Mo. House Speaker removes Common Core work group member he initially appointed

But Kremer -- and many of his group members -- are not giving up so easily. Kremer attended Tuesday's 6-12 English Language Arts work group alongside his replacement, Lou Ann Saighman, a special education teacher at Blue Springs School District.

Jones, R-Eureka, sent a letter Tuesday to Kremer stating that he was removed from the group because he "did not possess the requisite 10-year classroom teaching experience that is outlined in the provisions of the bill."

Kremer was recommended to Jones during the appointment process and said it was brought to his attention that Kremer, who was initially informed of his dismissal in October, did not have the qualifications.

"We didn't do police background checks on these people," Jones said. "Maybe next time we need to." 

From 2006 to 2011, Kremer taught a variety of high school-level English courses in both Fulton and Columbia before becoming the 6-12 Language Arts and K-12 Social Studies coordinator at Columbia Public Schools, according to his LinkedIn account. He teaches at both Columbia College and the University of Missouri, too, the account shows.

Kremer also is a proponent of Common Core, along with several other members of the work group.

The work groups, which consist of education professionals, parents and business leaders, are meeting to recommend new educational standards to take the place of the Common Core. By law, the groups must make recommendations by Oct. 1, 2015, and the state Board of Education must adopt and implement new standards for the 2016-17 school year. The board does not have to adopt standards recommended by the groups.

Danette House, a 6-12 English Language Arts group member and teacher at the Glenwood R-VIII School District in West Plains, said the majority of the group wants Kremer to stick around.

"(Kremer) is smart ... very qualified and when he says something it's hard to refuse because he's usually right," House said. "He is outspoken but there are more than one in the group."

Group members sent a letter to Jones on Tuesday stating that they voted 7-5 to "not recognize any changes to the work group make-up until there is an interpretation of the law regarding the allowable procedure to change the make-up of the work group by a Missouri Court."

Jones had not seen the group's letter when he spoke to the Post-Dispatch on Tuesday, but said that would be "a massive waste of time and taxpayer money."

On Wednesday, Jones tweeted that "if (the) unqualified, disruptive person cont(inues) 2 interfere (with the) English Stds. group, #moleg will likely disband/reject/reform that committee in 2015."

Jones has the authority to remove Kremer, he added, because Kremer was his appointee. Additionally, Jones said Kremer's lack of qualifications under the statute means his appointment was void in the first place.

The eight groups — a K-5 group and a 6-12 group each for math, science, social studies and English — first met in September. The meetings have been fraught with arguments and confusion, exacerbated by vacancies in each group. Additionally, group members from across the state have to pay their own lodging and mileage to attend the meetings.

The Common Core standards — which have been adopted by 45 states, including Missouri — are meant to ensure students across the United States learn the same skills. Critics, especially some conservatives, have attacked the standards as an intrusion on local control of schools. The state board adopted the standards in 2010. Now, Missouri joins several states in starting to rewrite them.