A school board primarily acts as the governing body for a school district, responsible for setting policies, managing the budget, hiring the superintendent, and ensuring the overall quality of education within the district by representing the community’s interests and needs, while holding the school system accountable for student achievement.
St. Louis Board of Education President Antionette “Toni” Cousins is one of 12 candidates running for seats on the six-person school board in the April 8 municipal election.
The district has more than 18,300 students and 68 school buildings.
Cousins, elected to the board in 2021, is seeking reelection. She is well aware of the responsibility that comes with the position and feels that her tenure on board has been fruitful despite the naysayers.
“There is a lot of false information that has continuously been put out there against the St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS),” she says. “We got a lot accomplished in the almost four years since I’ve been on the board to see the level of things that we’ve been able to do. It’s amazing in my opinion. A lot of people don’t see that.
“I just feel there is work to be done,” she explains.
The election comes as the board faced scrutiny for its lapse in oversight of former superintendent Keisha Scarlett, who was accused of misusing district funds and offering high-paying contracts to her friends from Seattle Public Schools, according to an audit commissioned by the board. Scarlett was hired by the board in 2023.
Another turbulent issue that has plagued the school boards is the disarray in the student transportation system which angered parents to get their children to school and back and provided uncertainty about how the problem would be fixed.
She survived calls for her to resign from her position last summer.
The transportation problem seems to have been solved. The board okayed a three-year, $30 million contract with Zum, a California-based firm that operates in districts in the Kansas City and Chicago areas, which will replace a patchwork of transportation options beginning with the 2025-26 school year.
“The district has been working extremely hard and moving that needle to a much positive step in how we have managed and handling transportation,” Cousin says. “Yes, that was approved 6-0 by the board at the last board meeting. This year with multiple transportation providers the cost was $40 million.”
Cousins lists her achievements during her tenure as:
- Formed and chaired a citywide plan committee that, after an 18-month intense community participation process, produced a vision for SLPS’s future. The included input from community and business leaders, clergy, organizations, and both charter and private schools who sat down for the first time in history to examine the city’s educational needs.
- Pass and funded two “historic” raises for teachers, putting the SLPS starting salary in the top tier of starting salaries across the state. These rises were extended throughout the district, including custodians, tradesmen, nurses, and support personnel.
- As Vice-chair of the legislative and advocacy committee, we obtained funding to remove and replace lead-contaminated fences in all affected schools.
- Support for reading initiatives, safety improvements in schools, college and career, and STEM programs. Four of our middle schools have cutting-edge Verizon Stem laboratories, which include 3D printers and virtual reality instructional tools.
- Formed and chaired a citywide plan committee that, after an 18-month intense community participation process, produced a vision for SLPS’s future. The included input from community and business leaders, clergy, organizations, and both charter and private schools who sat down for the first time in history to examine the city’s educational needs.
- As Chair of the Board’s real estate committee, she redesigned real estate sessions based on the Citywide Plan framework. This resulted in more open meetings, which improved openness and involvement with the community. As a result, it has completed real estate transactions for some of the district’s closed schools, as well as development projects that meet the needs of the community.
“Since I’ve been on the real estate committee, we’ve been able to sell about five of our buildings, and our goal is, from the city-wide plan, to look at ways to do multi-purpose use of our buildings,” she says. “Some of the projects we’ll have will be co-development-type projects.”
The five school buildings sold include Banniker, Baden, Elliott, Simmons, and the old CVPA, she says, adding that Northwest is one of the buildings being looked at for multi-use redevelopment.
Cousins taught at the alternative school at Beaumont High School and serves as an Affordable Housing Outreach Manager with the Missouri Housing Development Commission. She is also the CEO of Northstar Community Partners Development Corp.
Keywords: Antionette Cousins, St. Louis Public Schools, reelection bid, school board president, education challenges
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Keyphrases: St. Louis Public Schools board
