Education board member to step down after taking Walton foundation job

State Board of Education member Kim Davis announces Thursday he will step down after taking a job with the Walton Family Foundation.
State Board of Education member Kim Davis announces Thursday he will step down after taking a job with the Walton Family Foundation.

State Board of Education member Kim Davis will step down after taking a position with the Walton Family Foundation.

Davis, who was appointed last August to the state board by then-Gov. Mike Beebe, said he began the new position this month and decided after consulting with his wife and others that it was best to leave his role on the board.

Davis said he didn't want the job to be a "distraction" to the good work of the state board.

"We decided and I decided that it would be best to step down in order that we continue to focus," he said. "Now what this means is my work will continue. My work will continue on a very granular level within the Delta, and within Northwest Arkansas and I'm assuming in various parts of the state as well."

Davis didn't detail his precise job duties with the foundation, but he called time there so far a "great experience."

Davis said the transition to finding a new member isn't set, though Thursday's education board meeting will likely be his final one.

The Walton Family Foundation is a philanthropic group that advocates for charter schools and counts K-12 education as one of its chief focuses.

Davis' announcement came at the conclusion of a pre-meeting ceremony to bid farewell to board Chairman Sam Ledbetter and board member Alice Mahony, whose terms are expiring.

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