Members of the Kansas State Board of Education met during a special meeting on Sept. 25, to begin the process of searching for a new commissioner of education. 

On Sept. 10, board members voted to accept Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson’s intent to retire. He told the board he would remain in his position until his successor begins their tenure. 

“I will be happy then to step aside, whatever time that is, and serve you in any capacity until that time,” Watson told the board at the conclusion of their September meeting in Topeka.  

During the special meeting on Thursday, the State Board voted to form a subcommittee comprised of board chair Cathy Hopkins, board vice chair Danny Zeck and District 3 board member Michelle Dombrosky who will make recommendations to the full board on the process of hiring Dr. Watson’s successor. 

Before the vote to approve of the subcommittee, board members were each provided three minutes to speak about their thoughts on the search and hiring process. Several members indicated they favored contracting with a national search firm. Members also mentioned having the board decide what skills and values the next commissioner should have. 

The subcommittee met following the full board meeting and received an overview of the request for proposals (RFP) process that must be followed to hire a national search firm. John Hess, KSDE director of fiscal services and operations, said he would send the 10-member board some general specifications used to contract with a search firm and would ask for any additional names of firms beyond the seven he was already aware of who would be invited to submit bids. He said he would provide the names of the search firms and any additional required information to the Kansas Department of Administration’s Office of Procurement and Contracts so that office can make the RFPs publicly available online within the next couple of weeks.  

The subcommittee members agreed the overarching specification they wanted in contracting with a search firm is it must have a history of success in finding chief executive officers from the non-profit or private business sectors. Hopkins said whichever search firm is chosen, they will work with the whole board on the commissioner selection process, including what potential interview questions to ask.  

Hopkins said the 10-member board is not required to use a search firm and the subcommittee could recommend using a different process for hiring a commissioner. 

Future subcommittee meetings will be open to the public. The full State Board will hold another special meeting to discuss next steps in the commissioner search process, 3-5 p.m., on Monday, Oct. 13, in the first floor board room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson.