FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Kentucky Senate confirmed all but one of Gov. Andy Beshear’s appointments to the state school board, accepting the continuity of a new board amid the coronavirus outbreak that closed schools.
The lone appointment rejected in the high-stakes vote Wednesday night was the state board’s chairman, David Karem. The former longtime legislator’s confirmation was defeated on a tie vote. Karem was a key architect of the state’s landmark education reform law enacted in 1990.
The confirmation votes occurred in the waning hours of this year’s legislative session.
Beshear disbanded the Kentucky Board of Education on his first day in office in December. He then recreated the board with a completely new lineup of members, fulfilling a campaign pledge. Beshear, a Democrat, expressed concerns about the previous board’s affinity for charter schools.
GOP lawmakers accused the new governor of politicizing the new board that oversees Kentucky’s K-12 school system. The fate of Beshear’s appointments in the GOP-led Senate was one of the biggest questions heading into the legislature’s wrap-up session.
The Senate ended up confirming 10 of Beshear’s 11 selections. Any board appointments that are not confirmed by the Senate lose their seats and are unable to be re-appointed for two years.
Earlier Wednesday, Senate President Robert Stivers signaled that he would support the governor’s appointments but continued to say Beshear was wrong in “blowing up” the previous board.
“Because the governor says we need consistency at this point in time, that this is not the time and place to take these individuals out, I’m going to support that so there can be consistency at this time,” Stivers said in a Senate speech.
The school board is dealing with statewide school closures because of the coronavirus crisis. The board also has started the process of hiring a new education commissioner.
The confirmation votes caused a rare public split among two powerful Senate Republican leaders.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said earlier in the day that he would vote against all of Beshear’s appointees with one exception, former University of Kentucky President Lee Todd.
Several hours later, after the votes, Thayer said: “Except for one member who was not confirmed, we just confirmed a Board of Education that is made up completely of one party that was appointed by the governor by executive order. … Not a shining moment.”
The Senate’s top-ranking Democrat, Morgan McGarvey, said he was glad to see that 10 members were confirmed. But he lamented the rejection of Karem, saying the former lawmaker has had “such an exemplary career in public service.”
Beshear’s reorganization of the board still faces a legal challenge.
Ousted board members went to court to challenge Beshear’s action, arguing the new governor could not remove them without cause before the end of their terms.
State courts sided with Beshear, ruling governors are allowed to use executive orders to abolish and recreate boards. The former board members then moved their case to federal court, where it is ongoing.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.