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Columbia school board selects new member

John Murden
/
Flickr

The Columbia Board of Education chose Darin Preis to fill its vacant seat at a meeting on Tuesday. The position opened up when former board member Paul Cushing took a job out of state.

Preis served on the board from 2005 to 2008 and is the executive director of Central Missouri Community Action. He says he is excited and honored to serve on the school board again and plans to get to work quickly.

“First is proposition one, putting kids first. It’s a big deal, it’s on the ballot for Tuesday, and it’s an opportunity for everybody in Boone County to support a quarter cent sales tax that will support the mental health of students across the county,” Preis said.

He says he also plans to help the board develop different time schedules for transportation routes.

Christine King is the vice president of the Columbia Board of Education. She says the board needed to select someone who is knowledgeable and able to get up to speed with the rest of its members.

“Because of his prior experience on the board, and then with the co chair of the district bound lines, and the things he has done for early childhood education already kind of stood out," said King.

Preis will serve in the position until April and plans to run for re-election at that time.