacy’s retirement from the district goes into effect on June 30, 2025.
The minutes continue on to say that the professional standards board unanimously agreed Stacy should not be able to seek or accept a position in Kentucky that requires the use of his certification to work in schools.
“Stacy shall neither apply for, nor be issued, a teaching, administrative or emergency certificate in the Commonwealth of Kentucky at any time in the future,” the minutes state.
The Education Professional Standards Board establishes and enforces professional standards for preparation, certification and responsible and ethical behavior of all professional educators in Kentucky, according to its website.
Certification to work as a teacher, administrator or substitute teacher is required in Kentucky. A school employee only has one certificate number that they can use in their career in the state, according to Jennifer Ginn, the director of communications at the Kentucky Department of Education.
The professional standards board is also in charge of issuing, revoking or suspending certifications for employees who work or wish to work in Kentucky’s schools.
The meeting minutes did not give a reason for the decision. WCPO's content partner LINK nky reached out to Beechwood Schools and Stacy. They both sent them statements referring to an incident that happened in 2020, though the statements did not indicate what the incident was.
“The district is aware of an agreed settlement between the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) and retiring Superintendent Mike Stacy,” reads the statement from Beechwood Independent Schools, which was provided by attorney Jeremy Deters.
“This inquiry stems from a 2022 criminal investigation conducted by Kentucky State Police (KSP) about possible employee conduct in the first half of 2020,” the statement continues. “When Beechwood was notified of the investigation in 2022, Dr. Stacy took appropriate action to ensure the protection of both students and staff and ensured that district staff cooperated fully with the investigation.”
The statement also said that no charges have been brought against anyone regarding the incident.
“The school system and I are being accused of not reporting what we didn’t know,” Stacy said in his statement. “Therefore, I’ve always held and will continue to hold to the fact that no one affiliated with Beechwood did anything wrong with the information we were given in 2022.”
Stacy did not include details about what the information was that he and the district were given. He also said that the situation had been dragging on for years and that he wasn’t surprised to receive a settlement offer after he announced his retirement.
“Of course, I don’t like it and maintain there is nothing fair about it, but it’s better than the alternative I was facing,” Stacy said, though he did not elaborate on what that alternative was. “I’ve dedicated my entire career of 28 years to taking care of people’s children, and I have no interest in letting attorneys try to defend me by going back at one. There are times in life when winning isn’t winning, and I’m here to get it right rather than proving that I am right.”
Though he still had two years left on his contract, Stacy abruptly announced his retirement in March.
This came after a controversial split vote last May ended in a three-year contract renewal for Stacy.
Kentucky Department of Education statistics show Stacy made $250,000 this academic year — the sixth-highest-paid superintendent in the state and the highest of any superintendent with an average daily student attendance under 10,000.
Beechwood Independent Schools are consistently among the top-performing schools in Northern Kentucky. Click here to see how they rated in the state’s most recent report card, released in October of last year.
