Today's THV At 6:30: Roundtable With The Outgoing AR Education Commissioner

Nearly a month ago, out of the blue, he announced he was stepping down and retiring as head of the state department of education.

With only days left in office, Dr. Ken James sits down with Liz Massey, Craig O'Neill & Dawn Scott live on Today's THV at 6:30 to talk about his five years as head of the state education department.

While in office, Dr. Ken James has navigated Arkansas' public schools through many challenges, from consolidation to desegregation to many highs that even attracted national attention for our state.

He was appointed to head the Arkansas Education Department in 2004 by then Governor Mike Huckabee. He's leaving a position that currently oversees nearly 460,000 public school students in 245 districts.

Dr. James is from Batesville. He is the son of an educator. He is also a former superintendent in the Batesville, Van Buren and Little Rock School Districts.

When he announced he was retiring, Dr. James said he was considering a job in the private-sector that will deal with kindergarten through 12th-grade education. As of now, he has not made a new job annoucement.

Dr. James' last day is Tuesday, June 30th.