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Missouri interim Commissioner of Education Stacey Preis resigned Tuesday after just four months on the job amid speculation she was about to be fired.

Speaking to reporters while the State Board of Education met in a closed session, Preis didn鈥檛 deny her situation but said no one had 鈥渄irectly鈥� told her to resign to avoid being removed.

Preis said she resigned 鈥渁fter much consideration鈥� because she thinks 鈥渢he board鈥檚 agenda is better served by a different commissioner.鈥�

Her departure comes amid weeks of speculation that Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O鈥橪aughlin, a Shelbina Republican, could be named the state鈥檚 next education commissioner. O鈥橪aughlin, whose legislative career has focused heavily on education policy, has expressed interest in working with the state鈥檚 education establishment.

The possibility of O鈥橪aughlin taking over the department was a topic of conversation among school administrators attending Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, though the board has not publicly identified her as a candidate.

Preis鈥� resignation comes a month after she and officials from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for public schools during the board鈥檚 September meeting. Gov. Mike Kehoe鈥檚 requesting the grade cards had called for a public rollout by Sept. 30.

The delay responded to school administrators鈥� appeals to the board to withhold the grades until districts had an opportunity to review their preliminary ratings and the methods used to calculate them.

Preis emphasized at the time that the board was committed to ensuring the grading system accurately reflected schools鈥� performance.

鈥淎 lot of people have been putting a lot of time and effort into this,鈥� Preis said. 鈥淎nd we just are really trying hard to do it right.鈥�

On Tuesday, Preis questioned the value of adding another grading system to the state鈥檚 existing measures of school performance, calling it 鈥渙ne additional system laid on top of another and another.鈥�

鈥淚t was something that we were given, and we will make the best of it,鈥� she said. 鈥淥r they will make the best of it.鈥�

After the board concluded its closed session, board President Brooks Miller of Sunrise Beach said he could not address why Preis chose to resign. He said he had not intended to fire her.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 say I know that much about it,鈥� Miller said.

Preis took over as interim commissioner after the sudden retirement of Karla Eslinger in May. She said in June she was not interested in seeking the permanent position but wanted to help 鈥渃ontinue advancing department priorities,鈥� including implementing an A-F grade card system for public schools.

The grade cards, which were requested by Kehoe in January, have faced financial and staffing constraints that have prevented full implementation this year, along with resistance from school officials who question whether the ratings will accurately reflect student performance.

After announcing her resignation, Preis told reporters the primary challenge facing Missouri schools is a lack of support, 鈥渂oth financial and otherwise.鈥�

鈥淲e do the best that we can to support them,鈥� Preis said. 鈥淪chools need resources. They need to know that people care about them, that they鈥檙e looking at them, that they鈥檙e not just judging them and grading them.鈥�

Asked whether her resignation was prompted by the possibility of being fired, Preis said no one on the board had suggested that she would be voted out of her position during the closed session if she didn鈥檛 resign.

Asked if anyone else had suggested that to her, Preis responded, 鈥淣o, not directly.鈥�

O鈥橪aughlin speculation

O鈥橪aughlin has not publicly announced that she is seeking the commissioner position, but she addressed speculation about her future in June during an event in Macon endorsing Chris Stigall for Congress.

鈥淚 know that some of you, maybe several of you, thought we would be talking about education, which has always been my primary passion,鈥� she told a gathering of supporters. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 always available if the education establishment wants to take advantage of my willingness to work with them to make education better.鈥�

O鈥橪aughlin did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. 

The Independent asked Kehoe for his assessment of Preis鈥檚 performance and whether he supported O鈥橪aughlin becoming commissioner. 

Kehoe did not directly answer either question. Instead, his communications director, Gabby Picard, pointed to the state board鈥檚 authority to hire a commissioner.

Kehoe has appointed a majority of the board鈥檚 members and 鈥渉as confidence in their judgment,鈥� Gabby Picard, the governor鈥檚 spokeswoman, said in a statement. The governor wants a commissioner focused on improving reading and math performance who also understands Missouri鈥檚 budget constraints, she said.

requires the commissioner to 鈥減ossess an educational attainment and breadth of experience in the administration of public education.鈥�

O鈥橪aughlin鈥檚 Senate biography says she has experience 鈥渁s a school bus driver, an administrator at a local Christian school and as a member of her local school board.鈥� She chaired the Senate Education Committee from 2020 to 2022, that shifted public funding toward private education.

Senate Minority Leader Doug Beck, an Affton Democrat, has questioned whether that background is sufficient. Last month, he she is 鈥渃ompletely unqualified.鈥�

In 1970, the State Board of Education sought an attorney general鈥檚 opinion on a candidate 鈥渨ho is not a certified teacher鈥� but had led the House Education Committee and worked as a part-time professor at Missouri Valley College.

Then-Attorney General John Danforth wrote that the candidate was not qualified, since he lacked experience in administration.

鈥淓xecutive experience in the field of public education would be invaluable, if not essential, in the performance of (the commissioner鈥檚) duties,鈥� Danforth wrote.

Miller, the board president, declined to address whether O鈥橪aughlin was being considered for commissioner.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 personnel issues,鈥� he said.

Commissioner search

The board took no action Tuesday to name a new commissioner. Instead, it unanimously adopted the recommendation of its commissioner search committee to hire to lead its nationwide search.

The firm was one of two options the board was considering during a meeting that was inadvertently livestreamed for a few minutes on Sept. 22. Subsequent commissioner search committee meetings have been closed from the public.

During the meeting, Kerry Casey, who chairs the search committee, said that while the firm hadn鈥檛 conducted a commissioner-level search, it had recently 鈥渨orked in states that were going in the direction that we in Missouri are wanting to go also.鈥�

They are 鈥渟trong in our, let鈥檚 call it reform, approach,鈥� she said.

According to its website, The K12 Search Group has 鈥渇ocused almost exclusively on CEO and senior leadership searches for charter schools and mission-driven K-12 education organizations.鈥�

In September, the board signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of State Boards of Education to assist in its search.

The search is being funded by outside organizations. On Tuesday, the department identified the donors as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, Regional Business Council, The DeBruce Foundation and Town Branch Foundation.

A-F grade cards

During the public portion of the meeting, board members discussed adjustments to the grading framework and gave the department the go-ahead to share a technical guide reflecting the changes and preliminary scores with school districts.

Mark Penny, executive director of the Missouri Association of School Administrators, told The Independent that districts should have received the guidance sooner.

鈥淚t鈥檚 disappointing that the state board has seen the technical guide and 555 LEAs haven鈥檛 seen the document,鈥� Penny said.

Discussion of grade cards at times gave way to expressions of discontentment from school administrators and others in the audience.  

Board member Vince Schoemehl of St. Louis expressed skepticism about grade cards more broadly, saying some schools could see public grades as a threat.

鈥�(The department)鈥檚 got a whole lot of sticks,鈥� Schoemehl said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a lot of carrots. This whole thing strikes me as another stick鈥�. I believe, as a matter of reference to this board, people respond better to inspiration than threats.鈥�

Casey said the framework is not intended as a punishment. 

鈥淭he action that will come of this is support, is good things, is resources,鈥� she said. 

Several audience members, including school administrators from across Missouri, responded with a loud 鈥淣o!鈥� Others laughed when Casey suggested the ratings could help direct more funding to public schools.

鈥淣ow, I will be the first to acknowledge the action on our budget makes it a little bit harder, Casey said.

The skepticism comes as the state faces budget constraints that could limit its ability to provide additional support to schools receiving low grades.

The board in its September meeting needed to fully fund the state鈥檚 public school formula next year. It instead requested the same amount of funding allotted to schools in the current state budget.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: [email protected].

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