Two finalists selected for Commissioner of Education position

Names not released

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2015) — At a special meeting in Lexington today the Kentucky Board of Education narrowed its search for the next commissioner of education to two finalists and ordered in-depth background checks on the two unnamed candidates. The two finalists are among five candidates that were selected for the second round of interviews.

Upon completion of the background check, which will likely take several weeks, chair Roger Marcum will call a special meeting for the board to take the next step in the search process. Current Commissioner Terry Holliday is retiring today.

The board has selected Associate Commissioner and General Counsel Kevin C. Brown to serve as interim commissioner starting Tuesday, until a new commissioner is selected and can begin work.

Five candidates interviewed:

• Kathleen M. Airhart, Ed.D. – Airhart currently serves as the deputy commissioner, chief operating officer for the Tennessee Department of Education.
• Buddy Berry, Ed.D. – Berry is in his sixth year as superintendent of Eminence Independent Schools in Eminence, Kentucky.
• Christopher A. Koch, Ed.D. – Koch (pronounced cook) currently is the interim president of the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), a position he has held since May.
• Lloyd D. Martin, Ph.D. – Martin is currently the chief executive officer for Universal School Solutions, LLC, an education consultancy firm that he founded in 2010.
• Stephen L. Pruitt, Ph.D. – Pruitt is currently senior vice president at Achieve, Inc., an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit education reform organization, where he has served since 2010.