果酱视频

ST. LOUIS 鈥� In August, 果酱视频 Public Schools board president Antionette 鈥淭oni鈥� Cousins signed an agreement giving the city鈥檚 economic development agency a three-year option to purchase one of its long-shuttered school buildings.

But the 果酱视频 Board of Education doesn鈥檛 appear to have taken a vote authorizing the agreement that gives the 果酱视频 Development Corp. the right to purchase the former Marshall Elementary at 4342 Aldine Avenue, near the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Newstead Avenue.

In response to an open records request last month from former Board of Education President Dorothy Rohde-Collins for the contract and the vote to authorize it, the school district鈥檚 custodian of records released the option agreement but no record of a vote to approve it.

鈥淭his was not presented to the Board for a final vote,鈥� the records custodian relayed to Rohde-Collins, according to a copy of the exchange she shared with the Post-Dispatch. 鈥淭he real estate committee will receive additional information from the developer for Marshall School, then present it to the full Board for approval. This item will be presented at the February 10, 2025 real estate meeting and then to the Board at their meeting on February 11, 2025 for vote.鈥�

The Board of Education is supposed to vote to authorize contracts and real estate transactions. Votes on real estate can occur in closed meetings, per the Missouri open records law, but once they are taken they must be made available upon request.

The episode raises more questions about the 果酱视频 Public Schools鈥� oversight and board procedures in the wake of a spending and hiring scandal that led to the ouster of former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett last summer.

District spokesman Carl Mitchell did not return a request for comment.

But Cousins, the board president, insisted the board did take a vote authorizing the option contract.

The contract says the board authorized the option agreement for Marshall School on Aug. 27, and Cousins signed it Aug. 29. The real estate committee 鈥� made up of Cousins, two other board members and three school administrators, including interim Superintendent Millicent Borishade 鈥� voted to approve the option agreement on Aug. 12, according to meeting minutes Cousins provided. She also provided minutes from the full board鈥檚 closed session on Aug. 27.

鈥淭he full board voted on the August 27th meeting in closed session,鈥� Cousins said. 鈥淭he real estate committee voted on (August) 12th during committee meeting. If you notice I didn鈥檛 sign that agreement until after August 27th meeting because it had to receive approval of the full board.鈥�

But the Aug. 27 closed meeting minutes Cousins provided only show the full board approving the minutes of the real estate committee, not the actual contract. She did not respond to a follow-up question about whether an actual vote on the contract occurred.

Board member Emily Hubbard said she doesn鈥檛 recall taking a vote in closed session on the Marshall School contract. She remembers Cousins giving updates over the months on plans for a potential redevelopment of the site in partnership with SLDC.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a secret, but we never voted on it,鈥� Hubbard said. 鈥淲e were not informed she signed a contract.鈥�

Hubbard has been an outspoken critic of the board leaders. In August, she urged Cousins and Vice President Matt Davis to resign, accusing them of taking an 鈥渋llegitimate, reactionary, over-reaching鈥� role in overseeing SLPS. In December, she called for a criminal investigation of credit card spending under the former superintendent. Others have questioned spending on trips to conferences for Cousins and other board members.

SLPS lists Marshall School, one of more than a dozen closed school buildings it is trying to offload, for $424,000. It鈥檚 also SLDC has identified in North 果酱视频. The historic structure, built in 1900 on 2.8 acres, was designed by famed 果酱视频 architect William B. Ittner and named for John Marshall, the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The option contract, signed by SLDC Executive Director Neal Richardson on Oct. 31, says SLDC is now in charge of maintaining the property, including securing it from trespassers and keeping up the grounds. It calls for SLDC to solicit development proposals for the site. If no developer comes forward, SLDC can buy the school itself for a price to be determined by a new appraisal minus up to $500,000 in costs it incurs before the sale, excluding pre-development activities such as environmental testing and property maintenance.

But now, Cousins said she has some concerns about the deal.

Cousins said her understanding is that SLDC can鈥檛 spend the funds it planned to use securing the school and preparing it for redevelopment 鈥� SLDC lists federal pandemic relief money as a source of funding 鈥� until it has full title to the property. She said she had envisioned the project more as a partnership and is wary of giving up full title to the property prior to SLDC soliciting development proposals. So the board will be discussing the structure of the real estate transaction at its real estate committee Monday and at the board Tuesday, Cousins said.

SLDC spokesman Deion Broxton said Friday the agency 鈥渨as still in negotiation with SLPS on the details of the scope of stabilization work and final ownership structure of the site.鈥�

Rohde-Collins, who served on the school board from 2017 until 2021, said the apparent lack of a full-board vote on a real estate contract shows the board should 鈥渞eassess how it operates.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 very concerning to me,鈥� Rohde-Collins said. 鈥淲hether it is that the vote didn鈥檛 take place and the board president acted in her individual capacity or whether it is that the board is not maintaining records on hugely important topics like real estate, either of those options are bad.鈥�