in March 1912. Following Oren's death, talk of Nettie running for superintendent reemerged in the summer of 1912. Determined to show that local voters would support her candidacy, her advocates produced a petition bearing the signatures of 85 Barren County voters. She accepted the challenge and agreed to run as a representative of the Democratic Party more than a year before the 1913 General Election. In the August Primary Election of 1913, Depp was confirmed as the Barren County Democratic Party's nominee. In mid-August, Depp was one of several Kentucky candidates for superintendent who were examined by the state board of education to confirm her qualifications to serve as superintendent. A few weeks later on September 10, candidates who met the requirements and granted certification were announced. Depp was the first woman to run for public office in Barren County and the county's first female office-holder on January 1, 1914. In addition to a modest salary, the superintendent was provided an office and an apartment in the county courthouse. Depp was one of 26 women who were elected superintendents of Kentucky Public Schools in the November 5, 1913 General Election. Superintendent of Barren County Schools 1914-1915 Taking office on January 1, 1914, Depp took on the challenge of overseeing nearly 100 segregated community school districts within Barren County, directing curricula, managing teachers and their professional development, constructing and maintaining facilities, poor roads, managing resources, and public relations. In her biennial report to the Kentucky Superintendent of Public Instruction for 1915, Depp shared successes and areas needing improvement in Barren County Schools. She reported that Barren County's schools were not progressing as rapidly as she would like. In her first two years as superintendent, Depp built six new schools houses (including a four-room school building), repaired fifteen others, dug water wells, and built numerous outbuildings. Like communities across the nation, Barren County's schools were segregated by race. Providing educational opportunities for African American students presented unique concerns. The vast majority of the African American population in Barren County were sharecroppers who moved from farm to farm. Depp clearly worried about how best to serve children in those families when she reported:"We need some new [school] houses for colored children, as this population moves from place to place so rapidly that we need to put these [school] houses on wheels to keep up with the yearly moving." Depp highlighted her expectations of