ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Public Schools Director of Transportation Toyin Akinola resigned from her position, the latest in a series of recent high-profile resignations and firings at the district.
Akinola confirmed the news on Tuesday after 5 On Your Side received reports about the resignation.
"After 25 plus years of dedicated service to the SLPS district, always with integrity and a deep commitment to our students, I have decided to retire and begin a new chapter in my life," Akinola said in an emailed statement. "I am confident that I am leaving the department in capable hands, and I trust that the district will continue to flourish. I appreciate you."
Saint Louis Public Schools has been operating under an emergency transportation plan since the beginning of the school year after its main transportation vendor canceled its district contract over the summer.
The district's students were plagued with transportation woes when the school year kicked off in August. A dozen SLPS parents said their children still didn't have transportation options four weeks into the school year.
"Single moms like myself rely on our school system as an additional support system. I could move to a school district where they provide adequate transportation, but I want to believe in and support the St. Louis City Public School system. I now have a shortened work schedule to accommodate picking up my kids from school," Shawntay Vaughn, a single working mom with a child at the district, previously told 5 On Your Side.
Transportation isn't the only issue the school district recently faced. The Saint Louis Public Schools Board of Education unanimously voted on Sept. 24 to begin the process to terminate Superintendent Keisha Scarlett "for cause."
The vote came more than a month after Scarlett was placed on administrative leave as the district became embroiled in transportation and budget concerns. Scarlett said she would challenge the board's vote to oust her.
The district started the year with a surplus of $17 million in its general operations budget but now is in a projected $35 million deficit. Mayor Tishaura Jones and other leaders have called into question pricey contracts issued in the past year overseen by Scarlett.
A state audit of the school's finances began in August.
