The Board of Education is ready to start advertising for a new Commissioner of Education next month, aiming to have the post filled for the start of the 2016-17 academic year.

At present, Freddie Evans is serving as acting commissioner, but the job will be advertised by mid-January.

Two candidates were shortlisted for the job in January, but the search was delayed after the Board was unable to agree with the lead candidate on the terms of the appointment.

The appointment of a Bermudian candidate to the post has been a priority: outcry followed the 2013 placement of a United States educator, Edmund Heatley, to the job.

Dr Heatley took the job in August 2013 but served only eight months.

Despite the hiring freeze in place across the Bermuda Government, the Commissioner of Education is a statutory post with legislative responsibilities, and therefore must be filled.

Recruitment is expected to last four to five months, a spokeswoman for the Board said this afternoon.

“As stated previously in response to a press inquiry, the Board is most considerate of the need to have stable leadership at the Department of Education, which has been conveyed to the Board on several occasions by key stakeholders inclusive of teachers, principals and community members.

In this regard, the Board supports the decision by the Permanent Secretary of Education to extend the acting appointment of Dr Freddie Evans as Commissioner of Education until the end of June 2016.

“The Board of Education is committed to recruiting the best person to lead the Public School System and encourages all Bermudians interested in the position to apply.”