Contact: Scott Holste, (573) 751-0290
Channing Ansley, (573) 751-0290
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 24, 2014
Gov. Nixon makes appointments to Charter Public Schools, State Lottery commissions
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Gov. Jay Nixon today announced additional appointments to the Missouri Charter Public Schools Commission and the State Lottery Commission. The appointments will be subject to confirmation by the Missouri Senate.
Missouri Charter Public Schools Commission
The Governor has appointed Dr. Deborah Curtis (I), of Warrensburg; and Peggy Lea Taylor (I), of Nixa, to the Missouri Charter Public Schools Commission. The commission was created by statute with the authority to sponsor high quality charter schools throughout the state of Missouri. Three other members of the commission were appointed by the Governor last week.
Dr. Curtis is the Provost-Chief Learning Officer for Central Missouri State University. Prior to being appointed to the position in 2012, she served as dean of the College of Education and as a professor at Illinois State University, and previously taught in Illinois and Indiana public schools for ten years. The Governor has appointed her for a term ending Sept. 17, 2018.
Taylor is the retired owner of Dogwood Printing Inc. in Ozark, which she co-owned for 27 years. She is a past president of the Missouri School Boards Association, and was a past president of the Nixa R-II School Board. Taylor also served on the board of directors for St. John’s Hospital from 2003 to 2009. The Governor has appointed her for a term ending Sept. 17, 2018.
State Lottery Commission
The Governor has appointed Dr. Judene Blackburn (I), of Waynesville, to the State Lottery Commission. The mission of the Lottery Commission is to maximize revenues for public education through the creation and sale of fun and entertaining products consistent with the highest levels of service, integrity, and public accountability.
Dr. Blackburn is recently retired as superintendent of the Waynesville R-VI School District, a position she held from 2006 to 2014. She also served as the superintendent of the Halfway R-III School District, and as principal of middle and elementary schools in other Missouri towns. Dr. Blackburn has served on the State Council for Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunities for Military Children since 2008, and in 2011, was appointed by Gov. Nixon as the State Commissioner for that council. The Governor has appointed her for a term ending Sept. 7, 2016.
Last week, Gov. Nixon appointed four other members of the Lottery Commission. The appointments follow a review of the Missouri Lottery’s operations by the Office of Administration that identified several areas for improvement. The Governor had ordered the review in July, citing a decrease in the percent of lottery revenues going to education while lottery ticket sales continued to grow.
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