Alvarez & Marsal

In 2003, the St. Louis Public Schools became the first known district to hire a corporate
turnaround firm to help save a system that was on the brink of bankruptcy and in dire
need of a major overhaul. Over the course of a year, Alvarez & Marsal, serving in critical
management roles including Interim Superintendent, embarked on a series of dramatic
financial, operational and organizational reforms, bringing almost unimaginable change
and improvement. Decisive cost reductions and operational improvements helped to sharply
reduce a $75 million year-end deficit and eliminate a $99 million cash shortfall. A revamped,
more accountable organizational structure was created. Classrooms were reclaimed as
learning environments. And student achievement began to improve. Precedent setting for
its public sector nature, St. Louis has been perhaps one of the most high profile, high
stakes and politically charged organizational turnarounds ever undertaken. As important
as restructuring skills, the process required steadfast leadership, operational strength and
the ability to remain focused amidst powerful and potentially all-encompassing distractions.