Pete Herschend, of Branson, has stepped in as acting president of the Missouri State Board of Education, following the Jan. 25 resignation of its board president, the Rev. Stan Archie.
Herschend, co-owner and co-founder of Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., this month began the role of vice president for the education board. A board member since 1991, Herschend had served as president in 2012. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokeswoman Sarah Potter confirmed Herschend will serve as acting president until the board votes on a permanent leader.
Archie, who was selected for an eight-year term starting in 2006 to end in 2014, resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct as senior pastor of Christian Fellowship Baptist Church in Kansas City.
Two lawsuits are pending against Archie. One, filed in January 2012, accuses the pastor of an inappropriate sexual relationship years back with a former assistant, and another, filed last week, alleges Archie engaged in child sexual abuse, defamation and therapy malpractice related to a teenage girl, according to the
St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In his resignation letter, provided to Springfield Business Journal by the governor's office, Archie said he and his church are denying the allegations presented in the lawsuits.
"While I had hoped to avoid such actions, the recent lawsuit filed against me and our church family has the potential to cause distraction from our endless efforts to allow Missouri's educational system to be among the top in the nation," Archie wrote in the letter addressed to Gov. Jay Nixon. "However, I do believe that it is best for the board and the children of Missouri that I step down at this time and allow the board's efforts to move forward without distraction."
Nixon is tasked with selecting an individual to fill the vacancy on the eight-member board, a nomination which would then need to be approved by the state Senate.
Potter said the board's timeline for selecting its next president is up in the air, as the matter hasn't yet been discussed. She said board members could elect its president during an emergency meeting, at its Feb. 19 scheduled meeting or hold off until a full board has been assembled.
"They may decide to re-elect (Herschend) or decide to do something else," Potter added.[[In-content Ad]]
