Doris A. Graham resoundingly retains her seat as a member of the St. Louis Community College Board of Trustee, Subdistrict 1. Graham was first elected to the board in 2012 and re-elected in 2018.
Graham garnered 49.7% of the vote (12,684 votes), easily surpassing Clem Smith who closed with 26.2% of the vote (6,690 votes). Theo Brown, Sr. was third with 14.1% (3,596 votes) and Cortez Smith finished fourth with 10% (2,552 votes).
Graham was recipient of the 2020 St. Louis American Charitable Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award during the virtual Salute to Excellence in Education ceremony.
She began her 38-year career as a teacher and administrator in the St. Louis Public Schools district at Clark Elementary in 1967 as a fifth-grade teacher, just after graduating from Harris Teachers College. She became a reading specialist and co-hosted the “Reading is Terrific Show,” a reading program on KSLH-AM.
Graham earned her master’s degree in elementary administration/principalship in 1970 from the University of Missouri—St. Louis, and then obtained her doctorate educational administration/superintendency from Saint Louis University in 1979.
That year SLPS teachers voted to strike, and she walked the picket line for 56 days. She served on the executive board of the St. Louis Teachers Union, Local 420 AFL-CIO for more than 15 years, and she was one of the negotiators for the 1979 strike.
Conservatives get schooled
Few school board elections draw as much regional and national attention as the contest in the Francis Howell School District on Tuesday night.
In that district, and throughout the area, conservative school board candidates were trounced, and right-wing agendas were rebuked.
Carolie Owens, a retired teacher, and Pastor Steven Blair won open seats in Francis Howell, downing candidates Sam Young and Adriana Kuhn, who were backed by the conservative Francis Howell Families political action committee.
Owens and Blair had the support of the local teachers’ union and the Francis Howell Forward PAC.
“Congratulations to Steven Blair and Carolie Owens,” Francis Howell Forward declared on its Facebook page.
“We are overwhelmed with joy to see these results and thankful to all our volunteers for your hard work. Today, our FHSD community stood up and chose ‘Education Over Politics.’”
The Francis Howell Board of Education drew national attention last year when it voted to let an anti-racism resolution to sundown and then physically remove plaques from schools.
Many Francis Howell students held peaceful protests, including walkouts from class during the school year.
After voting to eliminate Black studies elective classes in December 2023, again attracting some national scorn, the board voted on March 21, 2024, to approve curriculum for the 2024-25 school year. This included revised Black studies courses.
In all, 10 candidates that were backed by the St. Charles County Families for Public Schools PAC, founded by former Democratic state Rep. Ted House, were victorious.
“The people of St. Charles County support public schools,” House told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
“We know we represent the majority who like their teachers and support their schools.”
In the Lindbergh School District, Rachel Braaf Koehler: 6,086 votes, (30.34%) and Megan Vedder: 6,053 votes, (30.18%) were backed by the teachers’ union. They easily topped conservative candidates David Kirschner: 4,029 votes, (20.09%) andDavid Randelman: 3,891 votes, (19.40%.)
Conservative candidates also lost in Ft. Zumwalt, Mehlville, Parkway, Rockwood, and Wentzville districts, respectively.
