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ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Board of Education has stopped all hiring approvals after the district’s new communications director said she intends to “float� between her home in Texas and a condo downtown.

Phoenix Jackson, a , recently started as chief communications officer for St. Louis Public Schools, a job with a salary ranging from $165,000 to $185,000. Jackson describes the position as “hybrid� on her page.

“I will float as needed between two lives and I love that for me,� Jackson wrote Tuesday in social media posts that have since been deleted.

Under Missouri law, school boards must approve all staff hires at the recommendation of the superintendent or other administrators.

“If the board has serious concerns about the competence of the superintendent to make hiring decisions or suspects ethical or legal violations during the hiring process then more forceful board action is necessary,� reads guidance from the .

Jackson’s hire raises questions about the vetting process for all positions in the district, said Toni Cousins, SLPS board president.

The board “has halted (human resources) transactions ... until any ambiguity-related queries have been addressed,� Cousins wrote Thursday in an email to the Post-Dispatch.

“We will be reviewing positions as a whole, not just because of the chief of communications position. I would hope that they would take a deeper dive and see what’s going on with that particular hire and then present to the board,� Cousins said in an interview. “We’re only responsible for hiring and firing one person, and that’s the superintendent.�

Superintendent Keisha Scarlett said she has been looking to hire “dragon slayers, people who wake up every day willing to slay dragons for these kids.�

Jackson, who will serve as the district’s primary spokesperson, was hired “after excelling in a competitive national hiring process,� according to a statement released Thursday by the district. “Ms. Jackson’s breadth of experiences, skillset, and success in presenting her work through the interview process led to her receiving an offer to join the SLPS team.�

In an interview Wednesday night, Jackson said her social media posts were “misconstrued.�

“I do live (in St. Louis) full time and the position is not remote,� she said, adding that she considers “going home on a weekend� to Houston as also living there.

Jackson is among several new since Scarlett took over the district in fall 2023 after working as an administrator in Seattle Public Schools:

• Manal Al-ansi was hired as chief of staff in August 2023. She came from Seattle Public Schools, where .
• Millicent Borishade came from  to become SLPS’ chief of schools in fall 2023. She was promoted in the spring to deputy superintendent, second in command to Scarlett.
• Fatimata Sow was hired as senior project manager in summer 2023 and promoted to deputy chief of staff in January. According to her , she previously worked as a social media manager in Mauritania, a country in west Africa and served as an intern in 2018 with the chief of equity at Seattle Public Schools. 
• Thierno Barro has held various in the school district since December and became deputy chief information officer this month. He previously worked in surveillance in Mauritania and is married to Sow.
• Nikka Lemons became in March. She previously worked as director of equity initiatives and outcomes in Seattle Public Schools and is founder/CEO of the consulting firm , which contracts with SLPS.
• Matthias Greywoode, chief financial officer, previously worked for a mortgage firm in Texas and is listed as chief financial officer for Azimu Group.
• Allison Deno, chief of schools, came from Tukwila School District and previously worked as a principal in Seattle Public Schools.
• Tim Shultz was hired as this month. He previously worked as an associate principal in Lake Washington School District and is married to Deno.
• Lucretia Brown became chief academic officer in early 2024 but has since departed SLPS. Brown previously served as chief equity officer for Prince William County Public Schools in Virginia.

The new leaders face multiple crises as the district prepares for the first day of school Aug. 19, including a critical shortage of school buses.

On Wednesday, SLPS administrators and other year-round employees learned that the salary raises they were awarded July 1 will not be included in Friday’s paychecks because of “logistical issues,� according to an email from Myra Berry, chief of human resources.

“To ensure we uphold our institutional values and the superintendent’s commitment to equity and excellence, we require more time to align our processes and procedures,� Berry wrote.