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Union and community leaders tell aldermen charters, funding shortfalls worsened SLPS decline
Summary
Speakers at the committee hearing blamed charter growth and insufficient state funding for contributing to the district's enrollment decline and budget shortfall, calling for coordinated city action to support public schools.
Community members, SLPS employees and a union representative told aldermen that multiple, layered factors have driven enrollment loss and budget shortfalls for St. Louis Public Schools.
Ray Cummings, speaking for labor, said the union originally pushed for a moratorium on closures: "the union was the driving force for the moratorium in the 1st place," he said. Caron Johnson, an SLPS employee, criticized local auditing practices and tax/tip abatements that she said divert money away from the district: "auditors that support tips in tax abatements that take away from public schools...auditors refusing to work with those in the community that are supporting public schools."
Committee members and speakers also pointed to state-level funding decisions and pending reimbursements from FEMA for tornado damage as direct financial pressures on the district. A committee member cited a roughly $41,000,000 deficit as one of the drivers necessitating the Future Ready proposals. Speakers urged a multi-pronged response: better partnership between city and district, targeted funding strategies, and community retention efforts for teachers and families.
No SLPS superintendent or board member provided testimony at this hearing; committee members said they would invite district leadership to future joint sessions.
