Here's what's going on. A number of conservative groups, including members of the Family Foundation are pushing Penny Sanders for the interim job. Sanders was the first head of the Office of Education Accountability when it was formed as part of KERA in 1991. Sanders stepped on plenty of toes, including some state lawmakers who were trying to protect their local school boards and superintendents who Sanders' crew caught misspending and making illegal hires. In the past, Sanders has been an advocate of limited school choice, believing that letting tax dollars follow children to charter schools would force improvement by public schools. At least, that's the way I remember her stance. I'm sure she'll e-mail with a correction if I'm mistaken. In one e-mail message, Sanders says told me she has applied for the interim job. She also applied for the full time commissioner's job last time around but never got a call, letter, anything from the state board or its search firm, Ray and Associates.

One of the conservatives who's apparently in Sanders' corner is state Sen. Gary Tapp (R) Shelbyville. Tapp has made at least one phone call, that I'm aware of, to a political insider, asking for help in torpedoing the board's move to hire former Shelby County School Superintendent for the interim state job. Tapp told me he hasn't lobbied any member of the state board of education to kill Mooneyhan's bid. He refused to say whether he'd called anyone else or what problems he might have with a possible Mooneyhan appointment.

Mooneyhan has applied for the interim job, as well, and has board chairman Keith Travis in his corner. He's also getting help from Kentucky's school superintendents and school boards.

The board's other options appear to be the current president of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators, Roger Marcum and the last interim commissioner, Kevin Noland, who works in the Department of Education and serves as counsel to the board. We'll see what happens Saturday morning when the full board meets to discuss its searches for an interim and full time commissioner.