Missouri state Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick has fast-tracked plans to audit the St. Louis Public School District as concerns about student transportation, hiring and financial woes in the district have unfolded in recent weeks.
Fitzpatrick’s decision comes after St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones last week had called on his office to investigate the school district, citing a projected $35 million deficit in the district’s 2024-25 budget and Superintendent Keisha Scarlett's string of recent hiring decisions of top administrators.
Jones said in a statement last week that at least 12 administrators and employees from Scarlett’s former employer in Seattle, and some of their spouses, appear to have received SLPS employment contracts as top staff.
Fitzpatrick said while his office will take Jones’ request under consideration, they will ultimately determine the scope of the audit after gathering more information and an understanding of district operations.
He said the audit of SLPS will begin Aug. 13 at the next school board meeting. The probe will likely be conducted by a couple of staff auditors, one supervisor, one audit manager and one audit director, he said.
Scarlett, 50, has been away since late July after the Board of Education voted to put her on a temporary leave of absence. Deputy Superintendent Millicent Borishade is serving as acting superintendent.
Separate from the state audit, Board of Education Vice President Matt Davis said the district has hired an outside investigator to conduct an internal investigation for a personnel matter while Scarlett is on leave. Davis wouldn’t specify what the investigator’s work would entail but said the internal investigation should be completed in September.
Until then, Davis said he doesn’t anticipate the board will make any decisions about Scarlett’s employment. The seven-member school board is required to approve all staff hires at the recommendation of the superintendent or other administrators, according to state law.
Board of Education member Emily Hubbard in a social media post last week said her concerns about Scarlett’s hiring practices previously fell on deaf ears. She called for Board President Antionette “Toni” Cousins and Davis to step down.
“Speaking specifically about the hiring of all her friends into district positions, we all had brief access to resumes before we voted to approve the hires brought before us, not to mention I believe they all had LinkedIn pages,” Hubbard said. “If I recall correctly, the votes were all unanimous. So we the board are responsible for those hires. We had the information to ask questions, to act, and chose not to pursue vigorous action.”
Davis said board members don’t always see eye to eye, but they share a common goal.
“We have our disagreements, but we're all working towards making sure everybody's ready for school and that we're doing our due diligence and protecting taxpayer money and when we see something that doesn't look right, we take action,” Davis said.
When Scarlett began her tenure as superintendent, the district’s general operating budget had a surplus of $17 million, but future projections show a deficit of $35 million. Davis said it’s no secret the district has projected the deficit. He confirmed that Scarlett being placed on leave has nothing to do with finances.
“There’s still a budget surplus and we’re not in debt,” Davis said. “There’s a deficit, but the school district is not in debt for operating expenses.”
In addition to finances and hiring concerns, the state auditor’s office also will look into the school district’s curriculum to ensure it is in compliance with relevant policies and existing laws, Fitzpatrick said. Under the Reading Success Plan that Missouri lawmakers passed in 2022, school districts are required to provide plans for students who have reading deficiencies and who may be at risk of dyslexia.
“It’s really disappointing to see some of the concerns that are now out there because the kids of St. Louis desperately need and deserve to have a school district that can provide them a quality education and not have a bunch of distractions related to the financial management of the district,” Fitzpatrick said. “They need to really be focusing on what's going on in the classroom. We want to help fix those problems so that they can do that and try to give these kids the education they deserve.”
St. Louis Public School District spokesman George Sells said in an emailed statement that the district plans to fully cooperate with the state auditor’s office.
“These types of audits, while time-consuming for our staff, are always helpful both for transparency and for identifying areas for improvement,” Sells said. Fitzpatrick said Thursday it could take a year or more to complete the audit. By the end of it, the state office will provide recommendations for the district to follow.
More insight
The state auditor has had the lawful ability to audit school districts for more than a decade. A new law, however, will prove beneficial in the investigation process, Fitzpatrick said.
House Bill 2111, passed last month, extends the powers of the state auditor. Fitzpatrick said that this mainly deals with local governments such as cities and fire districts, but that it gives the state auditor more authority during the investigative process. In the past, he said his office lacked the authority to issue subpoenas during investigations.
“It'll help us gather documents during an investigation to determine if we really do need to go into a full audit,” Fitzpatrick said.
In addition to financial and hiring concerns, the school district has struggled to maintain adequate transportation for kids.
Missouri Central School Bus Co., which transported thousands of SLPS students to and from school, announced in March that it was terminating its contract with the district and permanently closing two of its facilities in St. Louis.
In July, the school board approved over a dozen new transportation providers, but the district has still struggled to find enough modes of transportation for students as classes resume on Aug. 19. Most of the 14,000 students with transportation to school will get there by school bus, but some will travel by MetroBus, vendor operated minivans and small vehicles.
State Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, requested an audit of the school district before Jones did, Fitzpatrick said. Baringer said Thursday that the problems plaguing the district have set the city of St. Louis back by 20 years. Crime and problems in the school districts are two top reasons people leave the city, she added.
“I have some fantastic public schools in my district, but they all have lead windows, except for one,” Baringer said. “Why didn't the money go into fixing these schools for the health of the children? Why didn't the money go in to raise the pay of the teachers? Why didn't the money go into transportation?
“This is not a time where we have time to spare. We have got to focus on what's in the best interest of the children.”
Scarlett announced in March that teachers would receive a 17% raise beginning in July, which marks the beginning of the new fiscal year for the school district. And it's the largest three-year pay increase teachers have seen in nearly 20 years.
And in 2022, St. Louis voters approved a $160 million school bond issue for upgrades to SLPS buildings, roofing, brickwork and bathroom renovations.
Fitzpatrick said his office’s audit of the district is part of a larger effort to inspect more schools in the state. The state auditor’s office is also investigating the Independence School District in Jackson County, the Kingston K-14 School District in Washington County and the Francis Howell R-III School District in St. Charles County.
Anyone interested in sharing confidential information for consideration during the state audit can call the State Auditor's Whistleblower Hotline at 800-347-8597, or email them at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov. Individuals can also submit responses on the state auditor's website.
