Missouri State Board of Education member Robbie Myers, of Poplar Bluff, resigned Friday after the board's busy schedule became too much with his position as emergency management director in Butler County. (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)Robbie Myers has stepped down from his position on the Missouri State Board of Education, telling The Independent on Tuesday that the time commitment was too much since he also serves as emergency management director in Butler County.
“The work of the board is too important to receive anything less than full commitment, so I believe the right decision is to step aside,” he wrote in his resignation letter Friday.
He did not feel pressure from anyone to withdraw. It was “absolutely” his own call, he said.
His resignation comes as the state’s education department faces high turnover in leadership positions and pressure over the implementation of an A-F grading system for public schools.
“The time constraints were a lot more than just one meeting a month,” Myers said.
In the past year, the board has created additional committees that meet with education department staff to discuss things like the budget, a strategic plan and legislative priorities.
The board is also currently searching for a commissioner of education. A committee dedicated to the search has been convening in closed session, with its latest “commissioner’s search” meeting taking place last Wednesday.
Two closed-door meetings labeled “commissioner transition” are scheduled for Thursday and Nov. 17. Then, the full board will meet in closed session Nov. 17 and Nov. 20.
Myers joined the board a month after the resignation of Karla Eslinger, who served as the commissioner of education for two years.
At the time, he said he was excited to participate in the search for a commissioner. He told The Independent in June that it was one of the “most important” parts of the job.
The day he was sworn into office, the board hired education consultant Stacey Preis as interim commissioner.
Preis resigned last month amid speculation that she was about to be fired. Saint Louis University PRiME Center, an education policy research center, announced on Monday that she was its new senior fellow.
Last month, the board appointed Lisa Sireno, who was the department’s deputy commissioner of learning services, as interim commissioner in a unanimous decision.
Following Myers’s resignation, the 8th District position is vacant.
“I appreciate everyone that does great things for education in Missouri,” Myers said. “And I wish my fellow board members well as they plan for the education of our kids.”
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