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St. Louis board rejects Bridge to Hope MOU after public concerns over funding and data access
Summary
After public comment and board debate, the St. Louis Public Schools board on May 12 voted down a proposed MOU with Bridge to Hope amid concerns about unclear deliverables, possible access to family data and links to Opportunity Trust funding.
A proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between St. Louis Public Schools and the community group Bridge to Hope failed to win board approval on May 12 after vocal public concern and a lengthy board discussion.
Public commenters and several board members raised questions about the MOU’s scope, metrics and data safeguards. Tracy Fantini, co-chair of the parent action council, told the board she had concerns after reviewing the MOU and related documents; she said the organization’s IRS filings showed substantial funding from Opportunity Trust and warned the board the MOU lacked clear benchmarks and could give Bridge to Hope access to parents’ and children’s reading scores.
“After reading the MOU, it is very unclear what value this partnership would add,” Fantini said, arguing that the MOU did not specify outcomes, benchmarks or deliverables and that access to student data posed a recruitment and privacy risk.
Board members expressed divergent views. Some members said the MOU did not demonstrate a service distinct from district responsibilities and flagged the absence of key performance indicators and school-level assignments. The superintendent said the MOU predated the district’s new template and that future agreements would follow updated review procedures.
When the motion to approve the MOU came to a roll-call vote, the motion failed. Recorded votes showed: Harvey—No; Hykes—No; Hubbard—No; Jones—No; Foster—Yes; Marston—No; Collins Adams—No. The chair announced the motion denied.
Board members said the vote underscored the need for clearer partnership vetting, including legal review and specified deliverables, before external groups are granted access to families or school-level operations. The superintendent and general counsel said future MOUs would be reviewed using an updated template and a policy cycle that includes external stakeholder feedback.
