Harold McKinney listens to fellow Kentucky Board of Education Member Diana Woods during a recent board meeting. Photo by Joe Ragusa, Kentucky Department of Education, March 26, 2025
(FRANKFORT, KY) – Danville’s Harold McKinney is bringing a career of public service experience to the Kentucky Board of Education (KBE) as its newest member.
Gov. Andy Beshear named McKinney to the KBE in March to complete a term previously held by Paul Long, who resigned. McKinney will complete the remainder of the term, which ends on April 14, 2028. He represents the 3rd Supreme Court District.
McKinney is well known in his community, having served as Boyle County’s judge executive from 2008 to 2018. He has extensive experience working as a member of local boards, and currently serves on the Parksville Water District Board, the New Vista Board of Directors and the Kentucky Heritage Council.
McKinney said he is excited for the opportunity to serve on the KBE. He is looking forward to learning more about education policies and hopes that the board can be effective in influencing policy that will improve outcomes for students.
“I’m going to do my best,” McKinney said. “I will try to be honest with people, and sometimes I might say things people don’t like, but that’s just the way life is and I always try to be true to people.”
A native of Adair County, McKinney graduated from Adair County High School in 1969. He said he is grateful for the educational opportunities he received.
Both of his parents had limited opportunity to be educated; however, they eagerly encouraged their seven children to go to college. McKinney ended up getting a scholarship to Centre College in Danville and graduated from there in 1973.
He went on to get a law degree from the University of Kentucky in 1988. McKinney said a good education was his ticket for a better life and he understands the value it can bring to students and families.
“You’ve got to remember that a lot of people out there are struggling, and we need to get them the right education,” McKinney said. “Education is always the ticket out the door. Once you get yourself educated, you’ve got a shot.”
Early in his career, McKinney was an administrator at Kentucky State Hospital, which was a mental hospital near Burgin. He later worked as a Boyle County Health Department administrator, assistant county attorney, attorney for the Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts for six years and was in a private law practice.
“I’ve always felt like every job I had made a difference for people,” McKinney said. “When I was at the health department, we had a big program for folks who might not get good prenatal care, and we also had a tremendous vaccination program.”
He has been on the parent teacher associations (PTA) at Toliver Elementary School and Bate Middle School (Danville Independent) when his daughter attended there. He also served at the local humane society and the Red Cross. McKinney loves public service, and said he enjoys helping people and being involved in his community.
He also said he likes making sure that money is used responsibly, as those were his duties in the state auditor’s office, the Kentucky State Hospital and the Boyle County Health Department.
“I’m very interested in making sure that public money is stewarded in the appropriate way,” McKinney said. “But I’m also interested in getting people off on the right start.”
McKinney believes that every child should have access to publicly funded pre-school.
McKinney said another priority for him is making sure each student is fed, because teachers have a hard time teaching hungry students. He recalled that one time when he served on a PTA, they wanted to make a donation to a local school with extra money they had. The PTA asked several teachers what they would do with a few hundred dollars and they said they would buy a toaster and bread for their students.
“(The teacher said) these kids can’t learn on an empty stomach, and you can’t teach a hungry child. It’s stuck with me all these years,” McKinney said.
McKinney believes that schools should broaden students’ horizons, increase their exposure to the arts and look into investing more on academics and the arts.
“I’m also for expanding people’s understanding that you’ve got to decorate your life with beauty if you want to have a good life, whether that’s the beauty of music, art or writing,” he said.
While serving on the state board, McKinney said he wants to learn more about testing, measuring teacher success, and assessment and accountability.
McKinney and his wife, Carol Wallace McKinney, have three children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
“I’ve got some interest in how things go in Kentucky, because my great-grandchildren will be educated here, and that’s pretty important to me,” McKinney said.
Leave A Comment