Fifteen candidates apply to be Kentucky’s next education commissioner
The Kentucky Board of Education had received 15 applications for the new commissioner of education, spokesperson Jennifer Ginn told the Herald-Leader Monday.
That is far less than when the position was last open in 2020 when 46 applications were reviewed.
The Education Commissioner post is open following the resignation of Jason Glass, who said in August 2023 he was leaving the job and the state because he didn’t want to enforce the “dangerous and unconstitutional” Senate Bill 150 that critics called an anti-LGBTQ measure.
GOP lawmakers and politicians had urged Glass’ ouster over the department’s inclusive LGBTQ stances.
The Commissioner of Education is the chief state school officer and oversees the daily operations of the Kentucky Department of Education and acts as superintendent of the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and the 50 area technology centers, according to the job posting.
Interim Commissioner Robin Fields Kinney said the goal is to have a new commissioner in place by July 1.
“The (board) and the Kentucky Department of Education are committed to being fair and transparent as we continue the search for a new commissioner,” Kinney told school superintendents in a statewide message Monday afternoon.
State education officials have said the current 15 applications is far less than when Glass was hired in 2020.
The 2023 General Assembly passed a law that, for the first time, requires the Kentucky Senate, which is currently Republican-led, to confirm the appointment.
State education officials have said they intend to have an applicant chosen in time for the 2024 Kentucky Senate to confirm the hire.
Ginn said Monday the applicant names are not available to the public.
“The names of applicants are confidential at this time and will remain confidential until the (Kentucky Board of Education) releases the names of finalists (not all applicants), with their consent,” she said in an email.
The Herald-Leader has filed a public records request with the state to obtain the names of the 15 candidates, Richard Green, the newspaper’s executive editor, said Monday.
The Kentucky Board of Education interview committee will meet March 7-8 to review the applications toward the identification of finalists.
In-person interviews with finalists will be conducted March 18-19 to determine the selected candidate, Ginn said.
The state board’s intent is to announce the new commissioner at a yet-to-be-scheduled meeting.
As the chief executive officer for the Board of Education and the Department of Education, the commissioner recommends and implements policies and directs the department in the management of the state’s 171 public school districts. The state has an estimated 635,000 public school students
The commissioner also serves as the executive secretary to the Education Professional Standards Board, which is responsible for carrying out regulations related to requirements for a teaching certificate.
Among the requirements, the job posting said, is that the commissioner must have the ability to work collaboratively with the Board of Education, state educational partners, the Kentucky General Assembly and school district leadership.
