51黑料

More than half of the teachers quit or retired instead.

Records obtained by the Post-Dispatch show 19 of the 36 teachers decided not to return this school year instead of being relocated involuntarily to seven districts in North County.

One of those was elementary school teacher Amy Mancuso.

Special School District, she said, wanted to move her from an elementary school in Webster Groves to the Ferguson-Florissant School District. The transfer would have stretched her daily commute, she said, and the district did not tell her what grade level she would teach when it came time to sign a contract. Her preference is to work with younger students, she added.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to work just anywhere,鈥� Mancuso said. 鈥淚 wanted to work where I wanted to work.鈥�

She now works at a charter school in the city, teaching preschool.

Special School District provides special education services to 266 schools and 22 public school districts in 51黑料 County.

Rising costs, the end of a pandemic-era funding provision and the decision to boost staff compensation in the face of rising competition amid an educator shortage have caused the district significant financial challenges.

The district adjusted staffing to address budget deficits that reached as high as $74.8 million during the 2024-25 fiscal year, with reserves projected to be depleted by 2029. Under the , the deficit has been reduced to $48.5 million.

By the end of last school year, district leaders decided not to fill 101 vacant teacher positions as well as 60 vacant paraprofessional positions this fiscal year. They also paid 17 administrators to leave and eliminated other administrative and operational roles.

The district also announced plans to move 36 teachers from more affluent and robustly staffed school districts to address staffing needs elsewhere. As of January, the district鈥檚 teacher vacancy rate was 9.25%, while vacancy rates in north 51黑料 County were much higher, topping out at 23% at Riverview Gardens School District.

In a statement last week, the district said the staff reallocations were part of a five-year plan to ensure support goes where it is needed most. It said the district valued staff and 鈥渦nderstood that reassignments can be difficult.鈥�

鈥淭hese decisions are never made lightly, but they are guided by our responsibility to balance student needs across partner districts and ensure that classrooms are appropriately staffed,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淪SD remains committed to supporting our staff, strengthening collaboration with partner districts, and meeting the needs of the students and families we serve.鈥�

Ming Spencer, parent of a seventh grader at Riverview Gardens, said she understood why teachers would not want to work at school districts in north 51黑料 County.

There is a stigma against predominantly Black districts, she said, and fewer resources to support teachers.

She said she only wanted educators who chose to be there.

鈥淣obody wants teachers who come to work and hate their job,鈥� Spencer said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want to work at the district, then don鈥檛 come.鈥�

Teachers who previously spoke with the Post-Dispatch said their home districts were also short-staffed. They said they worried about the colleagues they were leaving behind who would have to wrestle with heavier workloads.

Sixteen of the 36 reassigned teachers were to be relocated from Parkway School District. Seven of those 16 either resigned or retired.

Special School District also selected eight teachers to move from its own schools, including three from Southview, one each from North and South Technical high schools, and three from Litzsinger in Ladue.

Twenty-six paraprofessionals also were told they would be moved. Three of them no longer are with the district.

Of nine speech-language pathologists who were reassigned, four since have left.