Missouri’s next education department chief will be a Republican senator with roots in the classroom

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The next head of Missouri’s education department will be Republican Missouri state Sen. Karla Eslinger. She’s a former teacher, principal and school district superintendent. The state announced the appointment Tuesday. She will start as commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education effective June 1. Eslinger will remain as a state senator through the 2024 legislative session. The current commissioner, Margie Vandeven, announced in October that she would leave the post in June. Eslinger, who is from southwestern Missouri, was elected to the Missouri House in 2018 and to the state Senate in 2020.