NEWPORT, Ky. — A second Northern Kentucky superintendent has been permanently barred from renewing their certification to be a superintendent in Kentucky schools, according to a decision from the Education Professional Standards Board.
On May 2, the board received notice that then-Newport Superintendent Tony Watts failed to report mandatory information about a Newport educator as required by law.
LINK nky is not naming the educator in question because he was not charged with a crime, but, according to a board order, Watts suspended the educator based on findings from the Ohio State Board of Education regarding the educator’s prior work in Ohio. Those findings indicated that the educator was recommended for permanent revocation of his license in Ohio and was deemed by a medical evaluator “unfit to be around children unsupervised.”
Failure to report allowed the educator to maintain a valid Kentucky certificate and apply for employment in another Kentucky school district, according to the board.
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.
Watts cannot be employed in any certified position that requires a superintendent-level certificate. After his certificate naturally expires, he cannot reapply for a superintendent certificate and will be permanently prohibited from holding superintendent roles in Kentucky.
Newport Independent School District Attorney Brandon Voelker said that when the district learned the employee was under investigation in Ohio, the employee was escorted out and terminated immediately. Voelker said the issue was that, although the employee was under investigation, there was no flag on his record, and therefore Newport had no indication of the investigation when the educator was hired.
Once the district was notified by Ohio, Voelker said they called the Kentucky standards board and asked why the investigation did not appear in Kentucky.
“They said, until it’s final in Ohio, we don’t get knowledge of it,” Voelker said. “We had internal discussions-that’s the problem with the system amongst the states.”
As for Watts, Voelker said, as with any superintendent, you have people who are supporters and people who aren’t, but Watts took immediate action to terminate the educator upon learning of the Ohio investigation.
“I can 100% assure every family, student, anyone in the city of Newport, that the day the information was discovered regarding this teacher, he was removed immediately that day,” Voelker said. “Never set foot in the district again in a school building again in Newport.”
Voekler said the district did not learn that Watts was under review by the standards board until about a month after he left the district, when he called them to obtain information about the educator while he was defending himself. Had Watts not called them, Voelker said, they still would not have known about Watts’s superintendent certification being revoked.
Watts resigned as the Newport Superintendent on May 15 after over two hours of deliberation in closed session at a special meeting.
“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 LINK nky after the May 15 meeting.
At a special meeting on June 4, following a closed-session discussion, the Newport Board of Education passed a motion to sign the settlement and release agreement and covenant not to sue regarding Watts’ resignation.
In the settlement agreement, the district agreed to pay Watts $175,000 in total, and in exchange, he agreed not to seek any additional compensation related to his job, contract, or benefits. He also waived the right to sue or make any future claims against the school district, school board, and related entities.
This is the second time this year that a former Northern Kentucky superintendent has been barred from renewing their certification to work in Kentucky schools.
In June, LINK nky reported that Beechwood Independent Schools Superintendent Mike Stacy, who announced his retirement in March after a controversial contract extension the year before, had been permanently barred from renewing his certification.
Because of the decision, Watts can no longer be employed as a superintendent, but he can still be a teacher. As a result, he is required by the Education Professional Standards Board to complete three ethics courses by February 2026 if he wishes to pursue a teaching certification.
LINK nky contacted Watts by cell phone and left a voicemail requesting a comment within 24 hours.
