Burns served on the Affton Board of Education for 12 years and as a St. George Alderman for three years
Mike Ziegler
-Photo Editor-
Bob Burns is the newest face to join the STLCC Board of Trustees after he was sworn in during the Dec. 15 meeting.
Burns replaced the vacant subdistrict 3 representative position after former trustee Joann Ordinachev, Ph.D., announced her resignation during the Oct. 28 meeting.
“We had three really good candidates,” Chairwoman Melissa Hattman said. “He really was the best in terms of his experience, having served on the Affton School Board for 12 years.”
Burns will serve in the interim position until April 2012 when the Junior College District of St. Louis-St. Louis County will hold an election to fill the position until April 2013.
“My whole focus there (at Affton) is like the focus here,” Burns said. “The point of this whole exercise is for the good of students. Period. Everything else is just to compliment that.”
Burns’ seat serves the district made up of the southern and southwest portions of St. Louis City and the school districts of Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Affton, Bayless, Hancock, Brentwood and Webster Grove.
While serving on the Affton Board of Education, Burns was elected president twice and was inducted into the district’s hall of fame in 2010.
“I’ve had a lot of experience running on the day to day operations of a school district and education,” Burns said. “The other thing I believe in is total and unequivocal openness. This is public money. There is nothing to hide ever. I don’t think it’s right that we have our backs to the audience. It’s all about openness.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Burns suggested that the board members face the audience, rather than sit positioned with their backs to portions of the audience.
Hattman said a key responsibility as a trustee is the fiduciary responsibility and said Burns takes that role very seriously.
“Fiduciary responsibility means you have to watch the resources to make sure the money is spent wisely so that anything saved you can turn around and spend it on the students,” Burns said. “That’s where I’m coming from.”
His previous experience also includes three years spent on the staff of Rep. Richard Gephardt and three years on the staff of Sen. Claire McCaskill. He also was appointed chair of the Sixth County Council District Community Area Study with the St. Louis County Planning Commission, according to an STLCC press release.
Burns served as a City of St. George alderman from 1982-1984 and was elected on Dec. 13 by the St. Louis County Council to oversee the disincorporation of the city of St. George, according to an Affton-Shrewsbury Patch article dated on Dec. 14.
Reporting also contributed by Kelly Glueck.
