By KWMU/AP
St. Louis, MO – The special administrative board overseeing the St. Louis Public School district has announced that it will open a nationwide search for a superintendant. The board isn't saying that members are unhappy with superintendent Diana Bourisaw. But she says she will not reapply for the job that she has filled for 19 months.
Chief Executive Officer Rick Sullivan says the public was not involved in the process, and the special board did not select Bourisaw. She was already in place when the state took control of the long-troubled district last June.
Sullivan says an independent search for a superintendent is part of the process to put the district back on the right track. Bourisaw says that she respects the decision of the board to initiate a search but she has chosen not to apply.
"While I initially accepted this position as an interim superintendent, I have grown to love this district," said Bourisaw in a written statement to the district.
Bourisaw will hold a press conference this afternoon to talk about her decision.