PRESS RELEASE
Treasurer Fitzpatrick Named Hunt-Kean Fellow
Jefferson City, MO – Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick
today announced that he has been named a Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellow for the
program’s sixth cohort. The education policy fellowship will bring together a
group of 23 bipartisan state leaders to examine state-level education policy
over the next nine months. “Education policy is important
to me, not only as the administrator of MOST, Missouri’s 529 Education Plan,
but also as a parent and a taxpayer,” Treasurer Fitzpatrick said. “I am honored
and grateful for the opportunity to learn from this diverse group of education
policy leaders and experts from across the country.” The fellowship kicks off today
with a three-day visit to Washington, D.C. during which the fellows will
explore the importance of K-12 standards and assessments, school funding, early
learning, school choice, and effective teachers and school leaders with some of
the nation’s leading experts in education, policy, and politics. Throughout his time in Jefferson
City, Treasurer Fitzpatrick has been a consistent advocate for public
education. As budget chairman, he fully funded the foundation formula for the
first time in nearly a decade in addition to expanding access to preschool
across the state. As State Treasurer, Treasurer Fitzpatrick oversees MOST,
Missouri’s 529 Education Plan. MOST accounts are designed to help families save
for the costs of education, including K-12, college, trade, or technical school.
Federal and state tax benefits enhance the value of 529 plans. The Hunt Institute is an
affiliate of the Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy and a
recognized leader in the movement to transform public education. The Hunt-Kean
Leadership Fellows program seeks to partner with senior-level political leaders
who have the knowledge, skill, and will to be effective, reform-minded
education policymakers at the state level. The national, nonpartisan fellowship
was named for governors Jim Hunt (D-NC) and Tom Kean (R-NJ) and launched in
2014. For more information about
Hunt-Kean Leadership Fellows, visit http://www.hunt-institute.org/hunt-kean-leadership-fellows.
More information about MOST accounts can be found at missourimost.org. ### Follow the Treasurer’s Office on Twitter,
Facebook, and Instagram @motreasurer.
