The Missouri State Board of Education on Tuesday issued St. Louis Public Schools a formal warning that could put its accreditation at risk after the district failed to submit its annual financial audit on time.
The warning keeps the district accredited, but it signals the state believes SLPS is not meeting key requirements and should face closer oversight.
District officials and school board President Karen Collins-Adams could not be immediately reached for comment.
The board voted 6-1 to lower SLPS to what the state calls “provisional accreditation.” Pamela Westbrook-Hodges, a board member from Pasadena Hills in St. Louis County, was the only member to vote no.
The decision could bring additional state oversight to the district and typically allows charter school expansion. Charter schools already operate in the city.
The state was not expected to lower any district’s accreditation status this month.
Under the state’s school accountability structure, known as the Missouri School Improvement Plan, districts could see accreditation changes in January 2027 due to consistently low Annual Performance Report scores. SLPS was already on track for an accreditation drop next year.
American Federation of Teachers Local 420 President Ray Cummings called the decision “political” and criticized state board member Kerry Casey’s decision to bring the motion. Cummings previously has called for Casey’s resignation.
“The district is getting back on track and yet [the board members] voted and did not take the recommendation of the Commissioner or the board member from St. Louis,” Cummings said. “We just are going to keep our eyes on the prize, keep raising our test scores. We are going to keep doing those things to be fully accredited.”
Casey, who is from Chesterfield, cited a provision in the state guidelines that allows the board to lower a district’s status when certain benchmarks set by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education are not met.
State Commissioner of Education Karla Eslinger spoke in support of the district and advised the board that dropping a district’s accreditation status should not be used as punishment for submitting an audit late.
She said she and representatives from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have been working closely with the district to help stabilize its academic and financial performance.
Eslinger also said she did not give SLPS officials advance notice that the state board would discuss the district’s accreditation during Tuesday’s meeting.
“My position is, lower accreditation. Don’t lower accreditation. The provisional tag on the school district is not going to make that big of a difference as far as what they’re doing next,” Eslinger said. “They’re not going to lose any funding. They already have charters in their district, so there’s no expansion of charter (schools). What does it actually do?”
According to a statement provided to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the school district said it plans to submit its annual financial audit by the end of the month.
St. Louis American Executive Editor Rod Hicks contributed to this report.