Hal Heiner addresses members of the Kentucky Board of Education after being named chairman during the board’s regularly scheduled August meeting.
Photo by Bobby Ellis, Aug. 2, 2018
(FRANKFORT, Ky.) – In the opening moments of its regular board meeting Aug. 2, Kentucky Board of Education members voted to elect Hal Heiner as chair and Milton Seymore as vice chair. Heiner, who was appointed to the board in April after his resignation as Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet secretary, replaces Seymore in the role of chair.
“2018 marks 22 continuous years of education service for me, and I am humbled to have been selected by my peers to serve today’s students – the future leaders of our Commonwealth,” said Heiner. “I have served on a P-12 school system board, a board serving children with learning differences, a postsecondary education board and as secretary of Kentucky’s education cabinet. I look forward to continuing to work with our educators, parents and most importantly, students, in what I’m sure will be my most challenging and rewarding role yet.”
In brief comments following the election, Seymore addressed the board and attendees, touting Heiner’s leadership skills and his accomplishments in education.
“Hal not only knows the challenges and successes that Kentucky schools have seen in recent years, but he has observed the products of the Kentucky school system as an employer,” said Seymore. “He, alongside myself, the board and the commissioner, will work tirelessly to ensure that the students of today are well educated and adequately prepared for the workforce of tomorrow.”
Heiner previously served as a member of the Asbury University Board of Trustees, the University of Louisville Board of Overseers, the Summit Academy Board of Trustees and the Metro Leadership Foundation – an organization focused on after-school instruction for children. He attended high school and graduated from the Jefferson County Public Schools and the University of Louisville, where he earned a master’s degree in engineering. He is the founder of Capstone Realty, a development firm responsible for helping to bring and keep more than 5,000 jobs to Greater Louisville.
Seymore, of Louisville, is retired from Ford Motor Company and has been the pastor of Energized Baptist Church in Louisville since 1993. He is an alumnus of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served on the boards of the Kentucky Youth Advocates, Kentucky Pastors in Action Coalition and the American Baptist Newspaper.
The Kentucky Board of Education develops and adopts the regulations that govern Kentucky’s public school districts and the actions of the Kentucky Department of Education. The board is comprised of 11 voting members, each appointed by the governor to serve four-year terms. The president of the Council on Postsecondary education also serves on the board in a non-voting capacity.
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