Most of the windows at Soldan High School along north Union Boulevard were blown out in the May 16, 2025 tornado.Â
ST. LOUIS — Union leaders blasted the superintendent of 51ºÚÁÏ Public Schools over the plan to move students and staff from tornado-damaged schools to other campuses next month.
The unions have a right to negotiate such changes to their working conditions made by Superintendent Millicent Borishade, according to the leaders representing teachers, nurses, bus drivers, custodians and other staff members.
“Our superintendent right now doesn’t understand this and possibly from the research that I’ve done in other places where she was at, she had poor union relationships,†said Ray Cummings, president of the American Federation of Teachers Local 420, at a news conference Monday. “This union and these other unions have backed this leadership to the hilt. But when it comes to our rights, they will be respected.â€
Union leaders said they were not consulted about the indefinite closures of seven buildings after the May 16 tornado blew out windows and damaged roofs at the schools.
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“Before decisions were made about combining schools, they should have talked to the people in the schools,†said Jane Ann Sykes, a longtime elementary school nurse representing the Missouri National Education Association.
The unions’ main concern with combining schools is safety. The top cause of injury to SLPS staff is from breaking up fights, Cummings said.
Cummings said he is most concerned with Borishade’s “rookie†decision to combine Yeatman-Liddell and Gateway middle schools, and Sumner and Clyde C. Miller high schools, which have a long history of rivalry.
Borishade was set to meet with union leaders Monday afternoon after the news conference, which Cummings called a “run-out-the-clock strategy†before the SLPS board votes Tuesday on ratifying the school relocation plan.
“SLPS remains committed to working together in a spirit of mutual respect and shared responsibility. Together, we’ll continue prioritizing the well-being of those who matter most — our staff who support our students every day,†reads a statement sent separately Monday by Karen Collins-Adams, the board president, and Charles Poole, district spokesman.
The president of the SLPS administrators’ union said principals were “voluntold†about the school relocations and not trusted to give their input.
“Borishade cut the conversation, showing disrespect,†said Carey Cunningham of the Administrators Association of SLPS Local 44.
Workers with Thermal Mechanics Inc. and building staff leave the campus of Yeatman-Liddell Middle School on Monday, July 7, 2025, in the O’Fallon neighborhood of 51ºÚÁÏ after ongoing repairs on the air conditioning system.
Borishade was named superintendent in February following the termination of Keisha Scarlett for financial mismanagement. Both women came to SLPS in July 2023 from school districts in the Seattle area. A few months before her arrival, Borishade received a vote of no-confidence from the Tukwila teachers union, which cited demeaning and insulting behavior toward staff.
More than 1,000 staff at SLPS have called for Borishade’s resignation in a similar petition, which has not been endorsed by local unions.
The unions’ building representatives encouraged teachers and other staff to protest Tuesday outside of the SLPS board meeting.
“We will be picketing against Dr. Borishade’s unwillingness to negotiate the working conditions and her less than thought-out plans regarding the move of staff and students who were impacted by the recent tornado,†reads an alert that was sent Monday to staff.
