Barbara Erwin, the controversial Illinois educator who was set to become Kentucky’s next education commissioner, announced Friday that she is not going to accept the position after all.
A statement from the state Department of Education said that Erwin cited "overwhelming and acute scrutiny" as her reason for declining the job. She told the school board of her decision Friday. (Her letter of resignation says, "Continued noise by the media is and will destract us from our mission...")
...When reached at home, Kentucky Board of Education member Doug Hubbard said he was surprised by the news. He had previously expressed concern over hiring Erwin because of controversies stemming from resume errors and criticism over her leadership in past districts.
“The problems were apparent there from April on, and the situation seems to have snowballed from there,” Hubbard said. “It’s a real shame because of all the work our search committee did do… we need to start over again.”
Additional controversy over Erwin arose this week over a missing personnel file in the St. Charles, Ill., school district where Erwin was set to retire on Friday. She was also criticized for a dispute over a closed meeting in which Erwin was granted an extra 85 days a year of sick leave there.
At her first Kentucky board of education meeting on Wednesday, Erwin said she hadn’t heard about the controversy and was surprised about the criticism over the sick days.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Christine Schild, a former Scottsdale, Ariz. school board member, said when told the news of Erwin's withdrawal. Erwin was a former superintendent there.
“It seemed that the Kentucky board of education was satisfied with their choice and both parties were moving forward and I had assumed that Dr. Erwin was committed to the job in Kentucky," Schild said. "She seemed to be hanging in there.”
Richard Day, a former Kentucky school principal and current University of Kentucky educator, has been critical of Erwin on his education-related blog.
“The more I looked into Dr. Erwin, the more stuff kept coming forward,” he said. “I think (the board of education) got some bad service from the search firm.”
In April, the board of education released the names of three education commissioner finalists at the urging of Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
Along with Erwin, the finalists were 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.
It is not known whether the board will be contacting these candidates.
~
The Herald-Leader recently added a comments section and reaction to the Erwin resignation was swift:
Considering the bold-faced lies featured on her resume (as previously reported in the Herald-Leader), Ms. Erwin should have never gotten as far in the process as she did. Anyone else in any other profession would have been tossed out on their ear had a prospective employer turned up false information on a resume. However, I suppose her resignation clears things up. Here's hoping the state employs a more thorough search firm next time.
Posted by: Karl Childers
Keith Travis has failed miserably as the leader of the state board of education. This is just another example of him not being able to take responsibility for a bad decision that, in the end, resulted in a complete slap to the face of Kentucky. Any candidate who has this much controversy before she even takes office, doesn't deserve the honor of serving as our states chief education officer. In the long run this is a blessing. In the short run, the board has created a complete mess out of a great opportunity.
Posted by: Topher
If Keith Travis still believes Ms. Erwin "was the best possible candidate for the job," perhaps he should consider joining her in retirement.
Posted by: L. Tilford McBride
~
In Louisville, where the Coureir-Journal also posted news of her resignation reaction was similar.
Wonder if her NEXT resume will include her "job" as Ky Educ Commish - complete with "typo" that claims she held the position for 15 YEARS instead of 15 minutes! Onward, Search Committee -- and do the job RIGHT!
Whew...we certainly dodged a BIG bullet this time. Perhaps we can get someone a bit more honest and forthcoming now. Here is your chance board, don't let us (or our children) down.
Can't stand the heat; then get out of the kitchen. Kentucky politics is "hardball".
Barbara Erwin: "I have so enjoyed my very brief opportunity to work with you and the rest of the board." Fifteen minutes of fame officially over. Next candidate, please...
Makes me wonder what exactly is in that missing personnel file ...
A statement from the state Department of Education said that Erwin cited "overwhelming and acute scrutiny" as her reason for declining the job. She told the school board of her decision Friday. (Her letter of resignation says, "Continued noise by the media is and will destract us from our mission...")
...When reached at home, Kentucky Board of Education member Doug Hubbard said he was surprised by the news. He had previously expressed concern over hiring Erwin because of controversies stemming from resume errors and criticism over her leadership in past districts.
“The problems were apparent there from April on, and the situation seems to have snowballed from there,” Hubbard said. “It’s a real shame because of all the work our search committee did do… we need to start over again.”
Additional controversy over Erwin arose this week over a missing personnel file in the St. Charles, Ill., school district where Erwin was set to retire on Friday. She was also criticized for a dispute over a closed meeting in which Erwin was granted an extra 85 days a year of sick leave there.
At her first Kentucky board of education meeting on Wednesday, Erwin said she hadn’t heard about the controversy and was surprised about the criticism over the sick days.
“You gotta be kidding me,” Christine Schild, a former Scottsdale, Ariz. school board member, said when told the news of Erwin's withdrawal. Erwin was a former superintendent there.
“It seemed that the Kentucky board of education was satisfied with their choice and both parties were moving forward and I had assumed that Dr. Erwin was committed to the job in Kentucky," Schild said. "She seemed to be hanging in there.”
Richard Day, a former Kentucky school principal and current University of Kentucky educator, has been critical of Erwin on his education-related blog.
“The more I looked into Dr. Erwin, the more stuff kept coming forward,” he said. “I think (the board of education) got some bad service from the search firm.”
In April, the board of education released the names of three education commissioner finalists at the urging of Gov. Ernie Fletcher.
Along with Erwin, the finalists were 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.
It is not known whether the board will be contacting these candidates.
~
The Herald-Leader recently added a comments section and reaction to the Erwin resignation was swift:
Considering the bold-faced lies featured on her resume (as previously reported in the Herald-Leader), Ms. Erwin should have never gotten as far in the process as she did. Anyone else in any other profession would have been tossed out on their ear had a prospective employer turned up false information on a resume. However, I suppose her resignation clears things up. Here's hoping the state employs a more thorough search firm next time.
Posted by: Karl Childers
Keith Travis has failed miserably as the leader of the state board of education. This is just another example of him not being able to take responsibility for a bad decision that, in the end, resulted in a complete slap to the face of Kentucky. Any candidate who has this much controversy before she even takes office, doesn't deserve the honor of serving as our states chief education officer. In the long run this is a blessing. In the short run, the board has created a complete mess out of a great opportunity.
Posted by: Topher
If Keith Travis still believes Ms. Erwin "was the best possible candidate for the job," perhaps he should consider joining her in retirement.
Posted by: L. Tilford McBride
~
In Louisville, where the Coureir-Journal also posted news of her resignation reaction was similar.
Wonder if her NEXT resume will include her "job" as Ky Educ Commish - complete with "typo" that claims she held the position for 15 YEARS instead of 15 minutes! Onward, Search Committee -- and do the job RIGHT!
Whew...we certainly dodged a BIG bullet this time. Perhaps we can get someone a bit more honest and forthcoming now. Here is your chance board, don't let us (or our children) down.
Can't stand the heat; then get out of the kitchen. Kentucky politics is "hardball".
Barbara Erwin: "I have so enjoyed my very brief opportunity to work with you and the rest of the board." Fifteen minutes of fame officially over. Next candidate, please...
Makes me wonder what exactly is in that missing personnel file ...
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