The Ferguson-Florissant school board sent out a districtwide email on Monday evening stating that it have received new information on Superintendent Art McCoy Jr., who was placed on administrative leave on Nov. 6.
The information is “serious enough to require us by law to notify the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE),” stated Paul Morris, president of the board.
Soon after, DESE sent out a public comment, stating the department will be looking into “potential irregularities in mandatory reporting, including district attendance.”
On Tuesday, McCoy sent a letter to Missouri Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro regarding the issue.
“I welcome the opportunity to talk with you or your representative, and I am anxious to do so as soon as possible,” he wrote. “I believe it is critical for the district’s students to get this matter resolved immediately.”
McCoy did not respond to The St. Louis American’s calls or emails. Morris said he could not speak with The American.
Sources from inside the district said this information came from Maureen Pfeifer, a retired district data analyst, shortly after last Wednesday’s board meeting, where board members listened to four hours of community testimonies in support of McCoy. Inside sources said Pfeifer claims that McCoy directed her to alter school attendance in 2011-2012 school year.
Inside sources said Pfeiffer, who is close to Morris and long-time board member Leslie Hogshead, was angered at the how vocally the community expressed their concerns to the board members on Wednesday. She reportedly provided no documentation showing a directive from McCoy to support her claim.
In a phone interview with The American, Pfeifer said she was present at the Nov. 13 meeting, but she would not confirm or deny what information, if any, she provided to the board.
District spokeswoman Jana Short confirmed that the person came forward after the Nov. 13 meeting but would not disclose the person’s identity. After receiving the information, “the board then confirmed the allegations with key employees,” she said in a statement to The American. The board held a closed meeting on Nov. 17 and filed a report to DESE on Nov. 18.
Charles Henson, a former school board member and board president, said the new information is a “modern-day witch hunt.” No one complained to the board about McCoy “cheating” on attendance in 2011 or 2012, he said.
“No one ever brought anything like this to our attention. There was never anything that demanded any investigation during the time I was there,” he said. “I think this is how you go after someone when you don’t have anything else.”
McCoy’s letter to Nicastro points out that “district staff worked closely with DESE staff” in its mandatory reporting.
Unnamed differences
On Nov. 6, six of the seven school board members voted to place McCoy on administrative leave because of “differences in focus and philosophy between the board and the superintendent.” Paul Schroeder was the only board member who voted “no.”
In an interview with The American, Schroeder said board members expressed some concerned regarding “occurrences” early this school year.
“In my opinion, they didn’t warrant the action of putting him on administrative leave, whether true or false,” Schroeder said.
Although the community has demanded an explanation for their actions, board members have refused to provide one, saying it is a personnel matter. District attorney Cindy Ormsby said McCoy can sign a release allowing the board to share information with the community, but that his attorneys have advised against this. Sources said his attorneys believe the information is inaccurate and do not want it spread publicly.
District sources said that the board members’ differences with McCoy stem from the school transfer issue. Board members have said publicly that they will honor the state law and take in transfer students coming from the unaccredited Normandy and Riverview Gardens school districts. However, transportation for these students has been a contested issue.
At an Aug. 19 “work session” meeting, board member Scott Ebert said that his constituents were concerned about spending tax money on transportation for the transfer students. So on Sept. 13, McCoy held a fundraising campaign on KMOX radio, asking the community to support students who need transportation. McCoy was quickly able to raise $22,000 in private funds and secure a deal with a bus company to help transfer 80 students. In total, 430 students from unaccredited districts chose to enroll in the district; most were able to provide their own transportation.
The board members showed no discontent publicly regarding his effort, according to the district’s YouTube videos of the board meetings. However, sources say behind closed doors several board members felt McCoy was making it “too easy” for transfer students to enter the district.
Second phase
Reportedly, it was McCoy’s next move that really angered Morris and Hogshead in particular.
On Sept. 23, McCoy was invited to testify before the Missouri House Interim Committee on Education regarding the school transfer issue. He also submitted a written statement that outlined his recommendations. According to the letter, he suggested that the state “develop regional average tuition cost for each state region and require any unaccredited school to pay 70 percent of that regional average cost. For example, if the St. Louis regional average cost is $12,000, then the unaccredited sending district would pay 70 percent of that cost.”
In his statement, McCoy made no mention of “school choice.” However, McCoy supported students from unaccredited schools being able to choose to go to another school. According to inside sources, both Hogshead and Morris felt that McCoy’s position teetered too much on favoring school choice – which is opposed by the teachers’ union, the Ferguson-Florissant National Education Association (FFNEA). Hogshead and Morris were both endorsed by the FFNEA. The teacher’s union also did not back the board’s decision to select McCoy as superintendent in July 2011.
Shortly after McCoy’s testimony in early October, Morris and Hogshead attended the Missouri Schools’ Board Association annual conference, where they shared a two-bedroom cabin along with their significant others, the district confirmed. There, they had conversations about McCoy’s testimony and decided to draw up a plan to oust McCoy, sources said. District attorney Cindy Ormsby was also brought into these conversations at the conference, sources said. Ormsby is also a district attorney for Francis Howell and Hazelwood school districts, and she is a former Ferguson-Florissant board member.
Ormsby said she did visit with Hogshead and Morris in their private cabin, but she was never alone with the two board members. She said she did not have conversations with them about putting McCoy on administrative leave until closer to the time when the board took action.
Hogshead has been a board member since 1992. Jim Clark, a former board member who served 30 years alongside Hogshead, said Ormsby and Hogshead are close friends. “Buddy, buddy, so to speak,” Clark said.
Ormsby said she is not close friends with Hogshead.
In the summer, when the board chose Ormsby as the new district attorney, they ignored the recommendations given by the district staff, who conducted screenings of the candidates. The board chose to do its own screenings, which was a “change in operating procedures,” Schroeder said.
“The board overruled the recommendations of the staff,” Clark said. “That’s not good.”
Because the other board members were also endorsed by the FFNEA, apparently it didn’t take long for Morris and Hogshead to gain the support they needed to place McCoy on administrative leave. Pfeifer is also a longtime FFNEA supporter.
“This certainly has heightened the support for McCoy,” Henson said, “because it is obvious that the board has been provided another avenue to get McCoy out of the district.”
