Dive Brief:

• Missouri State Sen. Paul LeVota and State Rep. Genise Montecillo, both Democrats, are calling for the resignation of state Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro.
• The two lawmakers cite Nicastro's tendency "to abuse power" as the reason for their call, with the most recent example being recently disclosed Mo. Education Department emails regarding a ballot measure to do away with teacher tenure and use student performance for evaluations.
• The emails got on lawmakers' bad sides in particular because they indicate that Nicastro assisted in crafting lanuage on an anti-tenure measure financed by Rex Sinquefield, who has failed several times in urging state lawmakers to eliminate tenure.

Dive Insight:

It's bad enough that Nicastro apparently didn't act transparently here, but she's also a non-elected —​ her position is appointed by the state's board of education —​ official stepping on the toes of those with the authority to make the change. Additionally, her decision to leave Kansas City Public Schools unaccredited and bring in an agency supporting charter schools to plan the district's future has also strained her relationship with union officials and lawmakers.