The Missouri State Board of Education named state Sen. Karla Eslinger, a Republican from Ozark County, as its next commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education effective June 1, 2024.
The board announced its decision Dec. 5.
Eslinger will assume the post after concluding her work in the Missouri Senate for the 2024 legislative session. Eslinger previously has served as the school superintendent in West Plains and in Ava.
She was selected on a vote of 7-0, with one abstention. Her starting salary will be $233,136, which is the same salary as current commissioner Margie Vandeven.
Vandeven announced in October she would step down July 1, 2024, after more than seven years serving as commissioner.
“I am honored that the State Board has entrusted me with this incredible responsibility,” Eslinger said in a press release from DESE. “My passion for education is a result of my own childhood. My family faced poverty and moved a lot — and the one constant in my life was school.
“I’m certain my future would look very different if not for my public school education. Children across Missouri depend on our schools in this same way, and I look forward to ensuring every child in our state receives the quality educational opportunities they deserve.”
Gov. Parson: ‘Over 30 years of education experience’
According to Gov. Mike Parson, from the same press release: “Dr. Karla Eslinger comes with over 30 years of education experience and a strong understanding of public education and its importance for lifelong success.”
Eslinger was a classroom teacher, principal, district-level administrator, and superintendent in southwest Missouri before serving as assistant commissioner in DESE’s office of educator quality.
In 2013, she transitioned into serving schools nationwide, representing the U.S. Department of Education and supporting schools participating in the Race to the Top grant program.
Eslinger began her time in the Missouri General Assembly in 2018, first serving as a State Representative for District 155 and most recently as State Senator for District 33. She completed her bachelor’s degree in elementary education at College of the Ozarks, earned her master’s and specialist’s degrees at Missouri State University, and completed her doctorate at the University of Missouri.
Eslinger is the seventh individual, and third woman, to serve as Missouri’s commissioner of elementary and secondary education since the position was created in 1947.