Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has called on the state’s top public school administrator to resign.  The Governor called for Education Commissioner Randy Watson’s resignation following reports that he made an offensive remark about Native Americans during a recent conference.  Watson was raised in Coffeyville and was named to the state’s top education post in 2014. 

Kelly issued her statement after the State Board of Education called a special meeting for tomorrow to discuss Watson’s remark during a two-day conference on virtual education last week. The 10-member elected board appoints the commissioner to run the State Department of Education.

The board’s agenda says it will have a closed session to discuss personnel matters and confer with its attorney. Board Chair Jim Porter said board members expect to review video of Watson’s remarks. Porter said he has not seen the video, but Watson informed him and other board members of the situation.