Friday, June 8, 2007
Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290
Blunt Appoints Gambaro to State Board of Education
ST. LOUIS – Gov. Matt Blunt today appointed former Democrat State Representative Derio L. Gambaro to the State Board of Education.
Mr. Gambaro, 51 of St. Louis, is an engineer for BRI, Inc. He is a former state representative and chairman of the St. Louis City Election Board. As a state representative, Mr. Gambaro served on the Education- Elementary and Secondary Committee. He holds a bachelor’s degree in plant engineering from St. Louis University.
"As a state representative Derio Gambaro was a strong supporter for education and with this appointment will continue to be a strong advocate for ensuring that Missouri’s children receive the best education our state has to offer," Gov. Blunt said. "I am pleased that he agreed to serve Missouri’s students in this capacity."
Gambaro has a long history of public and community service. He is a member of St. Ambrose Catholic Church where he formerly served as a parish school board and parish council member. He has been involved with Professional and Businessmen of the Hill, Hill 2000 Neighborhood Association and the National Italian-American Organization.
"I am looking forward to this opportunity to help improve the educational opportunities available to all Missouri’s students. I want to thank Governor Blunt for his vote of confidence in me for this important position," Derio Gambaro said.
Gambaro’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation for a term ending on July 1, 2012.
Blunt is committed to ensuring that Missouri’s students receive a world class education and for the third year in a row secured a significant funding increase for classrooms. The new state budget includes a $221.4 million increase to support our schools, bringing the total increase to more than half a billion dollars over the last three years.
Blunt continues to identify ways to enhance Math, Engineering, Technology and Science (METS) learning in our state and hosted the first comprehensive summit to bring stakeholders together to identify solutions to current challenges in METS. His budget includes increases to fund 100 technology classrooms in 100 schools and to expand quality afterschool programs for students to participate in math and science activities. The governor has also secured funding to encourage more students to take advanced placement (AP) courses by paying a portion of the test fee for all students that take AP math and science exams.
The governor also led the successful effort and signed a comprehensive higher education reform package. The package increases funding for higher education, provides tuition stabilization, and increases scholarship funding from $27.5 million to $72.5 million. The package also includes Blunt’s landmark Lewis & Clark Discovery Initiative which is a partnership between the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA) and the state. Through this initiative Missouri is reinvesting a state asset to deliver $335 million dollars for state-of-the-art learning centers for Missouri students this year.
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