St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education member Sadie Weiss announced her resignation, effective immediately, during a monthly meeting Tuesday night.
Weiss, who was elected to the board in 2023, said she resigned because of a lack of proper oversight over SLPS and poor communication with the public about the misuse of district funds.
“This wasn’t an easy decision as I care deeply about the district, but I can’t continue to operate under the current conditions of this board,” Weiss said.
The district has faced increased scrutiny in recent months after an internal audit, commissioned by the board, revealed that former superintendent Keisha Scarlett allegedly misused funds and violated hiring policies. Scarlett has denied any wrongdoing.
The district is also the subject of a state audit.
Scarlett racked up more than $140,000 in credit card charges on travel, florists, Bath & Body Works and food delivery services, according to records obtained by St. Louis Public Radio.
There were nearly $70,000 worth of charges on another credit card assigned to the superintendent’s office during her 14-month tenure with the district.
There were additional credit cards across the district and one assigned to the former school board secretary Shameika Henry.
Henry would often use the credit card to pay for flights and hotel accommodations for board members for travel to education-related conferences. During her announcement, Weiss said she requested additional information about the charges and received a “less than sufficient response and no support from others backing up the request and no documentation.”
“I find it concerning that some members of the board don’t appear to want to address or examine board behaviors around spending of funds,” Weiss said.
Weiss promptly left the meeting after her announcement, but when approached for comment, she said she was proud of the SLPS community and staff members.
“This is not a reflection of the day-to-day work that’s going on in the district, it’s a reflection of the governance team in making sure that we are implementing governance practices and are being transparent with the public,” Weiss said.
The other board members were quick to defend the school district and their governance practices.
Board Vice-President Matt Davis said he understood Weiss’s decision to leave, despite his disappointment. Davis announced last month that he did not plan to seek re-election in April.
“It’s been a very difficult and challenging four years in all honesty and governance has been very difficult,” Davis said.
Board secretary Donna Jones said she was proud to serve on the board alongside her colleagues and that she was angered by Weiss’s sudden announcement.
“This board has fought hard so that the privatizers, the people who want to dismantle SLPS, are not successful,” Jones said.
Board President Toni Cousins, who is running for re-election this spring, also defended the school district’s achievements. She slammed media reports highlighting some of the district's financial challenges, including a projected $35 million deficit in its operating budget.
Cousins reiterated that the district is in good financial standing, with nearly $200 million in reserves.
“I know this is an attack on St. Louis Public Schools — I know it is,” Cousins said.
During the public comments, local community organizer and founder of Coalition for STL Kids Chester Asher, laid the blame for the district’s poor student performance at the feet of the board.
He also said that Cousins was just as problematic as former superintendent Scarlett, which led Cousins to direct security to remove Asher from the podium.
According to board rules for public comment, people cannot directly use the names of individual board members nor verbally accost them.
The board quickly adjourned the meeting, but the situation devolved into a shouting match between Cousins and Asher.
Asher filed a lawsuit earlier this month alleging his First Amendment rights had been violated after the board banned him from attending meetings and district property from March to September of last year.
