‘Personal smears.’ His job at risk, Kentucky education commissioner defends record.

Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis said Wednesday that he has been the target of political “personal attacks and personal smears,” referring to criticism from Gov.-elect Andy Beshear, who wants to remove Lewis.

“I don’t believe in the history of this state that we’ve ever seen political attacks or smear campaigns about the background, the integrity, the commitment of a Commissioner of Education,” Lewis said during a state Board of Education meeting on Wednesday.

Lewis told the Herald-Leader Wednesday morning he was referring to statements made by Gov. elect Andy Beshear.

“If you don’t like me, then just say you don’t like me and I can respect that. But don’t malign my record, my background or lie about what I’ve done,” Lewis told reporters.

Lewis’ spokeswoman Jessica Fletcher said Lewis had also been attacked on social media from people who say he has no public education experience.

Lewis was hired in 2018 by Kentucky Board of Education members appointed by Republican Gov. Matt Bevin. Beshear, a Democrat, has said when he is inaugurated Dec. 10 one of his first actions on day one will be to replace state school board members with others who are pro-public education in hopes that they will replace Lewis on day two.

In response to Lewis, Beshear’s spokeswoman Crystal Staley said in a statement: “Gov.-elect Beshear is committed to setting a positive tone in Frankfort and across Kentucky to find common ground and move our families forward. Gov.-elect Beshear has only said that we must have a Board of Education and commissioner that is fully committed to public education, which requires a change that he will make after being sworn in.”

Lewis said Wednesday he has been “forced to defend” who he is and his background.

He said in his five years in teaching in public education, he served in three school districts. He said his first school in New Orleans was low performing and was reconstituted and he transferred to another district. Then in 2005 he and his wife lost everything they owned in Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana where he was teaching and they moved to North Carolina. Eventually, he became a college professor.

On Tuesday night after his annual state of education address, Lewis said “any suggestion that I don’t have a commitment to public education is flat ridiculous.”

Lewis said Wednesday he was a public school teacher and his child now attends a Kentucky public school in Woodford County, a district where his wife has worked for 11 years.

When he moved to state government in Kentucky in 2016, he was an associate professor of education at the University of Kentucky.

“I am insulted by the insinuation that I am not a supporter of public education,” Lewis said. He said he works every day with superintendents and schools to improve learning opportunities.

“The attacks on my character, and my commitment and my background make me angry, they make me want to lash out, they make me want to say things about those people that I shouldn’t say,” Lewis said.

He said it’s his faith as a Christian that stops him.

“What I will not allow is for people to mischaracterize who I am and lie about my background, “ Lewis said. “If the Gov.-elect has the authority to reconstitute the Kentucky Board of Education ...and that’s what he wants to do, then he should do it. If that new board has the legal authority to fire me without cause and that’s what they want to do, then they should do it.”

“It’s been a long time since I had to worry about having a job,” Lewis said, “I will be fine.”

However, Lewis reiterated to the Herald-Leader that he will not resign right away. He said he would like to continue his work.

Lewis said he had not met Beshear but would be willing to talk to him, though he hadn’t requested a meeting.

But he said he had had a standard conversation with Beshear’s transition team, including Frankfort Independent Superintendent Houston Barber and Jefferson County Schools General Counsel Kevin Brown, about contracts and other matters.

Lewis and some members of the state board, as well as Bevin, have said they were advocates for public charter schools. No charter schools have opened since Kentucky’s General Assembly approved them in 2017 because lawmakers have not additionally approved a funding mechanism. Lewis said he did not include that as a part of his legislative agenda in 2020 because he didn’t think Beshear would be inclined to sign the bill.

“I don’t have any interest in ...trying to fight to do something that doesn’t have any hope of achieving passage,” Lewis said.

Lewis said he thought members of the state school board could take legal action if they were removed by Beshear before their terms expire. Board member Rich Gimmel told the Herald-Leader Wednesday that he would support a lawsuit if presented with credible information that the action was illegal.

Whether it’s legal or not, Gimmel said, “I think it would be a mistake to undermine the efforts to de-politicize management of education in Kentucky.”

Citing the year ‘s accomplishments in his state of education address, Lewis said he had worked with districts facing challenges, implemented a strategic plan, reorganized the education department, adopted new graduation requirements, revised academic standards and the accountability system and launched a teacher recruitment campaign.

However, Lewis said educatonal progress in the state has stalled.

He cited recent K-PREP assessment data, ACT and NAEP test scores, along with studies by the Kentucky Center for Statistics.

“While we have made tremendous progress with our high school graduation rate, too many Kentucky graduates exit high school without basic skills or the competencies necessary to be successful in college or the workforce,” said Lewis.

“Thanks to the investment of the Kentucky General Assembly and the collaborative leadership of school districts and postsecondary institutions, we are seeing increases in early postsecondary opportunities for high school students. Our data show that completing (those opportunities) increases the likelihood of students completing a postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree,” he said.

Lewis issued a call to action to the state’s education community and encouraged education leaders, educators, policy makers, and parents to work together to ensure students are well-prepared for life and the opportunities of the 21st century economy.

According to the Kentucky Center for Statistics, a study of the 43,626 graduates in the class of 2011 showed that by 2018 only 9,275 graduates had received bachelor’s degrees and were earning an annual median income of more than $34,000 per year.

Lewis, meanwhile, said in his address that “results from the 2019 K-PREP assessment, show an alarming percentage of black elementary students are scoring at the novice level in reading – 40.2 percent are at this level of academic emergency,” said Lewis.

“The systemic flaws that allow and perpetuate such inequity must be changed,” said Lewis. “Unless we acknowledge and boldly address those flaws, making policy and practice decisions that truly put students’ needs first, students in academic emergency will remain on the fast track to poverty, dependency and prison.”

The commissioner said the most important school-level elements to reducing Kentucky’s novice numbers are ensuring all students have access to a high-quality, Kentucky Academic Standards-aligned curriculum at grade level; and ensuring all students have access to effective instruction at grade level.

He pointed to four Kentucky schools that are making significant headway in closing gaps among students, including Simmons Elementary in Woodford County.

Lewis on Wednesday presented the Department of Education’s 2020 legislative agenda which includes giving schools and districts more flexibility to create innovative programs.

This story was originally published December 4, 2019 at 11:28 AM.