Michael Ponder’s tenure with the University of Missouri Board of Curators is over, at least for now.
Governor Jay Nixon appointed the Cape Girardeau attorney to the board last month before the start of the 2013 legislative session, but he still needed Senate confirmation for his appointment to become permanent.
Nixon formally reversed Ponder’s appointment Wednesday night when it became apparent that he would not win Senate confirmation by Thursday deadline. President Pro-tem Tom Dempsey says the Senate wants more time to discuss Ponder’s actions when he served on the State Board of Education.
“One was related to his involvement or non-involvement in the decision to distribute the money in the school funding formula,” Dempsey said. “Another question related to the pursuit of Race to the Top funding and adoption of the common core standards.”
Dempsey says if they can get more answers regarding Ponder’s tenure with the Board of Education, they’d be willing to reconsider his nomination to the Board of Curators.
