By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, May 19, 2006 at 10:45 PM
After voting to table a motion to close Cleveland High School to allow time for public input, three members of the board appear ready to force a vote on the matter while some board members are out of town.
School Board President Veronica O'Brien has called a special board meeting for Tuesday, May 23, for the purpose of calling a vote on the question of closing Cleveland. Sources tell PUB DEF that board members Bill Purdy and Flint Fowler are out of town (Purdy is in Florida, not sure where Fowler is) and will not likely make the special meeting.
If O'Brien joins board members Ron Jackson and Bob Archibald, newly elected members Peter Downs and Donna Jones can only watch as the district breaks another promise with the public.
Less than two weeks ago, O'Brien voted with Purdy, Downs, Jones, and Fowler to allow more time for public debate. Before the vote, Purdy proposed at least one public meeting be held at the high school and that the public be allowed to tour the building to see for themselves the physical challenges facing the 93-year-old building.
No public meeting has been held and no public tours have been given.
Developing...
[Editor's note: Props to Steve Patterson of Urban Review St. Louis for having this story first.]
Related Stories:
More Time for Cleveland High
School Board Members, Aldermen Tour Cleveland on Eve of Important Vote
8 Comments:
Shameful!
5/20/2006 1:45 AM
If Veronica sells out to Slay as Darnetta did, it is time for citizens to demand her outster.
Back-room dealings and politics as ususal have returned. This is a sad, sad turn of events.
5/20/2006 3:29 PM
Ittner built these schools to last 500 years, only through the mismanagement of egocentric bureaucrats has it entered its present state.
20 Million is a small price to pay if it will fix the mistakes present in Cleveland, however this could happen again in another 20-30 years.
Closing an Ittner school is a travesty and an omnipresent indictment of the school system. Demolition will induce civil disobedience.
5/20/2006 5:54 PM
It is terrorfying that the School Board is ram-rodding this through without so much as a public hearing. And just at a time when the Superintendent has gotten the district in the mess of overcrowding other schools.
5/21/2006 1:55 AM
All hail Veronica! She understands that black children are in a horrible situation and should be moved..something I have not heard here. What you are saying is the building means more than the health and safety of black kids.
Close the school so kids are safe and then decide what to do with it.
5/21/2006 7:15 AM
Anony #3, I think you're missing the point. The students ARE out of the building. Starting Thursday, the students will be gone for three months.
What 5 board members voted to do at their last meeting was to allow the 30 days between then and the next meeting for the superintendent to come up with a plan for exactly what to do with the students (which he has not) and what to do with the building (which he has not).
They also voted to allow time for the public to offer its input and to see for themselves what the situation is in the school.
I can tell you that almost every board member is prepared to support a plan by the superintendent that address the students relocation and a the fiduciary responsibility of the Board to protect a valuable district asset such as the Cleveland building.
The superintendent made a terrible mistake by presenting this proposal to the Board (and the public) out of the blue and asking them to vote on it just 7 days later without any clear plan.
Did he just go into Cleveland for the first time? This should have been brought to the Board weeks, if not months, ago to allow time for deliberation.
5/21/2006 9:00 AM
"20 Million is a small price to pay if it will fix the mistakes present in Cleveland"
No, Doug. $20 million is a LARGE price to pay. And for a district operating more than $25 million in the red, it may be something that is just not possible.
Cleveland may have to close forever as a high school. That is a decision that will have to be made soon. But it is one that should be made based on the best available information and supported by a plan for what to do with Cleveland's students and what to do with an asset that the SLPS has invested millions in since 1913 (although it's obvious a couple million more would have prevented today's situation).
5/21/2006 9:05 AM
Antonio, a replacement school will cost millions as well. What is the solution because it is going to cost money either way.
5/21/2006 12:36 PM
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