The next Missouri education commissioner, who will be decided by the Missouri Board of Education, is expected to be in position by January.
The seven board members are accepting nominations and applications for the new position.
The spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Nancy Bowles says the position is a big responsibility.
“They recruit and retain qualified and effective people to staff the department,” Bowles said. “They oversee the department staff. They have to understand how the budget works and what’s involved with that, understand what the department policies are regarding education across the state and of course work overall to do what’s best for public school kids in Missouri.”
The commissioner is the chief executive officer over the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is an important role says Brent Ghan, a spokesperson for the Missouri School Boards’ Association.
He says he is expecting strong interest from candidates.
“I would expect there to be high interest in this position,” Ghan said. “It is a very important and prominent position and I would expect there to be quite a number of applications and nominations for the position.”
The deadline for applications and nominations is 4:30 p.m. on October 19.
The former commissioner, Margie Vandeven, was fired last year by former Gov. Greitens’ appointed board.