June 6, 2023 - At the June 5 Governing Council meeting, Carmen Stayton was elected to the SSD Board of Education for Subdistrict 1, representing Hazelwood, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, and Jennings school districts. The special election was held to fill the open Board seat due to a lack of quorum at the March Governing Council meeting.

Stayton has been an educator since starting her career in 2009. She has taught in Jennings, Kansas City, and Special School districts. She has also served as Dean of Students at South City Prep and as a teacher at Jamaa Learning Center. She is currently a math instructional specialist at Washington University’s Institute for School Partnership. Her previous board experience includes serving on the St. Louis American Newspapers in Education Advisory Board, as a facilitator on the Jennings School District Trauma Action Plan Team, and on the Teach for America Alumni Advisory Board. She is a resident of the Hazelwood School District.

Stayton will be sworn in for her three-year term during the June 27 Board of Education meeting. 

The Governing Council is a 22-member oversight board for SSD, consisting of one Board of Education member from each of St. Louis County’s 22 public school districts. The Governing Council reviews and approves the District’s annual budget, reviews and approves a five-year rolling plan for the District, and interviews and elects the seven members of the SSD Board of Education.