Chris Perkins to serve as ‘special administrator’ JCPS official reassigned after bus fiasco

Chris Perkins, the former chief operations officer for Jefferson County Public Schools, will now serve as a “special administrator,” the district announced Tuesday night.

The reassignment comes less than two months after busing on the first day of school went disastrously wrong, causing the district to close schools for days as it reworked its new transportation system. As COO, Perkins was heavily involved in the new busing system JCPS switched to this year, which involved adding seven additional school start times and significantly decreasing the number of bus routes.

When asked what responsibilities come with this new title, JCPS spokesman Mark Hebert said Perkins “will be working on special projects assigned by the superintendent.”

It is unclear what those projects will be, how many he will be working on, or how his performance will be measured. No other employee within the system has the same job title, according to a list of the district’s payroll. The new title comes with the same rate of pay, though.

As COO, Perkins earned about $195,000 a year to oversee transportation, facilities and nutrition services. This summer, district leaders undertook massive projects, which Perkins was heavily involved in. Besides drastically changing how it buses nearly 70,000 students, two newly constructed schools and one significantly renovated school opened this year.

Perkins also helped craft JCPS’ ambitious facilities plan that could cost $2 billion over the next 10 years.

The reassignment agreement shows Perkins will continue with his current salary rate through the end of this school year, then he will be assigned to a position that will pay about $150,000 through July 2026, unless he applies or is assigned to a higher-paid position before then.

Perkins became the district’s COO in May 2020 after serving as the executive administrator of school support. He was previously the principal of Iroquois High and has been in the district since 1999.

JCPS has appointed Rob Fulk as the interim COO. He joined JCPS in 2016, serving most recently as the assistant superintendent of middle schools.

MATT STONE/LOUISVILLE COURIER JOURNAL Chris Perkins, the former chief operations officer for Jefferson County Public Schools, was heavily involved in the new busing system.