New 51黑料 Public Schools Superintendent Keisha Scarlett embraces school board President Antionette 鈥淭oni鈥 Cousins after Scarlett was introduced at a staff pep rally hosted by the district to kick off the 2023-24 school year at Enterprise Center on Aug. 4, 2023.
ST. LOUIS 鈥 A resident of 51黑料 is suing the former superintendent and board president of 51黑料 Public Schools to seek repayment to the district for unapproved travel and personal expenses.
Former sheriff鈥檚 Lt. Neil Hogan is 鈥渁 taxpayer who cares where taxpayer dollars are going,鈥 said his lawyer, Elkin Kistner of 51黑料 firm Kistner, Hamilton, Elam and Martin.
Hogan鈥檚 lawsuit calls for former Superintendent Keisha Scarlett to pay back $56,700 to SLPS for personal and travel expenses, and former school board president Antionette 鈥淭oni鈥 Cousins to refund $185 in airline upgrades and an unknown total for other violations of the SLPS travel policy from overspending on meals and hotel rooms.
Scarlett and Cousins did not respond to requests for comment Monday.
Scarlett
Cousins
The district鈥檚 questionable expenses linked to Scarlett included nearly $150,000 in credit card charges and $800,000 in unapproved contracts and salaries, as detailed in an audit by accounting firm Armanino late last year. The SLPS board fired Scarlett in September after she served one year as superintendent.
People are also reading…
The school district suspended its 21 credit cards in December after the Post-Dispatch reported on an additional $1.3 million in charges by staffers from July 2023 to July 2024 that indicated multiple violations of travel policies including airline upgrades, luxury hotels, entertainment and spending on family members and other non-staff.
Scarlett expensed at least 30 out-of-state trips between July 2023 and July 2024. Her credit card charges included thousands spent at Bath and Body Works, Edible Arrangements and dozens of meals through DoorDash.
Former SLPS board vice president Matt Davis last year said the district 鈥渨ent from Ebenezer Scrooge to Imelda Marcos鈥 when they hired Scarlett to replace longtime superintendent Kelvin Adams, who was known for tight budgets.
Davis, whose term ended in April, previously said district leaders discussed clawing back some of the improper payments, particularly $94,801 in retroactive pay Scarlett awarded to her cabinet members, a violation of the Missouri Constitution.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to pursue that. We鈥檇 probably have to hire different legal counsel,鈥 Davis said in December. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 retroactively pay public officials.鈥
A third defendant, SMJ Communications of North Carolina, should repay any money it received from SLPS for an $84,000 no-bid contract that was not approved by the school board, the lawsuit states. District financial records show the company was paid $75,000 last year.
The school district is also named in the suit 鈥渢o ensure that SLPS does not in the future engage in such unlawful conduct with respect to public assets as to which its officials have fiduciary duties.鈥
The lawsuit is not related to the threat of litigation from a group of prominent local attorneys known as the Holy Joe Society. The group in February sent a letter to the SLPS board imploring them to recover any tax dollars that were improperly spent by leaders including Scarlett and Cousins.
鈥淵ou wanna hit me for a $40 upcharge on Southwest Airlines? Come on, y鈥檃ll,鈥 51黑料 Board of Education President Antionette 鈥淭oni鈥 Cousins said in a meeting on Jan. 15, 2025. Cousins responded to recent criticism SLPS has received, as well as accusations of unethical behavior from a fellow board remember who resigned the same night. Video courtesy of SLPS, edited by Jenna Jones.
