Halliday Douglas, president and CEO of the Saint Louis Public Schools Foundation, told the Board of Education during the July 22 work session that the foundation “raise[s] about $2,500,000 to $5,000,000 a year to fund programs that support SLPS students.” Superintendent staff and foundation leaders presented a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and asked the board to move the item to the consent agenda for final consideration at the district’s August meeting.

Board members said they want more detail before approving the MOU. Several questioned how donor-designated funds are tracked and which schools receive money; one board member said she could not find a school-level ledger and asked for more transparency. Superintendent staff and the foundation’s CFO said the foundation keeps donor-designated accounts and provides regular reports, and the district prefers funds routed through central accounting to ensure internal controls and proper recording.

Board members pressed the foundation on several points: how donors and family funds are recorded, whether certain outside foundations (for example, the St. Louis Community Foundation) are funders or custodians, and why the district pays the foundation $40,000 for overhead. Douglas explained the $40,000 covers accounting and customer-service work the foundation performs for roughly 140 donor-designated funds; he said audit statements and donor reports are publicly available and that the foundation meets with district staff quarterly to share program-level financial reporting. The superintendent’s fiscal staff explained the district’s concern is ensuring restricted funds are properly accounted for in district financial statements.

Several board members also raised concern about anonymous gifts and asked whether the foundation would avoid accepting them; Douglas said the foundation is not prepared to eliminate anonymous gifts at this time. Board members asked for school-level reporting showing amounts available and spent for particular programs; Douglas said those ledgers are updated quarterly and provided to donors and program managers. The superintendent and foundation both said they would provide additional documentation to the board ahead of the August meeting.

After public discussion, a board member moved to place the MOU on the consent agenda for the August business meeting; another board member proposed an amendment to treat the item as an action item instead of a consent item so it would be discussed and voted on individually. The board approved the amendment, and then approved the motion as amended to move the MOU to the August 12 meeting as an item for action. The roll call on the final motion as amended recorded five yes votes and two no votes (Yes: Foster, Hykes, Morrison, Hubbard, Collins Adams; No: Conover, Jones). The foundation’s representative said he is available to provide further documents and to meet with board members and staff before the August meeting.

The presentation clarified that the foundation: hosts about 140 donor-designated funds (including PTO and alumni funds), disburses funds to vendors or district project accounts rather than managing programs directly, and often funds district-led initiatives such as Early College and internship programs. Douglas said the foundation’s annual giving has typically ranged from roughly $2.5 million to $5 million, and that one audit year will read near $5 million; he and staff cited annual audits and an outsourced accounting firm as controls. District staff emphasized that money routed directly to schools complicates district financial reporting and internal controls, which is why centralized handling is preferred.

The board directed staff and the foundation to provide the requested financial reporting and supporting documentation in advance of the August 12 meeting so the board can review program-level ledgers and the MOU before voting.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to move SLPS Foundation MOU item to August meeting as a consent item (original motion): moved and seconded; amendment followed. (See action records below.)
- Amendment to move the SLPS Foundation MOU from consent to an action item for the August 12 board meeting: approved by roll call (unanimous on the amendment vote).
- Final motion (as amended) to place the MOU on the August 12 agenda as an item for action: approved by roll call (Yes: Foster, Hykes, Morrison, Hubbard, Collins Adams; No: Conover, Jones).