Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education President Steps Down

One month following his election as president, has stepped down from his position on the board.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported on Tuesday that Knowles informed it of his decision to resign from the board, which he had told to the district’s superintendent and board members earlier in the day.

His resignation comes amid a controversy regarding four of the Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education members attending the National School Boards Association conference in San Francisco this past month. The board members accrued more than $12,800 for the conference.

The Post-Dispatch reports that charges resulted from hotel-room movies, laundry services, plane tickets for two board members’ spouses, dinners and fines for in-room smoking. Knowles and board members Leslie Hogshead, Charles Henson and Paul Schroeder attended the conference.

No further information regarding similar situations has been released by the district at the time of publication.

The Ferguson-Florissant Board of Education will have a closed-door meeting at 5 p.m. followed by the regularly scheduled board meeting at 7 p.m., where details of filling Knowles' seat could be revealed, communications specialist Shantana Stewart said.