Kingfisher municipal judge and oil and gas operator Kurt Bollenbach is one of four people appointed Friday by Gov. Kevin Stitt to the Oklahoma State Board of Education.

Bollenbach, a graduate of Kingfisher High School, currently serves as municipal judge for the city of Kingfisher and as an oil and gas operator for Teocalli Exploration LLC, where he manages approximately 500 wells in Northwest Oklahoma.

Prior to working in the oil and gas industry, Bollenbach served as a private attorney at Harrison & Mecklenburg in Kingfisher, after working as a military attorney in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General Corps.

Bollenbach earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University in 2002 and a juris doctorate from the University of Oklahoma School of Law in 2005.

Upon completion of U.S. Army Officer Basic Course in 2006, Bollenbach was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, where he acted as general counsel for commanders, provided legal assistance to service members and acted as military claims officer.

The son of Barry and Joyce Bollenbach of Kingfisher, Bollenbach and his wife Brooke have three children, Brittan, Barron and Brooks.

Stitt’s other appointees to the state school board Friday include:

•Jennifer Monies, senior director of public affairs for Saxum and former political reporter at the Oklahoman and Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C.

•Brian Bobek, global account manager for BP Lubricants.

•Estela Hernandez, small business owner and licensed realtor and former vice chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party and vice president of engagement for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.

•William E. “Bill” Flanagan, mayor of Claremore and retired certified public accountant and personal financial specialist.   

“Each of our new  board  members is a qualified leader who is passionate about education in our state,”  Stitt said. “They will bring strong representation from across Oklahoma in order to help invest in and guide the direction of our public school system.

“I look forward to working with the entire  board  as we move toward Top Ten status in education.”

The State Board  of Educationisthegoverning board of the public school system of the state of Oklahoma.

Members are charged with pursuing and implementing reforms that will boost student performance.