During a special Dec. 12 meeting at which newly appointed members were sworn into office, the Kentucky Board of Education named Robin Kinney as the acting commissioner of education.
Kinney, serves as the associate commissioner in the Office of Finance and Operations and will assume the duties of commissioner until Dec. 18, at which time Kevin Brown will become the interim commissioner of education.
Kevin Brown
Brown currently serves as general counsel for Jefferson County Public Schools.
Kinney and Brown replace Wayne Lewis, Ph.D., who resigned his position Dec. 12 effective immediately.
Lewis was named interim commissioner of education in April 2018. In Oct. 2018 the board chose to forego a national search and named Lewis as commissioner.
The board also voted to authorize the department to issue a solicitation for a national search firm that can begin a search for a permanent commissioner of education.
Neither Kinney nor Brown, a former associate commissioner and general counsel at the Kentucky Department of Education, will be considered for the permanent position.
“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,” said Brown.
Brown’s annual salary while serving as interim commissioner will be $200,000.
The board is expected to schedule another special meeting early in the new year.
Thursday, ten ousted members of the board of education, appointed by former Gov. Bevin, filed a lawsuit/restraining order that was denied by the Kentucky Court of Appeals and then by the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The group has not yet said if they intend to appeal further.
Kentucky Department of Education and NKyTribune
