By AP/KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A newly elected Missouri state senator has blocked Governor Matt Blunt's appointee to the state Board of Education.
Senator-elect Jeff Smith of St. Louis said today that he will NOT sponsor Donayle Whitmore-Smith for Senate confirmation proceedings.
Her appointment has been opposed by the state's leading public school teacher and administrator groups because of her support for vouchers and private schools.
In a statement Governor Matt Blunt said he was deeply disappointed. He called Whitmore-Smith well-qualified.
Earlier Governor Blunt's office had said that if her hometown senator would not sponsor Whitmore-Smith then the governor would withdraw the nomination.