Erwin Timeline

The Herald-Leader posted a resume and timeline on Barbara Erwin. I have added more detail to it.

RESUME
Barbara F. Erwin
Age: 56
Hometown: Born in Chicago, raised in Hammond, Ind.
Education: Bachelor's degree in special education from Indiana University; master's degree in school administration from Purdue University; and a doctorate in school administration from Indiana University.
Family: Married with two sons.

Work history: Led the 30,000-student Scottsdale (Arizona) Unified School District as superintendent from 2000 to 2004; served as superintendent of the Allen (Texas) Independent School District from 1994 to 2000.

ERWIN TIME LINE
Sept. 8: Gene Wilhoit, education commissioner for six years, announces he will resign Nov. 1 to become executive director of an education advocacy group in Washington, D.C.

October: Erwin announces her retirement from St Charles effective August 4th.

December: Ray and Associates Inc., an Iowa-based firm, is hired to handle the search for Wilhoit's replacement. The firm receives a base fee of $32,000 plus about $1,000 for preparation of the flier and application form, about $8,000 for applicant interviews, about $4,300 for travel expenses, and other fees.

April 1: Kentucky Department of Education commissioner search committee holds first meeting.

April 7: Mark Hebert (WHAS) reports Commissioner search is secret. KSN&C gets involved.

April 10: KDE board says the names of finalists might not be released to the public.

April 16: Gov. Ernie Fletcher sends a letter to board chairman Keith Travis urging the board to seek public input on the candidates.

April 18: The board complies and announces its top three candidates: Barbara Erwin, superintendent of St. Charles community Unit District 303 in Illinois; Mitchell Chester, a senior associate state superintendent for the Ohio Department of Education's Office of Policy and Accountability; and Richard La Pointe, deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education.

April 19: KSN&C posts numerous pages of background on the 3 finalists.

April 22: KSN&C reports "differences in philosophy" cited in Erwin's retirement; Ky job is the third she sought since "retirement." Issues raised over the number of retirement systems already vested in.

April 24: KSN&C sends brief candidate summary, access to more information and recommendation to KBE search committee. KSN&C opines that the field is relatively weak, Mitchell Chester is probably the best candidate; Erwin is suspect in areas related to openness with the press and an overall tendency toward disharmony and combativeness., and LaPointe is suspect, and probably unacceptable, on cultural issues. Herald-Leader urges an apolitical Commissioner.

April 24: After KBE closed session, Erwin accepts offer to become Kentucky's first female education commissioner and announces plans to retire from St. Charles on August 4. Officials with districts in St. Charles, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Allen, Texas, say Erwin clashed with some of the district's leaders.

April 26: Mark Hebart reports Ky Board chair Keith Travis said he was unaware of Erwin's troubles in prior districts, planned ot release names of finalists all along. Lisa Gross confirms the board read and discussed the KSN&C material before they voted.

April 29: Courier-Journal reader "nowisright" questions Erwin's credibility in Superintendent of the Year claims. Bluegrass Institute (Richard Innes) contacts KSN&C (Richard Day), agree to a joint investigation of Erwin claims.

May 1: Bluegrass Institute confirms Erwin exaggerated Superintendent of the Year claims. Fletcher flies to Bowling Green to meet Erwin.

May 2: KSN&C questions whether Ray & Associates (the search firm) presented particular bothersome past events from Erwin's career; later confirmed, they did not. Bluegrass Institute blasts search process.

May 3: Herald-Leader picks up story on Erwin's temperament and Courier-Journal picks up resume story. Bob Sexton blames search firm. Board stands by Erwin.

May 6: Board member Doug Hubbard urges Erwin to withdraw. Herald-Leader reports that some Kentucky districts spend over $200,000 on legal fees. KSN&C reports Erwin spent $650,000 on legal fees in Scottsdale.

May 7: KSN&C criticizes state board for outsourcing its responsibilities for due diligence to its search firm, Ray & Associates, who seem to have advised secrecy, which produced a bad result. Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer critizes the board's over-reliance on the search firm.

May 8: Al Smith, writing in both the C-J and H-L, urges the board to slow down the process, get past the gubernatorial election, get it right; Wartns against La Pointe. St Charles Board member Bobbie Raehl, alleges an Open Meetings Act violation in approving Erwin's Illinois contract. KSN&C posts huge summary of 800+ articles involving Erwin, alerts KBE. KSN&C expressed difficulty confirming Erwin's claim that she presented a tht eTriple I conference in 2006.

May 9: Board goes into closed session with Erwin at 9:30 AM (EST). At 9:54 AM, KSN&C gets confirmation of Erwin's false conference presentation claim. KSN&C's contacts Lisa Gross (KDE) but attempt to get word to the board fails. KSN&C contacts H-L, C-J & Mark Hebert. Board members vote unanimously to hire Erwin, despite concerns about errors in her resume and her reputation in other districts she's led. She is offered a four-year contract with a base salary of $220,000 a year and scheduled to start on July 16. When confronted after the lengthy closed session, Erwin said she had to "sign off" for others to present. Board members said they were unaware - looked past her credibility problems.

May 10: KSN&C criticizes a pattern of behavior that is emerging form its research. KSN&C and the Bluegrass Institute start digging into other resume claims. KSN&C ponts out another resume "typo" where Erwin misnamed an honorary fraternity.

May 11: C-J calls selection process tolerated by Fletcher appointees "slipshod." Bluegrass Institute and KSN&C independently confirm another resume error; Erwin claimed ten-year membership on AASA committee, which should have been three years. Concerns raised by Comment on Kentucky, Ashland Daily Independent, State-Journal and the Family Foundation.

May 16: H-L confirms fifth error; regarding membership on Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce Board. KSN&C exposes sixth error; teaching certification mystery: Indiana officials can not explain how Erwin got a teaching license in 1971-72 school year, when she didn't graduate IU until May 1972. Erwin does not respond to KSN&C inquiry. Erwin's St Charles contract moved to personnel file, not released to press.

May 23rd KSN&C reports rumor of Erwin asking for 85 sick days beginning in 2004 contrary to her contract.

May 28: KSN&C reports a conflict in Erwin's announced work schedule. She tells St Charles she will work until August 4, after commiting to Kentucky that she would start July 16th.

June 6: Illinois state's attorney finds St Charles Board in willful violation of Open Meetings Act in Erwin contract.

June 8: KSN&C confirms another error; this on Erwin's application where she indicated that she had never been sued and never left a district under pressure. Erwin was a name defendant, at the U.S. District Court in Phoenix: styled Schild v. Erwin (2:04-cv-00910); being sued by one of her board members at the time she left Scottsdale. St Charles board votes to ratify her 2005 contract.

June 11: KSN&C reports that the Ray & Associates claim that Erwin solved a mold problem in St Charles was false.

June 12: Op-Ed by Richard Day in Courier-Journal recaps the concerns and calls for the Kentucky Board of Education to dismiss Erwin.

June 23: Jamie Lucke faults weak field of candidates, inexperienced Kentucky School Board for Erwin mess. Ronnie Ellis cites Erwin's double-speak.

June 26: The Illinois state attorney's office cites the St. Charles school board for violating the Open Meetings Act when it met in private on April 11 to vote on an amendment that would give Erwin an additional 85 sick days for every year of her contract from 2005. Her contact was to expire in 2010.

June 30: Four state educators are named to associate commissioners posts, including Elaine Farris, the state's first black superintendent.

July 3: St. Charles officials contact police about Erwin's missing personnel file. A police investigation into the missing file is ongoing.

July 10: Erwin memo surfaces claiming 85 sick days starting in 2004. Citizens claim memo was an attmept to defraud the Illinois Teachers Retirement System and the St Charles schools.

July 11: Erwin attends her first KBE meeting [as Commissioner-select].

July 13: Erwin withdraws from her contact with KDE.

July 14: Kentucky Board of Education meets to plot a new course.