LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The first Executive Orders of the Beshear Administration were signed today by Sec. of State Alison Lundegan Grimes.
The reorganization of the Kentucky Board of Education was a talking point of Beshear's throughout his campaign.
It cites that the purpose of the Executive Order is to restore public confidence. It reads, "This Executive Order expressly rescinds the most recent reoganization of the KBE. It further abolishes and recreates the Board in order to restore public confidence."
The Kentucky Education Association President, Eddie Campbell responded to the Executive Order saying, "The KEA supports Governor Beshear’s decision to reconstitute the Kentucky Board of Education. Under the previous Administration, board appointees were based more on political pedigree than on their experience and knowledge of educational issues. We have confidence that the Beshear Administration will make appointments based on merit, and choose board members who possess a foundational understanding of the challenges facing public education in the Commonwealth. The students of Kentucky deserve a board of education that works for the improvement of public education and not for partisan purposes."
The current KBE is filing motion to challenge the Executive Order to remove all its members.
The opening of their statement reads, "We, the undersigned members of the Kentucky Board of Education, are filing a lawsuit today against Governor Beshear, challenging his attempt to remove the entire board before their terms have expired. We believe the Governor’s executive order violates Kentucky law. It also politicizes the governance of the Kentucky Department of Education in an unprecedented way that threatens the agency’s stability, independence, and orderly operation."
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