Names of final candidates to be next education commissioner could be made public later today

This from KSBA:

If all goes well, the names of the remaining candidates in the search to replace retiring Education Commissioner Terry Holliday could be known today.

Meeting at a Lexington hotel, the Kentucky Board of Education is in closed door talks with its search consultants on the "leading candidates" to become the state's sixth commissioner of education. The advance agenda provided by the Kentucky Department of Education states that, "if appropriate," the KBE will consider inviting its finalists back for a second set of face-to-face interviews this Friday and Saturday at the same location.
This morning, the state board voted to interview an additional candidate by telephone prior to beginning its discussions on winnowing the field down to finalists. The interview was conducted in closed session, as were those of a dozen semifinalists who met the KBE Aug. 14-15 in Louisville. After that meeting, KBE Chairman Roger Marcum declined to elaborate on how many "leading" candidates remain under consideration. In the intervening time, the Florida-based contract search firm, Greenwood/Asher & Associates, has conducted background and reference checks on those candidates.

According to the agency's news release, today's meeting also will include discussion of "if and when" the state board will release the names of finalists for the commissioner's job. Marcum has said that issue hasn't been discussed so far, but he added he didn't envision a scenario by which the state board would not make the names of final candidates public prior to making a selection.

Holliday's last day on the job will be next Monday, Aug. 31. On Sept. 1, Associate Commissioner and General Council Kevin C. Brown will become interim commissioner, serving until the new KDE chief can take over her or his duties later this fall.