The highly-contended school board races in the Ferguson-Florissant and Normandy did not bring much change in yesterday’s election.
In Ferguson-Florissant, eight candidates, including two incumbents, were vying for three open seats. Incumbent Rob Chabot, board secretary, earned the most votes with 17.98 percent, followed by challenger Donna Paulette-Thurman, a retired principal from the district, with 16.96 percent. Board president Paul T. Morris retained his seat with 15.61 percent. Morris narrowly beat James Savala, a district parent, by 91 votes.
Paulette-Thurman and Savala were part of the “Grade A for Change,” an organized slate of candidates attempting to oust Chabot and Morris from the board. In November, the two incumbents voted to place Superintendent Art McCoy on administrative leave. McCoy subsequently resigned. The Citizens’ Taskforce on Excellence in Education highly criticized the board’s November action and organized the Grade A candidates in response.
In Normandy, seven candidates, including three incumbents, were vying for three open board spots. Incumbents Jeanette Pulliam earned 19.07 percent of the vote and William Humphrey 16 percent. Gwendolyn Buggs, a challenger, earned about 15 percent of the vote, taking the seat of board member Henry Watts.
The Normandy board will face some hard decisions on the district’s finances and future. On Tuesday, the Missouri legislature approved a supplemental budget that includes $2 million to keep the Normandy School District from going bankrupt this spring – though district leaders said they will need about $6.8 million to remain open.
