Topeka ? The State Board of Education on Wednesday hired longtime education official Alexa Posny to be Kansas education commissioner.

The board’s 7-1 vote for Posny erases another vestige of the former conservative-controlled board.

Since moderates regained control of the board as a result of last year’s elections, they have reinstated evolution-based science standards and abstinence-plus sex education standards to replace standards that questioned evolution and emphasized abstinence only.

The selection of Posny marks a stunning return to Kansas for the educator who from 2001 to 2006 was deputy commissioner of education in Kansas.

But in 2005, after the resignation of Education Commissioner Andy Tompkins, Posny, who has a doctoral degree in education administration and more than 20 years of experience in the field, was passed over for the top job. Conservatives, instead, hired Bob Corkins, a conservative think-tank director who had no experience in the field of education.

Shortly afterward, Posny resigned to take a job as director of the Office of Special Education for the U.S. Department of Education, which is her current position.

In an interview Wednesday, Posny, who was in Connecticut for an education presentation, said she looked forward to returning to Kansas. She plans to live in Lawrence, where she lived before.

“I view this as a great opportunity,” Posny said.

She said she has no qualms about returning to a board that is often divided by conservative-moderate politics.

“They’re all after the same thing, and that is what we can do for every child in Kansas,” she said.

No ‘inside effort’

Board Chairman Bill Wagnon, a Democrat from Topeka whose district includes Lawrence, said Posny was simply the best of 17 applicants.

He said there had been no “inside effort” to rehire Posny.

“Let me put those views to rest. Dr. Posny has risen to the top of the heap because of an outstanding record as a school leader, an education leader, both at the local district, at the state level and at the national level,” Wagnon said.

Posny will lead an agency that administers approximately $3.1 billion in funding to 450,000 students and tens of thousands of teachers spread over small, medium and large school districts.

The Kansas public school system has been at the center of numerous controversies during the past several years.

Last term, when conservatives held a 6-4 majority, the state education board drew national attention when it adopted science standards that criticized evolution.

They stunned the Kansas political world when they hired Corkins, who pushed an agenda of vouchers and charter schools.

They also rejected the pleas of health care experts by recommending guidelines that limited sex education.

Meanwhile, the school finance system was declared unconstitutional because it underfunded all students, especially minority districts.

Replacing Corkins

In July, the Kansas Supreme Court accepted a $466 million, three-year school funding plan. In the Republican Party primary in August, two new moderates won, which tipped the balance of power on the board back to a 6-4 moderate majority.

Corkins announced his resignation in November, fewer than two months before the new board formed.

Elected chairman in January, Wagnon said naming a new commissioner was the top priority of the board.

He said Posny, who starts work July 1 at an annual salary of $165,000, will help lead the board to “realigning Kansas schools for the 21st century.”

“She really does have the skills, the experience and the talent for taking this thing called Kansas public education, and harnessing its energies and moving it in the right direction,” he said.

Job has risks

John Bacon, a conservative Republican from Olathe, was the only board member who voted against Posny.

He said he had supported another candidate, but refused to say which one.

Two other conservative Republicans were not at the meeting. Ken Willard, of Hutchinson, was in Greensburg during President Bush’s visit there to view tornado damage, and Steve Abrams, of Arkansas City, is recovering from back surgery.

Kathy Martin, a conservative Republican from Clay Center, voted for Posny, saying she was “an excellent candidate.” Asked why she didn’t support Posny in 2005 when she voted for Corkins, Martin said she thought Corkins was a “change agent” who could work with the Legislature.

Both sides on the board noted that Posny will have to get along with moderates and conservatives to keep her job because the commissioner serves at the will of the board, and the makeup and political direction of the board could change in next year’s elections.

“She knows the risk, and she has a year or two to accomplish the things she needs to,” Wagnon said.

Board member Sue Gamble, a moderate Republican from Shawnee, voiced confidence in Posny.

“She knows exactly what to do. She knows Kansas, she knows the department, she knows exactly what to focus on and get the department on a firmer footing,” Gamble said.

Gamble said voters must pay attention to the board’s action so they can make informed decisions in elections.

If conservatives regain control, she said, they would probably “want to make some changes.”

She added: “That’s up to the Kansas voters. They have to decide who they want to send to Topeka to represent their schoolchildren.”