For more than 30 years, Mike Waller has served on the Henderson County School Board, and he said he’s “loved every minute of it.”
Waller was honored recently when he was named the Kentucky School Board Association’s 2024 Kentucky School Board Member of the Year.
His nomination, according to a news release from Henderson County Schools, said Waller “embodies all of the district’s seven core values, but the one that he demonstrates most is core value number seven: Be the Change Agent. He has changed the trajectory of the lives of thousands of students, and in turn, changed the trajectory of our great community.”
In an interview with the Hendersonian, Waller said his motivation has always been to do what’s best for students. He described Henderson County Schools as “a system that allows any kid no matter background or socioeconomics the opportunity to get the best education available in our country” and there’s not a kid in Henderson County who can’t be successful “if they’re willing to get in and work.”
Waller is a 1973 graduate of Henderson City High School, where he played football and baseball. He worked at Accuride for 48 years, retiring as director of operations/plant manager.
Of his proudest achievements on the school board, Waller pointed to two of its main duties: hiring superintendents and ensuring students and schools have the resources needed.
He said he’s worked hard to make sure students have the resources they need. He pointed to Henderson County High School’s Career and Technical Education unit as an example. One of the best in the state, he said, which is important in today’s world in which a high percentage of jobs don’t require college education.
Waller is also proud of being able to be part of getting the Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center built, which offers pre-kindergarten programs to children in need. He said he wants the district to offer more early learning opportunities.
“I’d like to see us have preschool for every kid in Henderson County three years and up,” he said.
Another point of pride was the school system’s implementation of all-day kindergarten years before it was state-mandated, he said, pointing to research that the earlier children can start education, the better they will do later in life.
“The earlier you start educating youngsters, the more successful they are,” he said.
He said superintendents he’s hired and worked with are top-notch, calling them “some of the most outstanding superintendents in the state of Kentucky.” Those include Bill Rideout, Gayle Ecton, John Vaughn, Tom Richey, Marganna Stanley and current superintendent, Bob Lawson, whom he calls one of “the smartest and consistent leaders” he’s been around.
Waller said that he doesn’t have any regrets from his time on the board. He said even if he disagreed with a board vote, he has supported that decision and moves forward.
“I don’t look at regrets a lot,” he said. “I don’t spend a lot of time with that.”
The future of the board’s future work, in Waller’s eyes, can be framed in two words: technology and facilities.
He thinks technology is going to be a leading factor in education, as it has been for the past 15 years, and the school system will need to expand its services with growing technology.
“We have to keep pace with what is available,” he said. “We have to be on the forefront of technology.”
The district has built two new schools recently—Spottsville Elementary and Jefferson Elementary—and they have already produced results with students, Waller said, adding facilities will continue to be a top priority. Already scheduled is a $16 million renovation at East Heights Elementary and a $9 million-$10 million renovation for the CTE unit at HCHS.
Finally, he would like to see Henderson County Schools be the highest paid district in the state. Waller said teachers “should be the highest paid individuals anywhere. Give them all the money we can.”
Nationally, Waller said he sees some of the partisan politics that have become a part of school board decisions around the country and doesn’t agree with it.
“There’s no room for it in public education,” Waller said. “Your political beliefs shouldn’t have a bearing on the decisions you make,” he said, adding the only guiding principle is to “make the best decision for kids.”
Waller started on the school board in 1989 and was off the board for one term from 2012-2016 after losing an election. He said at the time he wasn’t sure he wanted to try for a seat again. But he credits Stanley, the superintendent at the time, for encouraging him to run again.
Now, he’s 68. After having spent most of his adult life on the school board, he’s not sure if he’s going to run again, saying it might be time for younger people to get involved.
“I was 32 when I started,” he said. “Now I’m an old man.”
But the decision to run will be a family decision, as it always has been, he said. He’ll discuss with his wife, Sally, and daughters, Sara Beth Smith and Allison Thompson, and son, Robert Waller.
He said he’ll also discuss with Lawson, the current superintendent. Waller was instrumental in recruiting Lawson back to Henderson (after a previous stint of teaching and coaching here) for the superintendent’s spot, he said, and told Lawson when he became superintendent four years ago that he’d stick by him as he learned the ropes of his job.
