Following a unanimous vote on Tuesday, April 16, the Missouri State Board of Education gave governing power of the Saint Louis Public School District back to a seven-member elected board. For the past 12 years, the district has been run by the three-member Special Administrative Board (SAB), which was appointed after the state stripped the district of its accreditation. The transfer of governance happens on July 1.
The American sat down with SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams to discuss the change and its anticipated impact on the district.
St. Louis American: How do you feel about the vote to return the elected board to governance authority?
Kelvin Adams: It was a unanimous vote, based on where the district is at this particular time. The SAB weighed in, the community weighed in and so it’s clear that the majority of the community and the SAB and the state board feel that it’s time for them to come back in. The SAB was only supposed to be here for a short time – and that short time was 12 years.
American: Did you weigh in as well?
Kelvin Adams: I stayed neutral because I report to whatever board is in place. That’s my responsibility. My contract is with the Board of Education, regardless of what that board is. But I have been working with the elected board for the last 10 years that I’ve been here, in small ways and large ways. So I have some relationship with them.
American: What differences do you think people will see with the elected board as opposed to the stated-appointed board?
Kelvin Adams: I don’t think they are going to see anything different, other than seven people compared to three. The elected board has to develop how they want to work together. I don’t see them working with me as an issue, quite frankly. I think the real challenge is how they work with themselves. The SAB had to work at that; it wasn’t easy. Boards have to work together. From three members to seven, they have to develop a rhythm and how they are going to structure themselves. They have been holding mock meetings. Based upon what I’ve seen over the last three months during those meetings, they have put themselves in the position to do that.
American: What kind of issues do they talk about in their mock meetings?
Kelvin Adams: The same exact issues that the board does. They just redact the names of personnel or legal matters. They have asked detailed questions, and that tells me that they have done their homework. Over the last three months, they have performed like a board should perform in terms of holding myself and my administration accountable. They vote just like the SAB. The things they vote on after July 1 will be official. To be honest with you, they are voting the same way. There has not been any kind of controversies.
American: What safeguards are in place to make sure the elected board does not go backwards and undo everything?
Kelvin Adams: I wasn’t here when the elected board “went backwards,” so I can’t say what they did wrong. I can say what the safeguards are. Number one, we have a very detailed strategic plan called the Transformation Plan that we’ve been following for the last several years. We have put systems in place in terms of how we make decisions, and those decisions are based on data and the best information we can obtain (regarding academics, hiring, etc.). There are things in place that I know weren’t in place when I arrived that we believe are the guiding posts so the administration can then defend the choices we make. So the bottom line is: systems and a detailed plan.
American: How have you and your administrative team prepared for the return of the elected board?
Kelvin Adams: We have been engaged in their training, starting in October. I attended all of their training sessions, and key staff people did as well – all except the two people who were elected three weeks ago.
American: You recently signed a three-year contract. Did the possible return of the elected board influence your decision?
Kelvin Adams: Zero. That had nothing to do with it. I’m committed to the community, irrespective of what board is in place. It ends 2022.
American: You said your commitment is to the community. What do you feel is holding you here?
Kelvin Adams: St. Louis has a flavor. I’ve enjoyed the challenges, but I’ve also enjoyed the level of commitment of the community to young people. There are a lot of people who care greatly to what happens to kids here.
American: What should the SAB be most proud of during their tenure?
Kelvin Adams: I think the SAB should be proud of the fact that they lasted 12 years. They stuck in there and continued to do the work when there were many challenges. Obviously they accomplished a balanced budget. Obviously they got the district to be fully accredited. Obviously they got two things to pass – one that has not passed in 20 to 30 years. But I think the real accomplishment is they stayed in for the long haul. There are marriages that don’t last 12 years. I calculated how many meetings they attended. It was easily a year of their time. They have literally given, in terms of just days and hours, a year of their lives dedicated to this work. Probably a year and a half now. They all have businesses and families. I get paid to do it. They get zero.
American: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the district?
Kelvin Adams: The challenges that are ahead are similar to the challenges that we have experienced in the past, but I think the context is different. I believe there are many conscious people who really want to see what is best for kids in this community. If there is a failure, it’s a failure to demand partnerships in order to leverage resources in a way that best supports the entire city – not just the district, not just charters, and not just the idea of choice.
The challenge is: how do we create a partnership that works for all 40,000 kids in the City of St. Louis who are receiving a public-school education – 11,000 charter, 22,000 SLPS, and 5,000 in the VICC program? It’s a challenge for me; it will be a challenge for this new board. People will try to divide us by promoting the idea that charters are againstthe district and the district is against charters.
It’s also viewed by some as a race issue. There are entities that are here who want to continue to divide and continue to separate – whether they do so intentionally or unintentionally. The question is: how do we get people to the table to support all the kids in the city?
American: How does the lack of partnerships affect your work?
Kelvin Adams: One example would be that there is no real cooperation around when a school might open or close. There is no plan where we sit down as educational entities together and say, “Okay, maybe we need to have a school here.” This whole idea of choice was created without a real strategy. So, when you don’t develop a strategy, you are simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. That can’t last forever. The belief is that it can. We are not providing the best information to our families. We are not cooperating.
I’ll give you another example. Last week, we met with two charters, Confluence and KIPP. Why did we meet with them? It was about transportation. We spend about $25 million annually for transportation. They spend about $5 million. And because we are the three largest groups using buses, we met to determine if we could collaborate. Our kids live right next to each other and go to schools right next to each other, so it doesn’t make any sense that they are not using the same buses. The bus company is making a lot of money because we do not collaborate.
We threw out an olive branch, and we are doing a study to see if it makes sense. If there is some issue around student conflict, it would be easier to hire a security guard to ride the bus, and we could split the cost three ways, and we still save resources.
We are helping to divide the community by not having these kids look at each other and say, “You’re just like me.” Nobody thinks of those things – not in a way that’s strategic. Nobody is forcing anyone to come to the table and say, “We are spending collectively $40 million on transportation. Let’s see if we could coordinate.”
I’ve been requesting collaboration around that piece. I know some people are upset because a lawsuit was filed, and they’re saying, “You are suing us to get money.” The lawsuit was never about them. It was saying to the state, “You inappropriately appropriated funds to another party that should have always been appropriated to the district because of the desegregation agreement – which requires us to do some things that others don’t have to do.”
Some people never saw it that way. I understand that. It was never a personal attack on them. Irrespective of all that, we still must try to work together. I think collaboration and partnership is the biggest challenge facing this board and this city.
American: I can only imagine how frustrating not having a citywide strategy on public education is for you.
Kelvin Adams: We are wasting the taxpayers’ dollars by not collaborating. If I was the public, I would have real questions. I don’t think choice was ever set up for people to spend tons and tons of money for stuff they didn’t have to spend it on. It’s not a wise decision for a community that is so needy. There are so many needs in this community. I could spend any additional funds on social workers, counselors and nurses. Charters could spend those dollars on many things other than gas.
American: Where do you go to have the discussion of having a citywide plan on public education? The Board of Aldermen is in the process of forming a committee for education and youth services. Is that a place where you think that conversation could happen?
Kelvin Adams: I think it could start there. The only challenge is: do they have the power to get people to the table? Can they make anyone do anything? They can ask them to come to the table. I think it makes sense to do so. I think what they could do is denounce people who don’t come to the table. They have the power of the public office.
But I think somebody needs to push this conversation. We need to get past the past to get things accomplished.
American: How does the district balance the multiple needs with the available resources?
Kelvin Adams: The district struggles to do that, because it has taken on some responsibilities that historically educational entities have not had to take on: counselors; social workers; breakfast, lunch and dinner programs; the transportation issues. Schools are asking for more support as it relates to students who have discipline issues.
So many more kids are homeless than they were before. We are feeding kids. We have a homeless office that gets kids housing. Transportation costs for kids that are homeless are about $1.5 million. We are putting them in taxis. It’s a juggling act.
I was just with the man who manages nurses, and we can’t find certified nurses at the cost that we pay them. They can make $100,000 in a hospital setting. We can only pay them what the scale says, which is $35,000-$50,000. This is not a negative; we get nurses who have retired or want those specific work hours. We have three or four nurse shortages. There are more kids on medication than ever before, with all the allergens.
We have a security force that’s 136 people. It’s a juggling act with 67 buildings with over 4,000 employees.
American: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Kelvin Adams: The reason for the conversation is around the elected board coming back in power. But what I would like to leave is, this community is much more than who’s on the board. It’s really about a commitment to support kids in this community. And while the elected board is coming back in place, I think it’s a call to the community to say, “Let’s do what’s best for kids.” The reason why the SAB had to come in place was because someone felt that this board wasn’t doing what’s best for kids. Let’s frame our next steps around what’s best for this community.
