I have added a graphic with link to Board of Education webpage but have not altered the letter in any way.
A letter to St. Louis:
With no joy and much trepidation, I must speak out about the state of the Board of Education.
I expressed into the public record when I ran for board president in April the notion that “board leadership” was a concept outside of our bylaws, which state that the board only has power when the full board is officially and legally meeting, etc., etc. I have expressed this concern internally all last school year. Two board members cannot legally act as if they are the board or they are speaking for the board. No board member should be engaged in the work of administration, whether directly or indirectly. After at least a full school year of our current illegitimate structure of “board leadership,” our board is not aligned, does not have a shared moral objective, and the district is embarrassed and in disarray with an unknown (to me at least) number of district leadership changes in the three weeks leading up to the start of school on August 19.
For the sake of the children of this city, I am calling on President Antionette “Toni” Cousins and Vice President Matt Davis to resign not just their executive positions but their seats on the board. Their illegitimate, reactionary, over-reaching “leadership” of the district must end. The lies and coercion must end. What is wrong and is hidden must be exposed and made right.
I ran for school board with “leadership that empowers” as one of my key goals, and that has not changed. So even though this is deeply uncomfortable and scary and unpleasant, and I am concerned about potential retaliation beyond the verbal upbraiding and loss of committee seats I have already experienced, my conscience will no longer allow me to keep silent. When “unity” is employed to hide dysfunction, it becomes coercion
For a long time any criticism of Dr. Scarlett was squashed as well as framed as criticism of the board president, which was also unacceptable. Speaking specifically about the hiring of all her friends into district positions, we all had brief access to resumes before we voted to approve the hires brought before us, not to mention I believe they all had linkedin pages. If I recall correctly,, the votes were all unanimous. So we the board are responsible for those hires. We had the information to ask questions, to act, and chose not to pursue vigorous action. Given the previously mentioned reactions to questions and criticisms as well as the “board leadership” structure, I hope I may be forgiven for assuming that serious interrogation of those hires as they were presented to us would have negative consequences without a change in the results.
It is the gift and burden of the board to be ultimately responsible for the work of the district. As I strive to bear that responsibility, I must reckon with the ways in which I have failed to act in the most effective ways to achieve the best results for our children and our employees. I can no longer be silent. Today, that responsibility includes demanding the resignation of “board
leadership” as well asking the children of this city, their parents, and the taxpayers for forgiveness for my and our collective failures to do our best for the district. I promise I’ve tried, but I should’ve been able to do more.
But as I’ve called on Ms. Cousins and Mr. Davis to resign, and repented of my own failures, I must also call on all of us—the adults in this city—to repent. We have allowed this misappropriation of power to continue at the expense of our children and the employees who serve them. Every individual and entity in this city that has allowed Ms. Cousins and Mr. Davis to act outside of the authority given them by our own board bylaws should reckon with what their passivity has cost our city’s children. “Nobody wants to lose local control” necessitates everyone locally using what power and responsibility they have to hold us accountable, not to be silent in the face of dysfunction.
If they choose to remain on the board, I ask that everyone who interacts with them in the context of “board leadership” require them to point to a board discussion, board vote, or board policy that legitimates their authority to act or speak.
Thanks so much for your time. I’m sorry it took me so long to be brave.
Emily Hubbard
The Great State of St. Louis 