New board at St. Louis Public Schools launches with friction

ST. LOUIS — Although a majority of its members are new, the St. Louis Board of Education remains divided at a tumultuous time for the district.

Soon after she was sworn in Tuesday, Karen Collins-Adams was voted president of the board with four members in support and three abstaining. The new vice president Emily Hubbard and secretary Brian Marston were each voted in with five votes and two abstentions.

There were several tense moments during the board’s first meeting since Antionette “Toni” Cousins lost her reelection bid to Collins-Adams, Marston and AJ Foster. The board turnover comes as the district faces a budget deficit, two outside audits and low staff morale.

Board members Ben Conover, who was appointed in February, and Donna Jones declined nominations for officer positions and abstained from all three votes. Tracy Hykes abstained from voting for Collins-Adams, the only nominee for board president.

Conover, Hykes and Jones did not respond to questions about their decisions.

Before the vote for president, Conover asked Collins-Adams about school board training, a previous role at St. Louis University and her husband, former St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams.

“I have some concerns I think around some things that may come up within the district regarding your husband’s tenure at the district, and decisions that may have to be made or public statements that would have to be made in relation to district business,” Conover said. “That’s the role of the board president and I was wondering how you were planning on handling those sorts of conflicts of interest in the role.”

Collins-Adams said there is no conflict with her husband’s leadership of the district from 2008 to 2022.

“My role as a board member is totally separate from whatever my husband did as a former superintendent,” Collins-Adams said. “He has been gone for several years now and is employed in another entity that is not even related to education right now, so I don’t think there is a conflict of interest at hand at all.”

Conover then referenced a state audit launched last year after the ouster of former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett for questionable hiring and spending practices.

“I think that the audits that we are facing as a district extend into Dr. Kelvin Adams’ tenure here, and so I’m just, you know, concerned that if anything comes out of that audit that needs to be addressed that you’re prepared to either recuse yourself or have somebody else speak in those cases.”

Collins-Adams responded by saying, “Respectfully, thank you. If I need to recuse myself from anything, yes, I certainly would. I would never put anything or anyone in jeopardy in relationship to what’s going on with the St. Louis Public Schools.”

At the start of the meeting, Superintendent Millicent Borishade welcomed the new members and encouraged them “to navigate complex decisions even when we have different perceptions.”

“For the past decade and a half, our district has faced several issues that have impacted our stability, and from there, these challenges preceded my tenure as superintendent which began on February 18, 2025,” Borishade said. “However, I am confident that by working closely together we can continue to address these issues and restore the foundation upon which SLPS will thrive on.”

Borishade came from the Seattle area with Scarlett in July 2023 and was named acting superintendent a year later when Scarlett was ousted in part for awarding $3 million in salaries and consulting contracts to friends and former colleagues.

At the time, former board president Cousins said Borishade was chosen because she had already been running the district’s day-to-day operations for the previous year under Scarlett, who had expensed tens of thousands of dollars on at least 30 out-of-state trips.

Tuesday’s board meeting ended with Borishade pulling her travel requests for three conferences in the next year.

Borishade’s travel last year included a 16-day trip to Japan with the School Superintendents Association that cost $10,863.

Scarlett is listed as a leader of one of the association’s conferences scheduled for August in Maryland.

“There’s a lot of controversy around Dr. Scarlett and I don’t want anything to affect Dr. Borishade in any way, shape or form,” said board member Jones.

Borishade then said she would not attend the conferences.

“I don’t want to go to anything that would create questions, doubt or anything of that sort,” she said.

Borishade released a statement after Tuesday’s board meeting, again emphasizing the start date of her most recent contract, which pays an annual salary of $268,000 identical to Scarlett’s.

“As Superintendent since February 18, 2025, I have been surprised by the systemic issues that have plagued our district for years,” Borishade wrote. “I welcome the new board members’ desire to conduct a thorough review of the district’s operations and my role within it. I also welcome their scrutiny and look forward to building a productive working relationship as I believe we all have the same mission in mind: to ensure SLPS provides every student with a quality education that helps them fulfill their potential.”