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.
Scarlett, 50, has been on a leave of absence 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.
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.
Davis said Scarlett being placed on leave has nothing to do with finances. After nearly one year with Scarlett as superintendent, the district’s general operating budget has a surplus of $17 million, but future projections show a deficit of $35 million.
He said it’s no secret the district has projected the deficit.
“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.
“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.
Fitzpatrick said in St. Louis on Thursday that the audit of SLPS will begin at the next school board meeting on Tuesday. He said the probe will likely be conducted by a couple of staff auditors, one supervisor, one audit manager and one audit director.
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 that relate to curriculum, Fitzpatrick said. Under the Reading Success Plan that Missouri lawmakers passed in 2022, school districts are required to provide reading success plans to 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.
And a recently passed law will prove beneficial in the investigation process, he 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, said Thursday that the problems plaguing the district have set the city back by 20 years. Crime and problems in the school districts are two top reasons people leave the city, she said.
“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.”
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.
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