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LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Board of Education has chosen two finalists in its search for a new state education commissioner.
The board did not identify the two final candidates in the running to succeed Education Commissioner Terry Holliday, according to media reports. Holliday is retiring at the end of the month after nearly six years on the job.
The board narrowed the list of candidates from five to two after conducting a second round of interviews Friday and Saturday.
The board said it will commission in-depth background checks on the two finalists, a process likely to take several weeks.
Board Chairman Roger Marcum said he doesn't expect the board to publicly name the two finalists. He said it's up to those candidates if they choose to identify themselves as finalists. Marcum said he and other board members received feedback about the five named candidates that was helpful.
"We are confident we have found some good possibilities to be Kentucky's next commissioner and to build on the work that's been done over the past 25 years with Kentucky education reform and Senate Bill 1 legislation," Marcum said.
The five candidates who were named earlier were:
—Buddy Berry, superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools in Kentucky.
—Kathleen M. Airhart, deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for the Tennessee Department of Education.
—Christopher A. Koch, interim president of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation and former Illinois state education superintendent.
—Lloyd D. Martin, CEO of Universal School Solutions, a consultancy firm in Jacksonville, Florida.
—Stephen L. Pruitt, senior vice president of Achieve Inc., an education reform organization.
As the search continues, associate commissioner Kevin Brown will serve as interim state education commissioner beginning Tuesday.
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