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Slate of 3 among 8 Candidates File for F-F School Board

The Ferguson-Florissant School Board will meet in a closed session with suspended superintendent Art McCoy  on Feb. 24 to give him and his attorney a chance to respond to charges the board made for placing him on paid administrative leave. In the meanwhile a heated race for three spots on the school board in the April 8^th election is shaping up after a group has formed to offer a slate of candidates who support McCoy.

The newly formed “Grade A for Change” PAC held a press conference Jan. 27 to introduce Ferguson-Florissant School Board candidates:  the Rev. Willis Johnson Jr., Donna Thurman and James Savala as a slate for the April 8th school board elections.

The “Grade A for Change” Pac was recently formed to respond to the action of the current school board members that placed superintendent McCoy on administrative leave. Several hundred of parents, students and community leaders have attended board meetings, called, and wrote letters requesting his reinstatement The GAC pact contend it had no response or positive action by the board’s leaders.

Board president Paul Morris, who  is one of two incumbents who will seek reelection to the board on April 8, had stated in a letter that only after the hearing will the board make a decision on whether to terminate McCoy’s contract. There are several speculated reasons for the board’s decision to suspend the superintendent, but Morris said the superintendent’s support of the transfer of Normandy and Riverview students to Ferguson-Florissant was not one of them.

The GAC pact released a statement that the board’s “unprofessional and irresponsible actions are counterproductive for academic achievement and the fiscal stability of the district. Their actions are costing Ferguson Florissant citizens thousands in attorney fees and administrative cost.”

The eight candidates who filed for the three board seats are:

Rob Chabo,  Paul T. Morris, LaWanda Wallace, Kimberly A. Benz,   F. Willis Johnson, Jr.  Donna Paulette- Thurman, James A. Savala and. Larry Thomas.