Missouri's interim education commissioner, Stacey Preis, resigned Tuesday after only four months on the job, becoming the second person to walk away from the state's top schools post in less than a year. Her departure comes as the Missouri State Board of Education wrestles with backlash over a rushed rollout of A-F letter grades for public schools and open speculation about whether Senate President Pro Tempore Cindy O'Laughlin could be in line to replace her.
Preis said no one had directly told her to resign to avoid being removed, and explained that she believed the board's agenda was better served by a different commissioner, according to Spectrum News. The state board met in closed session Tuesday, the same day the resignation became public. Brooks Miller said he had not intended to fire Preis, per the same report.
Preis had stepped into the interim role after former Commissioner Karla Eslinger's sudden retirement in May, a departure Hoodline covered in our earlier report on Eslinger's exit. By June, Preis had said she was not interested in seeking the permanent commissioner job and instead wanted to keep advancing department priorities, including implementation of the new A-F grade card system that Governor Mike Kehoe requested back in January.
A Grading Rollout Educators Say Was Rushed
Signed January 13, Kehoe's Executive Order 26-01 mandated that elementary and middle school grades weigh academic achievement and growth in English language arts, math, and science, while high school grades fold in four-year graduation rates and Success-Ready measures, according to Missourinet. All grade cards were required to be published on district websites annually by September 30. The order also contains a built-in ratchet provision, per the Missouri Secretary of State, directing the State Board of Education to raise letter-grade thresholds by five percentage points the following year whenever 65 percent of public schools earn an A or B grade.
Preis and other Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials recommended delaying the public release of the grades in September, and school administrators appealed to the board to withhold ratings until districts could review preliminary scores and the calculation formulas behind them. Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Jeff Klein was among the local leaders who pushed back during state board meetings, as reported by KRPS. Preis herself questioned the value of layering another grading system atop existing school-performance measures, even as she maintained the board was committed to having the system accurately reflect school performance.
Missouri districts are navigating existing accountability tools alongside the new A-F letter grade system. The Ritenour School District has raised concerns about A-F ratings.
O'Laughlin Speculation Draws Legal Scrutiny
Amid the turmoil, Cindy O'Laughlin has been speculated to be a possible next education commissioner, though the state board has not identified her as a candidate and she has not publicly announced that she is seeking the position. O'Laughlin did not respond to Tuesday requests for comment, and Kehoe did not directly answer questions about Preis's performance or O'Laughlin's possible appointment. Kehoe spokeswoman Gabby Picard said the state board has the authority to hire a commissioner, that Kehoe has confidence in the board's judgment, and that the governor wants a commissioner focused on reading and math improvement who is mindful of the state's budget constraints.
O'Laughlin previously drove a school bus, served on a local school board, and administered a Christian school. She chaired the Senate Education Committee from 2020 to 2022 and advocated in 2021 for policies shifting public funding toward private education. In June, speaking in Macon, O'Laughlin said education had always been her primary passion.
Missouri law requires the commissioner to possess educational attainment and breadth of experience in the administration of public education. Democratic Sen. Doug Beck called O'Laughlin completely unqualified, per a September report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The question has historical precedent: in 1970, the state board sought an attorney general opinion on a candidate's qualifications, and then-Attorney General John Danforth found that a candidate without public-education administration experience was not qualified, adding that executive experience in public education would be invaluable, if not essential, to the commissioner's duties.
Board Launches National Search, No Pick Made
The state board took no action to name a new commissioner Tuesday. Instead, it unanimously approved hiring The K12 Search Group to lead a nationwide search, one of two search-firm options the board had considered since September 22. Board member Kerry Casey said the firm has worked in states pursuing directions similar to Missouri's and described its approach as reform-oriented; according to its website, The K12 Search Group focuses on CEO and senior leadership searches for charter schools and mission-driven K-12 education organizations.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said the National Association of State Boards of Education signed a memorandum of understanding in September to assist in the search. The search itself is funded by outside organizations, which DESE identified Monday as the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the Greater Kansas City Community Foundation, the Regional Business Council, the DeBruce Foundation, and the Town Branch Foundation.
Grading Guidance Arrives Late, Critics Say
The board also authorized the department Tuesday to share a technical guide with districts showing grading changes and preliminary scores — guidance that board member Mark Penny said districts should have received sooner. The guide had been seen by the state board but not by Missouri's 555 local education agencies before Tuesday's meeting.
Former St. Louis Mayor Vince Schoemehl told the board some schools could view public grades as a threat, characterizing the framework as another stick rather than an incentive. Casey countered that the framework was intended to provide support and resources rather than punishment, per Spectrum News.
The dispute arrives as Missouri faces budget constraints that could limit support for schools that receive low grades. The State Board of Education declined to request roughly $300 million in additional school aid needed to fully fund the public school formula next year, instead requesting the same funding amount allotted in the current state budget. That funding freeze stands in contrast to Governor Kehoe's creation of a Missouri School Funding Modernization Task Force, which Hoodline detailed in January's budget review, alongside full formula funding and baseline teacher salary investments in the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Preis identified the lack of financial and other support as the primary challenge facing Missouri schools going forward, even as school officials continue to question whether the new A-F ratings will accurately reflect student performance.
