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Beshear
Appoints Five
05/10/08 MRC/AP
A former
Republican candidate for governor was appointed Thursday
to the Kentucky Board of Education.
Beshear
appointed Billy Harper, a Paducah businessman, to the
panel. Harper was one of five appointments Governor Steve
Beshear made to the panel that oversees Kentucky's public
elementary schools and high schools.
The
appointments are to fill four vacancies and one
resignation on the board.
Last year, the
board ignored Beshear's request that it reopen the search
for a state education commissioner and expand its search
to include more people nationally. Instead, the board went
with Jon Draud, a former state lawmaker.
Harper
finished third in last year's Republican primary for
governor. He spent more than $6 million on his campaign,
much of which came from his own personal wealth.
Harper, a
member of the McCracken County Board of Education, focused
much of his campaign on education reform. He replaces
David Rhodes and will have a term that expires in 2012.
Beshear also
appointed Austin Moss, of Hopkinsville, to finish the
unexpired term of Keith Travis, who resigned last month.
Travis's term would have otherwise expired in April, 2010.
Moss is a former member of the Christian County Board of
Education.
Meanwhile, the
governor also appointed the Jefferson County Teachers
Association executive director Stephen B. Neal to the
panel. Neal replaces Bonnie Lash Freeman on the board, and
will have a four-year-term.
Former board
member Dorothy "Dorie" Combs, of Richmond, will replace
Janna Vice on the board. Combs, a professor at Eastern
Kentucky University, had been on the board from June 2002
through April 2006.
Beshear also
tapped Brigitte Ramsey, of Falmouth, to the board,
replacing David Webb. Ramsey is a member of the Pendleton
County Board of Education and works for the United Way of
Greater Cincinnati.
The
appointments need to be confirmed by the Kentucky
legislature, but members can begin serving until further
action by lawmakers, according to Board of Education
spokeswoman, Lisa Gross.
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