ST. LOUIS — A fledgling effort to transform the city’s public education system imploded Wednesday after ºüÀêÊÓƵ School Board members accused outside organizations of attempting a takeover of the board’s efforts to create a citywide plan.
Better Futures STL canceled its launch and ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams apologized to the board for not sharing the extent of his involvement in what was described as “a new ºüÀêÊÓƵ education blueprint that serves all children.â€
Representatives from the nonprofit groups Education Equity Center of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, Forward Through Ferguson, Opportunity Trust, WePower and others started Better Futures in April to develop a “community-designed plan over the next 12 months to reimagine an equitable K-12 public education system,†according to a release sent Tuesday from New York public relations firm Fenton.
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Adams was listed as a co-chair of Better Futures’ advisory council, along with Mayor Tishaura O. Jones. The organization pulled down its website Wednesday and is “regrouping,†said Gabrielle Beamon of Fenton, which also has a contract worth up to $2 million with ºüÀêÊÓƵ County for its COVID-19 vaccine publicity campaign.
ºüÀêÊÓƵ School Board members said at a special meeting Tuesday they had just become aware of Better Futures, which lists several charter schools and their financial backers as supporters.
Agreeing to a moratorium on new charter schools needs to be the first step in any partnership with the district, said board member Alisha Sonnier.
“While I understand that a citywide plan cannot just be SLPS, the commitment does have to be in centering SLPS and in protecting SLPS,†Sonnier said at the meeting. “We have to acknowledge what’s most at risk here and who is most vulnerable and start there.â€
Representatives of Better Futures including David Dwight, executive director of Forward Through Ferguson, and Sherita Love, executive director of the Education Equity Center of ºüÀêÊÓƵ, did not commit Tuesday to supporting a moratorium during their presentation to the board.
“Let’s engage with that as a conversation but there’s so much urgency … these efforts have to go forward,†Dwight said.
After the meeting, an SLPS spokeswoman released a statement saying the district “will pause further engagement†in Better Futures until the School Board’s concerns are addressed.
A spokesman for Mayor Jones said she is following the district’s lead and that her participation is contingent on adding more stakeholders to the planning process.
Adams said the impetus for his involvement with Better Futures was the closure of seven schools in the district this year. As part of the closure decision, the School Board called for tax incentive reform and a moratorium on new schools until a citywide plan for the location and number of district and charter schools could be developed.
“I do want to apologize to the board for not keeping them closely aligned with the details of everything, but on Aug. 2, I made a commitment that after multiple meetings that this was a direction that I thought we could go in to support the board’s vision relative to the citywide plan,†Adams said at the meeting Tuesday.
Some, including SLPS teachers and parents, likened the initiative to Better Together, the ºüÀêÊÓƵ city-county merger plan abandoned in 2019.
Alderman Megan Green, 15th Ward, tweeted that “SLPS is the authority on education and has to be the driving force†in a citywide education strategy, along with charter schools, teachers’ unions, early childhood leaders and parents, she said.
Enrollment in SLPS fell last year to 18,248 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. An additional 12,000 students attend a growing number of charter schools, with at least five new schools in the pipeline for the next few years. Most of the new charter schools are backed by the Opportunity Trust.
In his questions Tuesday to Better Futures representatives, School Board member Matt Davis criticized the Opportunity Trust’s involvement in the project, including their lobbying efforts earlier this year for state legislation that would have diverted $17 million from SLPS to charter schools.
“When it comes to a good faith effort, and a good faith conversation, I don’t know how we can sit at your table, across from the Opportunity Trust, while we’re also spending time, money and effort in Jefferson City fighting for racial equity for our students,†Davis said.