JEFFERSON CITY • One of Gov. Eric Greitens’ appointees to the state school board is balking at the Republican newcomer’s effort to oust Missouri’s top education official.
In an email sent Sunday, John T. “Tim” Sumners asked his colleagues to delay a special meeting where the governor’s new appointees are expected to call for the firing of state school Commissioner Margie Vandeven.
And, Sumners, a volunteer police and fire department chaplain from Joplin who was named to the board last month, said he is concerned his position on the matter could cost him his appointment on the independent, eight-member board that oversees elementary and secondary education in Missouri.
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“Yes, I am,” he told the Post-Dispatch Sunday night. “I am fully aware my position may not last long.”
At issue is an ongoing attempt by Greitens, a Republican, to bring in his own school commissioner. He has spent the past six months replacing members of the Board of Education with an eye on gaining a majority to oust Vandeven, who was appointed in 2015.
On Friday, just days after Greitens gained a five-seat majority on the board, three of those members requested a special meeting of the board to discuss the hiring and firing of agency personnel. The meeting is expected to take place Nov. 21.
In his message Sunday, however, Sumners said he is “tremendously troubled” by the maneuver and said the meeting should be delayed.
“We all know the purpose of the meeting. I am concerned that we are asking a brand new member who has not had the opportunity to learn the workings of the department to vote on an issue of this magnitude,” he wrote.
Sumners was named to the board after Greitens withdrew a nominee when she raised concerns that the governor was pressuring board members to fire Vandeven.
A second appointee was named, but she rejected the post. A third appointee quit after it was learned he didn’t qualify for the board.
The three members who asked for the special meeting are all recent Greitens appointees: Eddy Justice, Doug Russell and Claudia Onate Greim.
Board members Victor Lenz and Mike Jones, who represent the St. Louis area and sat on the board before Greitens took office, said they would refuse to vote to fire Vandeven.
Board President Charlie Shields, a former state lawmaker, earlier said the board is designed by the state constitution to be independent and non-political.
His position is backed up by the Missouri Association of School Administrators.
“We are extremely concerned about the apparent politicization of the State Board of Education and the interference into the Board’s independence that appears to be occurring on the part of the governor,” the association said in a statement issued Sunday.
Among the group’s concern is work that has gone into the state’s school improvement program by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“A change in leadership at DESE could mean that the nearly two years of work the department and education community has endured in the development of (the improvement program) could also be at risk,” the statement said.
The organization also said it is concerning that none of the five new board members have been confirmed by the state Senate.
“It is extremely troubling that some board members, despite not having a full grasp of the issues, not having the time to get to know our current commissioner, and without the confirmation of the Missouri Senate, would make such a drastic change in the department,” the statement said.
Greitens spokesman Parker Briden said Sunday that the governor is committed to boosting education in Missouri.
“It is one of our missions to create better schools,” Briden said. “You hear us talking about it all the time. We’ve seen funding increases for schools. We haven’t seen a corresponding performance increase.”
Greitens, who campaigned in favor of bringing more charter schools to Missouri, paid $1,596 out of his campaign fund in August to fly Atlanta charter school expert Kenneth Zeff to mid-Missouri as a possible replacement for Vandeven.
Zeff and Greitens were White House fellows in the class of 2005-2006 under former President George W. Bush.
Melissa Randol, executive director of the Missouri School Boards’ Association, said the governor’s moves are “troubling.”
She said Zeff’s apparent support for charter school expansion “could have a negative impact on all public schools, but especially in rural areas where charter expansion would encourage school district consolidation.”
“We must preserve the integrity of our state constitution to ensure the commissioner does not become a political appointee of the governor,” Randol said.
Vandeven, who earns $191,544 annually, took the helm as commissioner in January 2015, replacing Chris Nicastro. Her goals then included expanding access to early childhood education, improving teacher quality and increasing accountability for teaching colleges.
In recent months, Vandeven, the state education department and state board have also taken a hard hand in demanding charter school quality by heightening pressure on charter school sponsors.
While the state board has little power to close a charter school — unless the board itself is the sponsor of the school — the board approves new charter school applications.