St. Louis Public Radio
Eric Scroggins returned to St. Louis after a 14-year career with Teach For America to found the Opportunity Trust. In its first three years, it s garnered lots of skeptics.
The Opportunity Trust has been involved in St. Louis’ fractured public education scene for about three years. In that time, its deep coffers and controversial priorities have stirred deep distrust and claims of a hidden agenda, especially from passionate supporters of traditional school districts.
The teachers union in St. Louis says the organization s founder, Eric Scroggins, is
entwined with billionaires bent on privatizing public education. Former school board members similarly say the Opportunity Trust has brought an outside agenda to local education. And community activists claim it’s just an arm of a national movement to dismantle urban school districts.