The candidate pool for Vermont’s second secretary of education is down to three.
After a round of in-person interviews Monday, the search committee chose three finalists.
On Aug. 20, the search committee, which consists of State Board of Education members, will brief the remainder of the board on the applicants, and if the board approves, they’ll submit the list of three names to Gov. Peter Shumlin to make the final pick.
Stephan Morse, the board chair and a member of the search committee, said he expects the group will give the candidates a thorough vetting but he doesn’t anticipate any surprises during that process.
Though there were only 20-something applicants, Morse said the committee “was quite pleased with the quality and the response that we got.” The decision Monday had the full backing of the committee, Morse added. “We walked out of there in agreement.”
The new secretary will take the reins from Armando Vilaseca, who was appointed by Shumlin for a one-year term, in January. Vilaseca, the previous commissioner of education, had to go through the same application process last year, after his commissioner position was elevated to secretary status.
