Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis resigns as new board meets for first time

Kentucky Education Commissioner Wayne Lewis resigned effective immediately on Thursday as Gov. Andy Beshear’s newly-appointed Kentucky Board of Education met for the first time.

Lewis declined to comment through a spokeswoman, but board chair David Karem said the new board’s negotiations with Lewis were amicable.

In his resignation letter obtained by the Herald-Leader under the Kentucky Open Records act, Lewis said it was his “hope and prayer” that “as we celebrate the rich heritage of public education in our state and our country that we never lose sight of the fact that some public schools have not and and do not currently serve all of our children well.”

“That recognition is what motivated me to begin and continue a career in education, and is what has driven me in my work as Commissioner,” he said.

Lewis’ contract would have expired in October 2022.

Minutes before the board’s meeting began, the Kentucky Court of Appeals denied an injunction filed by ousted members of the Kentucky Board of Education. Their efforts to stop Beshear’s reorganization then went to the Kentucky Supreme Court where an emergency motion was filed shortly before noon, and also denied. 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.”

Associate KDE Commissioner Robin Kinney has been named acting commissioner. Former KDE General Counsel Kevin Brown will be interim commissioner as of Dec. 18. Brown is currently the General Counsel at Jefferson County Public Schools. Like Lewis, he will have an annual $200, 000 salary. Karem said Brown and Kinney would not be under consideration for the permanent position and Brown had served as interim commissioner between the tenures of former Commissioners Terry Holliday and Stephen Pruitt.

“I’m honored to serve in this capacity until the board selects a new permanent commissioner. KDE is an organization important to our state’s educational system. I look forward to working alongside KDE staff to support schools and districts,” Brown said in a statement.

A resolution approved by the new board said Lewis will receive 120 days of salary and 120 days of compensation for health insurance benefits and as his contract requires, money from an agency restricted trust account that is equal to $18,000 annually. The resolution said the new board had no grounds to terminate his contract for cause.

The new state board will hire a firm to help conduct a national search for a new commissioner.

Beshear said of Lewis’ resignation, “I believe that we should thank the outgoing commissioner for his service. Whether we agree or disagree with people, when they put in time and effort, we should thank them for that effort.”

Beshear said he was excited about the new board, one with credentials “greater than any board we have ever put together.” He said it took “a positive step toward supporting public education ... commencing a national search for a commissioner.”

Beshear said he trusts the board to “set out the right type of parameters” in finding a new commissioner.

He said Kentucky needs a commissioner with significant classroom and administrative experience, someone who is innovative and has a proven record of improving public schools and educators.

On Tuesday when he was inaugurated, Beshear, a Democrat, ousted the board members appointed in 2018 by Republican Matt Bevin who hired Lewis.

Karem, of Louisville, is 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.

With Lewis sitting beside him before the board took action, Karem said there should be “the highest priority” search for Kentucky’s next education commissioner. Karem praised Holliday who retired in 2015 and Pruitt, who resigned under pressure in 2018 by a Bevin appointed board that hired Lewis the same day. In Oct. 2018 the board chose to forego a national search and named Lewis as commissioner.

On Thursday, Lewis did not return to the meeting room after the new board met in closed session.

Members of the new board described their decades of work in public education at the meeting.

In addition to Karem, Beshear appointed Holly Bloodworth of Murray, 2014 Kentucky Teacher of the Year and instructor of elementary education program at Murray State University; retired teacher Patrice McCrary of Bowling Green; Middlesboro attorney and former state Rep. Mike Bowling; Sharon Porter Robinson of Louisville, a former assistant secretary of the U.S Department of Education; Lu Young of Nicholasville, former Jessamine County schools superintendent. Other members are former University of Kentucky President Lee Todd of Lexington; Claire Batt of Lexington, an elementary school teacher; Alvis Johnson of Harrodsburg, the 1996 runnerup for Walt Disney Teacher of the Year and former UK assistant athletic director; retired teacher JoAnn Adams of Pleasureville; and Cody Pauley Johnson of Pikeville.

Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, an educator, also serves on the board as the Secretary of Education and Workforce Development.

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 said 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 saying he did support public education. He said Beshear had maligned him.

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.

Most people in education circles in the state say that while charter schools were approved by the General Assembly in 2017, none will open unless the General Assembly approves a funding mechanism for them.

Asked Thursday if he thinks charter schools are dead in Kentucky, Beshear said, “The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky does not support charter 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 controversy over Beshear’s reorganization of the Kentucky Board of Education may not be over.

Members of the Republican controlled 2020 Kentucky General Assembly will have to ratify Beshear’s appointments to the new board. But Gary Houchens, one of the ousted board members who unsuccessfully filed the lawsuit to stop Thursday’s meeting of the new board, said if the General Assembly did not approve the appointments, Beshear could reissue a new executive order after the General Assembly is over.

Houchens said the General Assembly could take some action to retroactively stop the reorganization of the board.

Meanwhile, Houchens said the old board members would be meeting with their attorney, Bart Greenwald to determine how to proceed with their lawsuit.

None of the courts have ruled on the merits of the case, Houchens said, they simply said that the ousted board hadn’t presented evidence that there was such an emergency that the courts should interfere with Thursday’s meeting of the new board.

He said the ousted board members could still launch a full appeal.

This story was originally published December 12, 2019 at 1:55 PM.