Supreme Court denies motion of ousted KY education board to stop meeting of new board

The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously denied an injunction filed by ousted members of the Kentucky Board of Education on Thursday who filed an emergency motion to stop a meeting of Gov. Andy Beshear’s newly appointed members.

The state’s highest court in a two-page order, signed by Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr., said, the board members had “not shown any extraordinary cause which entitles them to relief from this court.”

According to the 10 a.m. agenda, the new board wants to replace Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis. Lewis was in attendance as the new board met Thursday.

The new board went into closed session at 11 a.m. to discuss Lewis’ potential dismissal but came out 40 minutes later and said no action had been taken. The board is continuing the open meeting.

The motion said the old board members will be harmed if the meeting is allowed to proceed.

“If the governor’s action is allowed to stand, then he is not only rejecting the intent of the law, but he’s also turning his back on clearly established practice and on his own campaign promises of a new tone of civility and unity in Frankfort,” said ousted board member Rich Gimmel.

The ousted board members filed an emergency motion with the Kentucky Supreme Court shortly before noon.

On Tuesday when he was inaugurated, Beshear, a Democrat, ousted the board members appointed in 2018 by Republican Matt Bevin who hired Lewis. They unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit Tuesday to stop the reorganization.

Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate on Wednesday denied a request by the ousted board members for injunctive relief to block Beshear’s restructuring of the board.

Wingate said Beshear had acted within his temporary reorganization authority to alter and abolish Kentucky administrative boards.

The new board is chaired by David Karem of Louisville, a past Kentucky Board of Education member and a state lawmaker who helped craft the 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act.

“What Gov. Beshear has done (in reappointing the board) is 100 percent in keeping with the mission of Kentucky education reform,” he said during the board meeting.

With Lewis sitting beside him as the meeting opened, Karem said there should be “the highest priority” search for Kentucky’s next education commissioner. Karem praised previous Commissioner Terry Holliday who retired in 2015 and Commissioner Stephen Pruitt, who resigned under pressure in 2018 by a Bevin appointed board that hired Lewis the same day.

Lewis did not comment during the meeting’s morning session, but had said in recent weeks that the new board would have to give him 90 days prior written notice before he could be terminated without cause as required by his contract. His contract, which calls for a $200,000 annual salary, would have expired in October 2022.

Beshear said during his campaign that when he took office he would replace the state Board of Education that former Gov. Matt Bevin had appointed with the hope that the new board would replace Lewis.

Beshear had said that he wanted a commissioner and a state board that valued public education, suggesting that was not the case with board members and Lewis who supported charter schools. Lewis defended his record contending that he did support public education. He said Beshear had maligned him.

In April 2018, then-Commissioner Stephen Pruitt resigned under pressure from a Bevin appointed board that replaced him with Lewis. Lewis, a University of Kentucky associate professor and the executive director of educational programs with the Kentucky Cabinet for Education and Workforce Development had advocated for charter schools. Many educators view the independent schools as taking money from traditional public schools.

Educators were also angered because Lewis asked for teacher absence records on days when districts had to close because teachers were protesting at the 2019 General Assembly.

The unrest in Kentucky education is likely not over yet. Members of the Republican controlled 2020 Kentucky General Assembly have to approve Beshear’s appointments to the new board.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 9:11 AM.