BY: ANNELISE HANSHAW
Missouri Independent
Tom Prater’s nomination faced scrutiny from a Republican lawmaker and DC-based nonprofit
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe withdrew the nomination of Tom Prater to the State Board of Education on Thursday after concerns circulated from a national advocacy group and a state senator.
Prater, a Springfield eye surgeon who donated $21,000 to Kehoe’s political action committee last year, was appointed in an interim capacity following the retirement of 33-year board member Peter Herschend. He was reappointed by Kehoe this year alongside three new board members.
But in the Senate Gubernatorial Appointments Committee hearing Wednesday, his selection was singled out by Republican state Sen. Mike Moon.
Moon, a Republican from Ash Grove, said his constituents had complained about Prater’s appointment. He asked Prater about his role in United Springfield, a committee that has donated to candidates on both sides of the aisle in local elections.
Prater said the group didn’t look at political affiliations but asked questions about “education issues.”
Moon told The Independent on Thursday he spoke to Kehoe about his concerns but didn’t want to talk more about Prater or the reasons his nomination was withdrawn
If the Senate had voted Prater’s nomination down, he would have been banned from serving on the board for life. Instead, the nomination was withdrawn shortly after the Senate convened Thursday and the other education board nominee, Republican Brooks Miller, was confirmed on a voice vote.
A spokeswoman for Kehoe said he was “confident in (Prater’s) qualifications.”
“Given the short amount of time left this legislative session and the obstacles presented during Prater’s confirmation, the governor did not want to ask the Missouri Senate to use valuable floor time on this appointment at the expense of other critical legislation awaiting action,” she said in a statement.
The State Board of Education, by law, can’t be dominated by a political party. Prater was nominated as an independent, with the maximum number of Republicans already in office or appointed.
Prater has a history of donating to both Republican and Democratic candidates, with the majority of his contributions benefiting those on the political right.
These donations came under scrutiny from the American Accountability Foundation, a D.C.-based nonprofit committed to the “American First conservative agenda,” according to its social media.
“If you want a pro-tax, anti-voucher, pro-teacher union voice on the State Board of Education, then Tom Prater is your guy,” the organization’s founder, Thomas Jones, said in an email to state officials Wednesday. “But if you want reform-minded conservatives, you’re going to need a new nominee.”
Jones noted Prater’s donations to ActBlue, which received $250 from Prater last year, and donations to local Democrats often below $1,000.
Jones told The Independent Thursday that any donations to blue candidates are “terrible.”
“He shouldn’t be on the board at all,” he said. “He has donated to a bunch of terrible liberals in your state. He is going to be a toxic influence on the Board of Education.”
Missouri-based groups Freedom Principle MO and MO Education Watch celebrated the withdrawal on social media.
“The people won,” MO Education Watch said on X, formerly Twitter.
Prater did not respond to a request for comment.