Noland interview

In Conversation With...Kentucky Interim Commissioner of Education Kevin Noland

This week is former KDE Deputy Commissioner Kevin Noland's first week on the job as interim commissioner, following the resignation of Gene Wilhoit, who is assuming a new position in Washington, D.C. Noland talked with KSBA Boardcast staff on Monday, Nov. 6 about the transition:

Q: Let’s start off with a little background on you for those who aren’t aware of your time and duties at the department before becoming interim commissioner.

A: In 1990, I served with the Legislative Research Commission and helped to draft the Kentucky Education Reform Act. Soon thereafter in 1991, I went to the Department of Education and have been here since then. I started out as the chief attorney for the department and the Kentucky Board of Education. In 2001, I became a deputy commissioner and chief operations officer over the areas of finance, purchasing, human resources, facilities management, communications and education technology.

I served stints as interim commissioner in 1995 and 2000 and this is the third time in 2006.

Q: As interim commissioner, are your duties and authority any different from Gene Wilhoit, Wilmer Cody or Thomas Boysen, the state’s first three education commissioners?

A: The duties of interim are the same as those of the permanent commissioner as set out in statute and basically it is to be the chief executive officer of the Department of Education and to ensure the role of the department as set down by the legislature as well as those in administrative regulations by the Kentucky Board of Education.

I look at the department as a service agency that is to be of support to local districts and school boards as they accomplish their mission of improving teaching and learning.

Q: What is the best way to typify the job of interim commissioner – caretaker to keep things rolling or starter of new services/maker of major decisions?

A: My role is to ensure that we stay focused on the mission set out by the Kentucky Board of Education and that we, as an executive branch agency, implement the laws that the General Assembly has enacted in the areas of elementary and secondary education.

I want to make sure that we move forward, that we're not stagnant. At the same time, any new initiatives we focus on will be established by the General Assembly and the Kentucky Board of Education.

The General Assembly gave us some new responsibilities during the 2006 legislative session. It's true that when a new commissioner is on board that person may have some ideas for additional initiatives to support school districts, but in the meantime we will focus on accomplishing the things that are in progress.

Q: What discussions have you had with state board Chairman Keith Travis or the full board in terms of whether some initiatives that had been on a schedule prior to the departure of Gene Wilhoit may now be slowed or put on hold until the next commissioner is selected?

A: No, we haven't had any discussions like that at all. The initiatives that we have taken on have been determined to be important by either the legislature or the Kentucky Board of Education, and there's been no change in that regard.

We're not slowing down in any way. We want the message to be loud and clear to school boards and districts that we are going to continue to support the efforts they are engaged in to help all students.

Q: What do you see as the major initiatives that you are going to be responsible for shepherding during the time you serve as interim commissioner?

A: We have several given to us by the legislature, such as the $50 million in new bonding to support new technology in the schools. We've got the high school reform initiatives, the reading and math initiatives, leadership initiatives such as the Kentucky Leadership Academy or the Executive Leadership Training for educators or the Superintendents' CEO Network.

Another focus is on the assistance to schools and districts that are not meeting the goals set out for them either under CATS or No Child Left Behind. As a result of the recent CATS results, we have scholastic audits under way that lead to efforts such as the Voluntary Assistance teams that include a highly-skilled educator, a local school board member mentor from a successful district, and a retired superintendent mentor for the superintendent. The assistance to schools and districts that need that type of help is a major focus of the department.

Q: What is your role going to be in terms of assisting the state Board of Education in the process of selecting the next commissioner?

A: My role is to help the Department of Education to provide all of the resources to the state board. As the Kentucky Board of Education starts the search, they want a search firm on contract to help them to advertise, recruit candidates, do background checks and the narrowing down of the field for interviews. We just went through that process and the state board asked us to reopen that process and allow for more time. At its December meeting, the state board will interview finalists for that process.

As the board goes through and uses its own search committee, the department will help staff the process. The board is still hopeful to have somebody named by April 2007 so that we can have someone on board no later than July 1.

Q: Do you continue to serve as the chief legal advisor for the department in the interim, or are you parceling out those duties to other staff in the Operations and Support Services? For example, there are some land annexation disputes between at least four districts that are unresolved.

A: As I did in 2000 the last time I was interim commissioner, I still am trying to perform the duties of chief attorney and deputy commissioner as well as those of interim commissioner. But because no one person can do all of that, one of my first thoughts when I get a new task is to determine if it's something I can delegate to someone else. So we are trying to do that and to manage this in-house. We've got a good team here and and I think we can pull that off.

When talking about an annexation appeal, it's true that the legal office is a part in reviewing the information and proposing a recommended determination. But if one of the school boards is not happy about the commissioner's decision about an annexation appeal, they can take it to the Kentucky Board of Education. Once it goes to that level, both the chief attorney and the commissioner are pretty much out of the process. For example, the one pending now has been referred now by the Kentucky Board of Education to a hearing officer with the attorney general's office.

Q: Finally, are there any other responsibility changes at the department as a result of your move to the commissioner’s office that would affect who local school personnel will consult with during this period of time?

A: We've tried to minimize the changes so it's not confusing to folks. If someone needs guidance from the Office of Legal and Legislative Services, they can contact Anne Keating or Kevin Brown, the two attorneys there. Other than that, we're trying to minimize the disruption so we can focus on the work as opposed to those kinds of organizational issues.

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Kentucky School Boards Association

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