Brothers wants the Public and the Media to Help Vet Commish Finalists

Education board picks semifinalists
Top Ky. post may be filled in weeks

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Four of the five semifinalists for the state's top education post are current or former Kentuckians.

The Kentucky Board of Education identified four of the candidates for education commissioner last night and is expected to announce the fifth candidate's name as early as today, pending confirmation that the person wants to continue in the process.

The four candidates who were identified are current or former superintendents...

The board decided to make a list of semifinalists public after a botched attempt to hire an education commissioner this summer.

The board's choice then, Illinois educator Barbara Erwin, resigned in July -- three days before she was to start -- amid questions about her background...

[James] Warford, 58, was raised in Shelby County and obtained his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University. He is currently chief executive officer of the Florida Association of School Administrators. "I can't think of a greater personal or professional honor than to return to my home and continue the education reforms under way in Kentucky," Warford said last night from his Tallahassee, Fla., home. Warford said that as the K-12 chancellor of the Florida Department of Education for two years he was directly involved in leading education reforms in the state. But it is the Kentucky teachers and principals he had as a poverty-stricken child growing up that motivate him to want to return to the Bluegrass State, he said. "I think on a personal level I understand the importance of education for the children in that state," he said. "I know something about having lived it." Warford said he was an applicant during the school board's summer search but did not get this far in the process.

[Larry] Vick, 59, said he has been superintendent of the Owensboro Independent Schools for the past seven years. He has also served as superintendent in two Tennessee school districts, all for a combined 34 years of experience as superintendent. Vick grew up in Tennessee, just south of Murray, Ky., and obtained his master's degree from Murray State University. "I feel like we're at a crucial state in Kentucky moving toward proficiency in 2014," he said. "I feel like if selected I could help the state move forward toward proficiency."

[Jon] Draud, 69, was superintendent of Ludlow Independent Schools from 1978 to 1997 and has also been a teacher, principal, school board member and college professor.
He has been a state representative since 1999 and is vice chairman of the House Education Committee. Draud said last week that the reason he ran for the state House was to help improve education in Kentucky. "I feel that I can bring a lot to the table and help improve education in Kentucky," he said last week. "I know I can do a good job and work well with the board. I have done so in the past."

[Richard] Hughes, 61, retired in 2006 after serving as superintendent of Hardin County Schools for four years. Before that he served as superintendent of Montgomery County Schools and has been a principal, teacher and coach. He is a native of Hazard. With more than 600,000 students in Kentucky public education, Hughes said he believes education commissioner is the most important job in the state. "To be able to be leading and overseeing that enterprise is just a great challenge and very important," he said. "It would be an honor for me to serve in that position." Hughes said he applied during the summer search but did not get this far in the process.

After yesterday's special meeting, Brothers said the board wants the public and the media to help vet the candidates to avoid the problems it had with the last search. "We're counting on the entire state and those educators in our communities in the commonwealth to help us," he said.

This from the Courier-Journal.