It’s out with the old, in with the new at the state board.

New members entering and leaving the state board of education has sparked a concern across the state.

The state board of education held a private meeting on Tuesday regarding an unnamed employee. Not long after, Kentucky Education Commissioner Stephen Pruitt resigned from his position. Governor Matt Bevin appointed seven new members to the board on Monday.

After being critiqued by the governor for his performance earlier on Tuesday, it was announced that Pruitt resigned after a lengthy board meeting. Pruitt could have finished out his term, still having over a year left. He instead resigned and the resignation was accepted by the board.

There are concerns regarding Pruitt being “pushed out.” According to an article by the Lexington Herald-Leader, John Carney from Campbellsville said if Pruitt was not pushed out “he was certainly encouraged.” Bevin claimed to have zero involvement in the decision after expressing his feelings about Pruitt at a press conference.

Wayne Lewis, Associate professor at the University of Kentucky was appointed interim education commissioner shortly after Pruitt resigned. Lewis is an advocate for charter schools. According to an article by the Courier-Journal, Lewis said “My focus, to be honest, is kids. We have to acknowledge those areas where we need to make tremendous improvements.”

Several seats at the board were empty after their terms expired on Friday. Bevin appointed several new members to the board on Monday. One of which included Hal Heiner, former education and workforce education secretary.  There was a motion made for Heiner to be the board chairman on Tuesday which he declined.

According to Milton Seymour, the chosen chair by the state board Tuesday, said the board would start working on hiring a commissioner within weeks.