SALEM, OR -- Oregon Secretary of State Bev Clarno has appointed Bend State Representative Cheri Helt to the State Board of Education, as the Secretary’s designee. Clarno cited Helt’s eight years on the Bend-La Pine School Board and professional experience as qualifications for the appointment.

Clarno's office released a statement saying, "Representative Helt is a working mother with three children and is a business owner. She was elected three times to the Bend-La Pine School Board. During her service, high school graduation rates in the district rose 10%. She championed instructional technology to replace outdated textbooks and collaborated with teachers and administrators to create a performance-based compensation system."

“It is an absolute honor to be appointed to the State School Board by Secretary of State Clarno, who is a woman I admire greatly,” Helt said in a statement. “I look forward to further serving the students and teachers of Oregon by drawing upon my eight years of experience as a Bend-La Pine School Board member and as a mother of three children who have attended public schools.”