Missouri’s top education official, Karla Eslinger, is walking away from the state’s biggest schools job after roughly two years at the helm, stepping down as commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education at a time when K-12 governance has been in near-constant motion.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Eslinger will leave the post about two years after taking it. The paper reported the move on May 12, 2026, and noted that state officials have not yet shared a timetable for her final day or named an immediate successor.
Eslinger formally stepped into the commissioner’s role in mid-2024 and is listed on the department’s website as having begun serving in July 2024. The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education describes her as a lifelong educator who has worked as a teacher, principal and superintendent and who served in both the Missouri House and Senate before becoming commissioner. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Her two-year stint at DESE has been anything but quiet. The State Board approved a plan to consolidate the Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled that requires about a dozen campuses to close by the end of June 2026, a move that drew sharp criticism from some parents and advocates. That consolidation was detailed by the St. Louis American in August 2025.
Eslinger also oversaw stepped-up state involvement in struggling districts. In January, the State Board voted to drop St. Louis Public Schools to provisional accreditation, increasing state monitoring of the district. St. Louis Public Radio reported that Eslinger urged the board not to treat accreditation status as purely punitive and instead to concentrate on stabilizing the district.
What’s next at DESE
The State Board of Education will now be in charge of finding Eslinger’s replacement and deciding how to handle any interim leadership while the handoff is worked out. DESE’s commissioner history page lists Eslinger as the seventh commissioner and notes she began serving in July 2024, and that page will likely be updated once the transition timeline and replacement plan are announced. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Local reaction and legacy
Reaction to Eslinger’s tenure has been split. Supporters point to her efforts around teacher recruitment and retention, including a statewide playbook and grant programs intended to shore up the educator pipeline. The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Playbook, developed in partnership with the Community Training and Assistance Center, is summarized on CTAC’s website. CTAC
Critics, meanwhile, highlight the school consolidations and aggressive oversight in districts under strain as the most controversial hallmarks of her leadership. For now, the State Board and DESE have not released a detailed schedule for Eslinger’s exit or for naming a successor. This story will be updated as officials outline a formal transition plan, consistent with reporting from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
