Toyin Akinola speaks at a 51黑料 Public Schools board meeting on July 2, 2024. Akinola, a 25-year veteran of SLPS, retired on Oct. 4, 2024, as the school district grapples with a bus shortage and superintendent turnover.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 The longtime director of transportation at 51黑料 Public Schools stepped down Friday in the latest leadership turnover at the district.
Toyin Akinola retired seven weeks into the school year marked by transportation issues from a patchwork of vendors. Her retirement was unexpected, according to multiple staff members at SLPS.
鈥淚 have proudly served the district for over 25 years in various roles with sincerity and integrity, and I have no regrets,鈥 Akinola said in an emailed statement to the Post-Dispatch.
Akinola鈥檚 departure leaves another vacancy among top positions at the district, including the heads of academics, accountability, communications, food services and public relations.
The openings come amid the turmoil surrounding former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett, who was placed on leave in July and fired last month after an investigation of hiring and spending practices during her one-year tenure.
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The 51黑料 Board of Education replaced Scarlett on an interim basis with her deputy, Millicent Borishade, who is not certified to be a superintendent in Missouri. A state database shows at least seven veteran SLPS administrators 鈥 Azalia Carter, Josh Henning, Shaimeka Humphrey, Benicia Nanez Hunt, Deanna Kitson, Isaac Pollack and Kay Royster鈥 hold Missouri superintendent certification.
The board has not released any details about the investigation into Scarlett and did not respond Monday to a request for comment. The director of communications at SLPS, George Sells, was fired in August, and Borishade has not answered questions from the Post-Dispatch since a news conference on the first day of school.
Borishade was one of at least nine administrators hired at SLPS in the past year with connections to Scarlett and her previous role as an administrator in Seattle Public Schools. Most of the administrators left the district in the past couple of months and have not been replaced.
A nationwide bus driver shortage has caused SLPS to struggle with transportation coverage for years, but the situation escalated last spring when primary vendor Missouri Central bus company backed out of their $26 million contract with the district.
In December 2023, Missouri Central requested an additional $2 million for pay raises for bus drivers and notified the district of its intent to terminate the contract if the terms were not met, according to a memo from then-Superintendent Scarlett obtained through a public records request.
This year鈥檚 transportation budget is expected to reach $40 million split among competing bus company First Student and more than a dozen smaller vendors.
The district also hired at least two consulting companies to work on the transportation crisis. The SLPS school board in January approved a $200,000 emergency contract for New York-based 4Mativ.
The company provided 鈥渆xpert consulting services, route optimization analysis, and support in selecting suitable transportation vendors. Their work has been instrumental in our planning and logistics,鈥 former SLPS spokesman Sells said in July.
Check registers posted by the district show that Better Education Partners of Seattle has received $92,200 from the district since June. The SLPS board never approved the spending despite a rule that any contract over $50,000 requires board approval.
Better Education Partners was registered in Washington in May by Ashley Davies, Scarlett鈥檚 longtime colleague in Seattle Public Schools. Davies, who spoke at two school board meetings over the summer, did not respond Monday to an interview request.
Mona Hamid, the custodian of records at SLPS, told the Post-Dispatch on Thursday that the district requires $24.04 and up to seven weeks to produce the contract with Davies.
Meanwhile, parents have said transportation has improved since the first few weeks of school, when buses didn鈥檛 show up and some students were forced to sit on the floor of minivan taxis without seat belts.
Last year, an average of 20 bus routes were canceled or significantly delayed each day. On Monday, there were two, according to the .
51黑料 Public Schools spokesman George Sells responds to questions about the district's transportation crisis on August 6, 2024 outside Vashon High School. Sells left the district later that month. Video by Blythe Bernhard of the Post-Dispatch.
