Another MUST READ from Hebert: The inside story on the Erwin selection process and politics

Another MUST READ from Mark Hebert at WHAS on the Erwin selection process was posted this evening at On the Mark.

After 4 1/2 hours behind closed doors, the state board of education today hired Barbara Erwin as Kentucky's new Education Commissioner. The vote in public was unanimous though there was clearly a split in the board when they began meetings this morning...

The story is that the state board liked Erwin's toughness, smarts and reputation for innovation then shook off, ignored, or felt comfortable with numerous problems in Erwin's past to go ahead and hire her.

They apparently grilled her for most of three hours behind closed doors, presumably delving into the reasons she had problems with the past three local school boards she worked for, was accused of almost killing two previous districts and had a "typo" on the resume she submitted for the Kentucky job.

And during today's board meeting, news surfaced from blogger and former school principal Richard Day, of another potential problem with Erwin's resume. She'd written that she'd given presentations at a statewide school conference in Illinois in 2004 and 2006. Day confirmed with conference officials that she hadn't been a presenter in 2006.

When asked about it after today's vote, board members said they were unaware of the new questions about Erwin's resume and she said her school district had given presentations, which she signed off on, at each of those conferences.

...Concerned board member, Doug Hubbard, told Hebert late today that his fellow board members "obviously looked past her credibility problems."

...On the political side...all of the current state school board members have been appointed or reappointed by Governor Fletcher...who apparently kept his hands off the...search and selection process. On the other hand, the lousy job by the search firm (Ray and Associates) and the fumbling by his board could reflect badly on Fletcher if he's reelected and Erwin is overly scrutinized to the point that she's driven from the job. And make no mistake, Erwin's hire is the work of board chairman Keith Travis who championed her despite the revelations....