Tom Prater appointed to Missouri Board of Education
Springfield eye surgeon and longtime public servant Tom Prater has been appointed to serve on the Missouri Board of Education.
He was appointed Friday by Gov. Mike Parson.
Prater, a former member of the Springfield school board and city council, will take the seat that has been filled by Peter Herschend — a member of the Branson family behind Silver Dollar City — since 1991.
"There is no way I can fill Peter's shoes," Prater said at the start of the interview.
Herschend was first appointed to the state board in December 1991. He left the board briefly in mid-2017 but was re-appointed in 2018. His term expired in July 2023 but he has continued to serve.
"Peter and I have been talking for quite a while. I have always been impressed with the work he did and his phenomenal devotion to education. He asked me one day if I'd be interested in serving after he left and that has been several years ago. We have been talking on and off ever since."
Prater, one of two individuals appointed to the state board Friday, practices at Mattax-NeuPrater Eye Center in Springfield. He previously served as president of the school board and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. He has also been on the board for the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.
"My priority has always been trying to improve education for the kids," Prater said. "I am not going into this position with an agenda. I am going into it with the attitude of what can we do to make education in our state better."
Prater said he closely followed the
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Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission, which was created by the state board, and resulted in a series of immediate and long-term recommendations.
The Springfield native has a bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University and his medical degree from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed a residency in ophthalmology at BarnesJewish Hospital.
Parson also appointed Tawni Hunt Ferrarini, of St. Charles, to fill the seat of Donald Claycomb, of Linn. Ferrarini and
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