Mary Schrag resigns from Missouri Board of Education

provided by Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Mary Schrag, president of the Missouri Board of Education, resigned June 2 after seven years on the governing body.

RELATED

Missouri's top education official to step down June 1

Mary Schrag has resigned from the Missouri Board of Education, effective immediately. She has spent seven years on the governing body that accredits public school districts and was elected board president a year ago.

Her June 2 resignation comes amid leadership exits at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. June 1 was the final day for Commissioner of Education Karla Esligner and Kelli Jones, deputy education commissioner of learning services.

“Their decision did not really play into mine,” she said, in an interview with Springfield Business Journal this afternoon.

Schrag said her term had expired a year ago, butGov. Mike Kehoe asked her to stay on the state board for at least a year to provide stability as new members joined.

In a statement June 2, Kehoe publicly thanked Schrag for her seven years of service to students, families, and educators.

“Even after her term expired, Mary continued to serve as president of the board – providing steady leadership, stability, and guidance for new members,” Kehoe said, in the release. “Her commitment to education has made a lasting impact, and we wish her the very best in this next chapter.”

Schrag said she briefly considered staying on for part of the summer to help with the board’s search for an interim commissioner.

“With new state board members well established and more on the way, this is a natural and logical time for me to step away,” Schrag said, in a news release. “It’s been an honor to serve Missouri students alongside all the state board members.”

Under Missouri law, members of the state board are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate. The gGovernor’s oOffice will determine the process for filling the vacancy created by Schrag’s resignation.

Schrag, married to Springfield Mayor Jeff Schrag, was one of only three remaining members appointed by former Gov. Mike Parson.

Kerry Casey still has one year left to serve. Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge, whose term expires July 1, has said publicly that she plans to step away. Both live in the St. Louis area.

Parson has appointed the other members: Brooks Miller of Sunrise Beach, Gretchen Shull of Webb City and Michael Matousek and Jon Otto, who are both from Kansas City.

Miller will serve as interim board president until elections are held June 23.

On the state board, Schrag took a lead on developing legislative priorities and the launch of the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Blue Ribbon Commission. One of the priorities that emerged from that group was increasing the minimum annual teacher pay in Missouri to at least $40,000 – it had been $25,000.

She was a vocal supporter of expanding access to early childhood education and had helped put governance policies in place to guide the work of the board.

During her time as president, the board met in Springfield and St. Louis.

Schrag is founder and chair of Physical Therapy Specialists Clinic Inc. in West Plains and Mountain Grove. She has also served as project manager for the Missouri Health Foundation, supporting rural schools in southern Missouri.