(FRANKFORT, Ky.) -- Keith Travis, a resident of Marshall County, was selected chairman of the Kentucky Board of Education during the board's regular meeting today.
Travis replaces Helen Mountjoy of Utica, who has served as chair since June 1998. Hilma Prather, a member since May 2002, was selected as board vice-chair.
Travis was originally appointed to the board in April 1998 and was reappointed for a second four-year term on the board in May 2002. He graduated from North Marshall High School and received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kentucky.
Travis has served as a member and past chair of the Marshall County Board of Education, a member of the Kentucky School Board Association's board of directors and past chair of the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He is an elder in the Benton Church of Christ and is presently employed as Vice President of Human Resources for Murray/Calloway County Hospital in Murray. Travis and his wife, Joan, have two children, Julia and James.
As mandated by law, the Kentucky Board of Education develops and adopts the regulations that govern Kentucky's 176 public school districts and the actions of the Kentucky Department of Education. This includes management and control of interscholastic athletics, the Kentucky School for the Blind, the Kentucky School for the Deaf and community education programs and services. Department officials follow board guidelines as they both lead and serve public elementary, middle, and high schools.
The board is responsible for setting standards for local school districts to meet in student, program, service and operational performance and mandates corrective action when any district does not meet those standards or its leaders are not successful in making improvements. However, the board tempers its legal power with a respect for the local autonomy of each school district.
The board reviews the Department of Education's budget requests and makes recommendations to the Governor. The board's Strategic Plan provides focus and guidance in carrying out its responsibilities.
The board has 12 members. The governor appoints 11 voting members, seven representing the Supreme Court districts and four representing the state at large. These 11 voting members must be confirmed by the legislature. The additional member, the president of the Council on Postsecondary Education, serves as a non-voting member.
The members serve four-year terms and may be reappointed. At the beginning of each fiscal year the membership elects the board chair and vice chair.
The board appoints the commissioner of education, who serves at the pleasure of the board and receives compensation as set by the board. The commissioner is the board's executive secretary.
The Kentucky Board of Education meets at least six times a year either at the Frankfort offices of the Kentucky Department of Education or at other locations in the state. Board meetings are open to the public, and agendas are set in advance. The board seeks and encourages the attendance of individuals, representatives of professional organizations, and members of citizen groups.
##