JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 The Missouri board of education on Tuesday named the department鈥檚 next leader and signaled that charter school reform could be one of her first issues to tackle.
Karla Eslinger, a Republican state senator from Wasola, starts as Missouri鈥檚 commissioner of education June 1. She will replace Margie Vandeven who served seven years in the role.
In other matters at their monthly meeting, board members complained about charter school oversight before approving Believe STL Academy to open next fall as the 20th public high school in the city of St. 亚洲无码.
Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge of north St. 亚洲无码 County said opening new schools is irresponsible when the population of St. 亚洲无码 is shrinking. In 1991, there were 14 St. 亚洲无码 Public Schools and charter high schools in the city for nearly 10,000 students. Next fall, there will be 20 high schools for around 7,000 students.
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鈥淲e have a moral and fiduciary responsibility to use scarce taxpayer resources efficiently. We just can鈥檛 afford to keep opening schools,鈥澛燱estbrooks-Hodge told the board members before recording the only dissenting vote on the charter school. 鈥淢y 鈥榥o鈥 vote is for optics and it doesn鈥檛 mean anything, but on principle I cannot approve schools that are outside of a larger plan that uplifts the entire region.鈥
Several other state board members said they want the Legislature to give the board the ability to block new schools from opening. Under current law, a charter school鈥檚 sponsor has unlimited approval power which the state board cannot overturn.
鈥淏efore we do a huge expansion of charter schools, let鈥檚 attack the legislation so we can insure we have good quality schools and the right number of schools,鈥 said board member Kimberly Bailey of Raymore.
But board member Kerry Casey of Chesterfield said SLPS 鈥渉as had the opportunity to deliver a good quality education and they鈥檙e failing. If we think we鈥檙e going to fix the system before we provide the opportunity to children, we鈥檙e being negligent in our jobs here on the board to provide opportunity to all.鈥
Prior to the board鈥檚 discussion, Eslinger said she will support school choice as the next commissioner of education and that she cannot be labeled as either an education reformer or public school defender.
鈥淚 am a school leader,鈥 Eslinger said. 鈥淚 support work toward good schools, period.鈥
State lawmakers including Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, and Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, have said they want the next commissioner to eliminate 鈥渟ignificant bloat and mission creep鈥 in the education department and 鈥減romote local control at the parental level.鈥
鈥淢issouri public education requires a reset and return to basics,鈥 Koenig and Richey wrote in an October letter to the state board of education.
Eslinger has served on the Legislature鈥檚 joint committee on education and聽voted against the 2021 bill聽that led to a private school tax-credit voucher program. She also supported聽innovation waivers聽that allow some school districts to create new assessment systems and eventually drop state standardized tests.聽This month, Eslinger pre-filed a bill that would raise the minimum teacher salary to $38,000 statewide.
Eslinger started her career as an elementary school teacher and worked up to the superintendent role in the Ava and West Plains school districts. She also worked for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as an assistant commissioner.聽
The next commissioner earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education from the College of the Ozarks, a master鈥檚 degree from Missouri State University and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Eslinger was first elected to the Legislature as a state representative in 2019 and then as a senator in 2020. She will serve out her term through the 2024 session.聽
The Missouri commissioner of education earns more than $190,000 and oversees an agency with about 1,650 employees who monitor the state鈥檚 518 school districts. Eslinger will become the state鈥檚 seventh commissioner since the role was created in 1947.聽