ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Missouri's State Board of Education votes to lower St. Louis Public Schools accreditation. Only one board member voted against the move and AFT Local 420 tells K-M-O-X, DESE ignored their own determination that accreditation would be frozen in place until 2027.
SLPS now has "provisional" status, this opens the door for the state to have more oversight and charter schools to expand.
The dissenting vote from Pamela Westbrooks Hodge says "lowering accreditation is a broad classification signal and by itself does not fix or stabilize transportation, or strengthen governance."
AFT Local 420 spokesman Byron Clemens tells KMOX, part of this comes down to one person the CFO and it's kind of interesting to punish the whole district for the actions of the person who use to work for KIPP Charter Schools, now CFO of the district was hired under the previous leadership."
AFT Local 420 released the following statement:
Union Representing St. Louis City Educators Responds to State Board of Education Accreditation Action
For Immediate Release:
"We are disappointed in the Missouri Board of Education's action on n changing St. Louis Public Schools accreditation status from "fully accredited" to "provisionally." said President Ray Cummings, "to single out city schools is disrespectful of voters and due process. In fact, as we understand it, the motion to change the status did not follow Roberts Rules of order."
"To single out an urban district for action over the recommendation of the commissioner and previous statements by DESE that status would remain unchanged for all schools until 2027 is unfair and dubious," Cummings added.
"The new leadership of the district should have been given every opportunity to correct the previous administration's errors," he added, "we applaud the positive change and suggest giving real support and encouragement to the current superintendent. The current action tied to the CFO hired by Dr. Borishade is a disservice to voters, families, educators, and district employees."