Although surprised by Gov. Kevin Stitt’s action to replace him on the state board of education, Kingfisher oilman and municipal judge Kurt Bollenbach said he harbors no ill will about last week’s decision.

“The Governor’s office called me yesterday (Thursday) and told me I was being replaced,” he said. “I didn’t really get a reason, but they thanked me for my service and were very nice.

“I’m sad that I won’t be able to finish out my term because there are four or five really pressing issues that I’d like to see through, but the Governor has the right to appoint and remove board members for any reason.

“For whatever reason, he decided I just wasn’t the guy for him right now.”

The decisionbecame public on Friday after Stitt filed an official document through the secretary of state announcing the appointment of Melissa Crabtree of Enid to replace Bollenbach, who was also a Stitt appointee.

In response to a request for comment from the Times & Free Press, Stitt’s chief of communications, Charlie Hannema, released the same statement shared with other state newspapers:

“Melissa Crabtree is a former teacher and social worker who is passionate about using her experience in the classroom to improve educational outcomes for all Oklahoma students.

“The Governor believes she will be a great addition to the State Board of Education and appreciates Mr. Bollenbach’s service to our state.”

Bollenbach is one of four people Stitt appointed in April 2019 to serve on the state education board.

A graduate of Kingfisher High School, Bollenbach also currently serves as municipal judge for the city of Kingfisher and as an oil and gas operator for Teocalli Exploration LLC, which operates throughout 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. ArmyJudge 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.

His service on the board has involved a number of hot button issues, including teacher salaries, COVID-19 regulations and protections for students, faculty and staff and issues related to virtual schools and school compliance with scholarship programs designed to promote school choice for parents of special needs children.

“I love digging into complicated issues and probably spent about40 hours amonth on reading and research, in addition to attending meetings,” Bollenbach said.

While debates at board meetings could become heated, Bollenbach said he had nothing but respect for his fellow board members, all of whom took their jobs seriously.

“We were fortunate to have aboard where everyone was ready to put in the time to prepare,” he said. “Issues are clearly identified, positions are argued very passionately but at the end of the day we were always very respectful toward one another and tried to work together as a team,” he said. “Inmy opinion, that’s exactly how a governing board should work.

“We worked to solve problems as a team and I’m confident they’ll continue to work like that, regardless of who is serving on the board.”

Bollenbach was among a minority of board members who voted to institute a mask mandate at all state public schools when COVID-19 cases continued to climb.

He also drew criticism from school choice advocates for leading a vote to delay approval for two private schools applying for state-funded scholarships for special needs children.

Bollenbach defended that decision in a previous article in this newspaper as being based on the schools’ anti-discrimination policies, which he said fell short of federal and state law requirements.

“It was not an anti-school choice decision,” he said at the time.

Bollenbach also joined other board members in a recommendation to withdraw more than $11 million in state funding from Epic Charter Schools based recommendations in a lengthy and critical state audit.

Bollenbach praised both Supt. Joy Hoffmeister and the state education department staff, whom he said are tasked with an essential state function under extremely difficult circumstances.

“I have been nothing but impressed with Supt. Hofmeister,” he said. “She is a class act and the staff there are woefully understaffed for the scope of their mission and they work long hours in a very thankless environment.

Bollenbach and his wife Brooke have three children: sons Barron and Brooks, and daughter Brittan.