One of Kentucky's most outspoken advocates for school reform won't be reappointed to the state Board of Education.

        Craig True of Fort Thomas learned Friday that Gov. Paul Patton won't reappoint him to a new four-year term, and is replacing him with former board member Jeff Mando of Villa Hills because Mr. Patton wants “new blood” on the board.

KY. BOARD OF ED.

• District 1, Keith Travis, Benton    • District 2, Helen Mountjoy, Utica    • District 3, Hilma Prather, Somerset    • District 4, David Tachau, Louisville    • District 5, Dorothy Combs, Richmond    • District 6, Jeff Mando, Villa Hills    • District 7, Bill Weinberg, Hindman    • At-large, Alcie Ann Combs, Pikeville    • At-large, Gail Henson, Louisville    • At-large, Samuel Robinson, Louisville    • At-large, Paul Whalen, Fort Thomas

        “I was sort of prepared for this,” Mr. True said. “It was a good run. Sometimes you need experience and sometimes you need fresh thinking, and Jeff's a good blend of the two.”

        As Mr. True looks back on his 12 years on the board, he can point to dramatic improvements made under the landmark Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990.

        “A lot of folks just weren't ready for that change to occur,” Mr. True said. “But the board was determined to make that happen.”

        Today, he said, “we still have a few naysayers — but I think by and large we can honestly say ... this is the way we run our schools.”

        Mr. True, 48, was one of three board members who took office in 1991 and helped oversee efforts to carry out KERA.

        With a background in accounting and auditing, Mr. True became the board's finance and management expert, talking tough to local districts with troubled budgets, and later helping shepherd the state Education Department through an embezzlement scandal.

        And Mr. True led the board's push for gender equity — prodding the Kentucky High School Athletic Association toward monitoring and enforcing Title IX compliance by its 285 member schools.

        As for the future, the state's goal of having all schools demonstrate student proficiency in seven subject areas by 2014 is achievable, but it will be hard, Mr. True said in an interview earlier last week.

        “I think the proficiency by 2014 is the biggest challenge we'll face,” Mr. True said. “What are the things we're going to do and how do we devote resources to help those schools that are struggling to get there?

        “Resources typically mean money, people and time, and ... it's hard for me to argue if somebody says I succeeded and now I'm being penalized because more resources go to the struggling school,” he said.

        “I don't have a good answer for that, but those are the kinds of issues we're going to face getting to 2014.”

        Friday, Mr. Patton announced that Mr. True and three other board members whose four-year terms expired in mid-April — Jane Adams Venters, Lydia Carol Gabbard and Laken Cosby Jr. — would not be back.

        In addition to True's replacement — Mr. Mando, a lawyer from Villa Hills who was on the board as an at-large member from 1992 to 2000 — the other new members are Hilma Prather, a retired principal from Somerset; David Tachau, a Louisville lawyer; and Dorothy Combs, an Eastern Kentucky University education professor.

        Mr. Patton also reappointed chairwoman Helen Mountjoy and members Keith Travis and Bill Weinberg to four-year terms. The appointment of four new members marks the largest turnover on the board since it was reconstituted in 1991 after KERA's passage.

        Ms. Venters and Ms. Gabbard said they had asked to be replaced, and Mr. Cosby said he had not spoken with Mr. Patton or his representatives. Mr. True, however, said he had expressed a desire to continue.

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True won't be back on board