State Representative John “Bam” Carney of Kentucky was elected chair of SREB’s Legislative Advisory Council at the group’s annual meeting in Louisville this month. State Representative Patricia Smith of Louisiana was chosen as vice chair. 
 
Representative Carney of Campbellsville co-chairs the Kentucky house education committee. He is a member of house budget review subcommittees on postsecondary education and on primary and secondary education and workforce development. He also co-chairs the house special committee on school safety. A former social studies teacher, he is the school safety and after-school coordinator for the Taylor County School District. He has served actively with SREB since 2011.

Representative Smith of Baton Rouge is a member of Louisiana’s house education and appropriations committees and vice chair of the house executive committee. A former teacher and local school board president, she is retired from Exxon-Mobil. She has  been a member of the SREB Legislative Advisory Committee since 2016.
 
“State legislators such as representatives Smith and Carney are at the heart of SREB’s work,” said SREB President Stephen Pruitt. “We are grateful for their commitment to improving education for students in their states.”

SREB’s Legislative Advisory Council, made up of legislators appointed by governors of each SREB state, meets several times each year to examine key education issues and advise the full Board. 
 
A nonprofit, nonpartisan interstate compact, SREB was created in 1948 by Southern governors and legislators who recognized the link between education and economic vitality. Member states are Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.