KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The possible departure of a popular Kansas City Schools superintendent has stirred concerns that the historically troubled district could fall back into a routine of uncertainty, one that has seen heavy turnover in the top leadership role for years.
A closed session that school board members called Thursday to discuss Superintendent John Covington's resignation ended without them making a decision. Board president Airick Leonard West said they did not accept the resignation and planned to talk to Covington over the next several days to "explore whether there is another path forward."
Covington later issued a written statement saying he wouldn't retract his resignation and that continuing to talk about it "distracts the district from its primary focus, which is educating students."
Meanwhile, Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro said she was "disappointed" by the turmoil and questioned whether the Kansas City district's current plan for improvement could be in jeopardy.
Covington became superintendent in 2009. His efforts to transform the district have included a school-closing plan shutting down nearly half of the buildings to avoid bankruptcy. Along the way, he and board president West have clashed. And many think the key to keeping Covington is to get West to resign instead. In fact, a coalition of black political leaders and city council members has been working to convince the board president to leave, school board member Arthur Benson said.
"West and Covington are oil and water," Benson said Thursday. "Covington isn't going to consider coming back if West has anything to do with the school board, and I don't blame Covington one bit."
If Covington does indeed leave, state leaders said the district's accreditation could be at risk and it could have a tough time finding a replacement for the superintendent's job.
The district's accreditation is currently under review, even as its performance has continued to fall below accreditation standards. Last week, a preliminary report showed the district meeting just three of 14 state standards, compared with four a year ago. The district currently is provisionally accredited.
Nicastro said the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will make a recommendation on the district's accreditation after the preliminary report is finalized next month. The earliest the state board could consider the issue is at its Sept. 20 meeting.
Nicastro said the department has given the district three priorities: boost student performance, find and maintain stable leadership, and make sure the board sticks to policymaking. Test scores dropped last year, but Nicastro said the state would take into account that the decreases came after the massive school closures.
Senate Education Committee Chairman David Pearce, R-Warrensburg, said Covington had started making improvements to Kansas City schools and was respected at the Capitol. He said Covington's resignation is both "very disappointing" and "a major setback" for the school district.
"If Kansas City is on the bubble, so to speak, about provisional accreditation or unaccreditation, this would certainly be added into the mix if the state decided to have more involvement with the Kansas City School District," Pearce said. "It is not a step in the right direction."
Benson said West had interfered nonstop in matters that should have been left up to the superintendent. The Kansas City Star reported that on Tuesday, Covington's chief of staff, Chace Ramey, made a Sunshine Law request for all emails between West and bidders for an $85 million contract to renovate district buildings. The district had told potential bidders to have no contact with board members. The two men also recently sparred over control of contracting charter schools in the district, although both had said the issue was resolved.
Benson, who previously represented the plaintiff schoolchildren in a long-running school desegregation case, praised the strides the district has made under Covington's leadership. He said Covington had the support of community leaders and questioned whether the district would be able to find a strong replacement if Covington leaves. Covington became the district's 26th superintendent since 1969.
"No good superintendent in the nation would consider this job," Benson said.
Mary Lim-Lampe, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, which represents faith-based-organization, said the announcement Thursday came as shock to members.
"Our people were just on the brink of having trust and hope," said Lim-Lampe, who's also the mother of a first-grader in the district.
West said during a news conference Thursday that a breakdown in communication led Covington to submit his letter of resignation on Wednesday.
"It is our hope that we can remedy whatever challenges led to the events of the past 24 hours," West said. "We as a community have to find a way to continue to move through difficult times and tough circumstances."
He said the board would meet again Aug. 31. He would not answer questions from reporters afterward and did not return a phone call from The Associated Press.
Gov. Jay Nixon said the top priority is improving the quality of education provided to children in Kansas City.
"Over the past two years, John Covington has made the tough decisions necessary to streamline the Kansas City schools and bring the district's finances in line, and we need to ensure that the district has strong leadership and stability moving forward," Nixon said in a statement.
Associated Press writer David Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo., contributed to this report.