Missouri Lost 2 Top Education Officials in May. A Nationwide Search Begins.

Missouri’s Education Department Lost Its Top Two Leaders Within Days of Each Other

Missouri’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has had two of its top positions vacate in rapid succession. Commissioner Karla Eslinger retired in May 2026, just two years into the job and with only a couple of weeks’ notice to the board. Two days after Eslinger’s announcement, Deputy Commissioner of Learning Services Kelli Jones also announced she would retire at the end of May.

The State Board of Education responded on June 16, 2026, by naming Stacey Preis, an education consultant and former department official who also served as a legislative researcher, as interim commissioner. Preis has said publicly she does not plan to apply for the permanent position.

Board Is Starting a Nationwide Search With No Short List

The board has launched a nationwide search and is assembling an advisory committee to guide the process. Board President Brooks Miller told the Missouri Independent the search is expected to take months.

“We may have somebody right away that just fits the whole bill, and certainly we’re going to look at anybody that does. But we also have to do our evaluation of what our needs are, what kind of person we need to hire to fill those needs.”

Brooks Miller, Missouri State Board of Education President, June 16, 2026

Miller confirmed the board has no short list and is “starting from scratch.” That means Missouri’s K-12 oversight agency could be led by a temporary appointee well into late 2026 or beyond.

Governor Kehoe’s Policy Orders Are a Factor in the Transition

The departures are unfolding as the department implements major policy changes ordered by Gov. Mike Kehoe. The Missouri Independent has not detailed the full scope of those directives, but the back-to-back exits of the commissioner and deputy commissioner, combined with a governor-driven policy overhaul, leave Missouri’s K-12 system without stable permanent leadership during a period of significant change.

One name already circulating for the permanent job is State Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O’Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina and former chair of the Senate Education Committee. O’Laughlin’s background includes working as a school bus driver, as an administrator at a Christian school, and as a local school board member. Missouri law requires the commissioner to “possess an educational attainment and breadth of experience in the administration of public education.” O’Laughlin herself acknowledged the fit may be a stretch. “Some people would be looking for someone a little more status quo for a position like that,” she said.

The permanent commissioner will have authority over Missouri’s entire public K-12 system at a moment when both its leadership structure and its policy direction are unsettled.

What You Can Do Now

Contact the Missouri State Board of Education directly by emailing board members through dese.mo.gov and asking them to prioritize candidates who meet the statutory requirement for “breadth of experience in the administration of public education” and to hold at least one public forum before finalizing the hire.
Call Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office at (573) 751-3222 and ask for a full public accounting of which policy changes his office has ordered at DESE and whether those directives contributed to the departures of Commissioner Eslinger and Deputy Commissioner Jones.
Contact your Missouri state senator and representative through house.mo.gov/memberlistdistrict.aspx and ask them to hold a legislative hearing on the leadership vacuum at DESE and the governor’s role in directing education policy. Hearings create a public record.
Attend your local school board meeting and ask your district superintendent how the state-level leadership gap is affecting guidance, funding decisions, and policy implementation in your schools. Local officials are often the first to feel consequences from state-level instability.