Ashland Independent School District

The Ashland Independent School District is a school district based in Boyd County, Kentucky. The district serves the area within the city limits of Ashland.

Regular meetings of the board are held on the fourth Monday of each month.

Members

The current superintendent of the Ashland Independent School District is D. Sean Howard, who replaced Stephen E. Gilmore on July 1, 2016. Howard most recently served as superintendent of the Glasgow Independent School District in western Kentucky and was a former assistant superintendent and principal in the neighboring Russell Independent School District.

Blazer came to Ashland in 1924 as general manager of the nearby Leach refinery, which had been purchased by Swiss Oil of Lexington KY. In 1936, the Ashland refinery management group formed the Ashland Oil & Refining Company to run the former Swiss Oil operations. Blazer was named President of the new company.

Blazer would become a senior advisor on petroleum matters in US Department of Interior from 1933 to 1957, a leader in the development of the modernization of Ohio River transportation network, and a recognized statewide supporter of education. He was instrumental in the opening of the Ashland Junior College and its later affiliation with the University of Kentucky, a visible supporter for ending racial segregation in Kentucky education, and a facilitator of the expansion of Kentucky Educational Television beyond Jefferson County (Louisville). The Kentucky Press Association named Blazer the Kentuckian of the Year for 1954.

In 1958, the Ashland Board of Education announced the naming of Paul G. Blazer High School. Board President Claude N. Fannin said, “Mr. Blazer has long taken a special interest in education, both locally and throughout the state. In recognition of his many activities in support of this cause, and his significant contribution to the welfare of our youth, the Board of Education is proud to take this means of expressing the community’s appreciation.”

During has lifetime and posthumously, Blazer received numerous honorary degrees, citations, and recognitions for his contributions to education. The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees’ 1966 published tribute to Mr. Blazer’s life closed with “Many a year will pass before another dedicated leader comes forward to carve the same enduring mark which Paul Garrett Blazer Senior has left upon this earth and in the hearts and minds of his fellow Kentuckians.”

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