KSDE Weekly

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State Board chooses search firm to find new education commissioner

Members of the Kansas State Board of Education took another step forward in finding a new education commissioner during a special meeting this week after Kansas Education Commissioner Dr. Randy Watson announced his intent to retire on Sept. 10. 

The board met in executive session for nearly two hours in the first floor board room of the Landon State Office Building on Tuesday, Nov. 18, to review the bids submitted by several search firms. 

The board cited the following Kansas Open Meetings Act items for the executive session: 

  • Discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel; 
  • To consult with an attorney regarding attorney-client privileged communications; 
  • To discuss employer-employee negotiations; and  
  • To discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of bidders. 

 

After the executive session, board members approved a motion to engage the services of a professional search firm in the search for a new commissioner. They approved another motion to contract with one of the five search firms whose bids the board considered on Nov. 13.  

The Kansas Department of Administration’s Office of Procurement and Contracts will draft a contract and send it out for signatures. The search firm will not be identified until the contract is signed. The State Board will move forward once the contract is executed and signed by all the necessary individuals. 

The board’s next scheduled meeting is Dec. 9-10, in the first floor board room of the Landon State Office Building, 900 S.W. Jackson, in Topeka. 

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Posted: Nov 20, 2025,
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