Corkins flies the coop?

Bob Corkins is the classic lame duck. Since August, he knew that the first action the new Board would take in January was to can him and start looking for a replacement. He has only been on the job for a year, and has managed to get most school administrators and teachers against him. And since firing him was a major part of the platform that won elections in 3 of five Board races, it's hard to imagine that the public wasn't against him, too.

It looks like his time in office has ended earlier than expected. A meeting called by the Board is fueling speculation that Corkins will be fired before the new Board takes office:

Janet Waugh, a Kansas City Democrat, said she had spoken with Bill Wagnon, a Topeka Democrat, and Sue Gamble, a moderate Republican from Shawnee, but none of them knew the nature of the executive session.

“I’ve gotten a call saying there is going to be one regarding nonelected personnel. But I don’t have a clue,” Waugh said.

Waugh said she hadn’t been over to Corkins’ office and thought he was still in his office Monday working on the board’s December meeting agenda.

However, Waugh said that last week, after the board meeting, she had been told that Corkins’ schedule had changed.

“It’s my understanding that his appointments have been canceled and his law degree is down from the wall,” Waugh said. “That was hanging on the wall, behind his desk.”

Good riddance. It's time the state's education system was run by someone who actually has some experience in education.

More like this

Fulfilling the hopes of many, the Board of Education named Alexa Posny to be the Commissioner of Education. Dr. Posny will replace Bob Corkins, the woefully unqualified commish installed by the previous Board. This undoes the last of the major damage done by the previous Board. Posny was the…
While Presidential gamesmanship is all the rage, with even Kansas trying to move its primaries earlier to get a bite of that apple, major moves are under way lower down on the ballot. Perhaps most significantly for Scienceblogs readers, Bill Wagnon, current chairman of the Kansas Board of Education…
August 1 brought a thrilling result, the overthrow of the creationist majority on the Kansas Board of Education. Unfortunately, there remain two races where creationists won and where we need to take the seat in the general election. The picture above shows 4 of the 5 Democrats in the race. Two…
The race for State Board of Education against John Bacon looked incredibly close until the last votes were counted. It had been a 2 point race until the last precincts reported and gave the incumbent creationist a massive lead over Don Weiss. Don Weiss has asked me to pass on these thoughts:…

Josh,

You referred to Corkins as a "lame duck." But I question the your choice of vowels in that description.