Vol. 41, No. 24
March 22 , 2007
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
State Board De-accredits St. Louis Public Schools;
Businessman Nominated to Lead Transition Board
The State Board of Education voted today to de-accredit the St. Louis Public Schools, effective June 15. The action sets the stage for state intervention in the management of Missouri’s largest school district.
At its meeting in Jefferson City this morning, the board voted 5-1 to approve unaccredited status for the school district. The meeting was disrupted at one point by a crowd of St. Louis students chanting “no takeover!” One student was taken into custody after a scuffle with Capitol Police officers.
Immediately after approving the motion to de-accredit the school district, the board nominated Richard Sullivan, a prominent St. Louis businessman, to serve as chief executive officer of a three-person governing board that will be authorized by state law to take over the leadership of the school district when it becomes unaccredited.
By lunchtime, Gov. Matt Blunt announced that he has accepted Sullivan’s nomination to head the transitional school district board.
Sullivan is chairman of McBride and Son Homes, one of the nation’s largest home-building firms. The law requires that he be appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Missouri Senate. The Senate could consider the appointment next week when it returns from its spring break.
Two other people must be appointed to serve with Sullivan as leaders of the transitional school district. Those appointments will be made by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and the president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.
“This action is necessary because of steady declines in academic performance in the St. Louis Public Schools, concerns about long-term financial stability and turmoil in the district’s leadership,” said Commissioner of Education D. Kent King, who urged the State Board of Education to approve the dramatic step.
The three-person governing board will assume full authority to oversee the St. Louis Public Schools on June 15. The existing board of education in St. Louis will continue to exist, but it will be rendered powerless.
State education officials have previously stripped two small school districts – Wellston (St. Louis County) and Wyaconda (Clark County) – of their accredited status, primarily as a result of the districts’ lagging academic performance.
For more information: What happens when a school district becomes unaccredited?