Education chief resigns as new board discusses removal

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Kentucky’s education commissioner has submitted his resignation. The move hands new Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear what he wanted as he reshapes the top levels of the education system to reflect his distaste for charter schools. The state’s newly reorganized state school board accepted Wayne Lewis’ conditional resignation on Thursday at a special meeting. Beshear set Lewis’ removal in motion on Tuesday, when he disbanded the Kentucky Board of Education and then recreated it with 11 new members on his first day in office. Ten former board members promptly sued to block their removal, but state judges refused to temporarily block the new governor’s executive order.