By Antonio D. French
Filed Sunday, July 16, 2006 at 12:39 PM
Last week, in an off the record conversation with a member of the St. Louis school board's minority, he and I agreed that the tensions between the board's majority and Superintendent Creg Williams could only be solved in one of three ways: Labels: Editorial, Interviews, Schools
(A) Williams and the board could try harder to work together, coming to a working agreement about each other's roles in reforming SLPS;
(B) The board can get rid of Williams; or
(C) The state could get rid of the board.
He and the Mayor opted for C. The board majority opted for B. And both Williams and the majority seemed unwilling or unable to take the A option.
There may have been reason to dismiss Creg Williams. To date, he had offered no plan to deal with the estimated $50 million financial crisis facing the district in less than 18 months. He was often unwilling to provide board members with information they felt they needed to make informed decisions. He routinely overreached his authority in hiring high-priced consultants, reassigning employees, and making major moves without the approval of the school board, as was contractually required. And he was often openly insubordinate to his bosses -- something that the mayor has fired his own high-profile employees for.
When rumors began to spread about possible action against Williams, I offered the following advice: Make your public demands of the superintendent, allow him time to comply or not. If the tensions persist, then make your case for the need for new leadership. Over 30-60 days, talk to opinion makers and editorial boards. Tell them what Williams is doing wrong. Build public support for a change in direction.
If it is true, as some board members have said, that Williams has made so many poor decisions that the district is being set up for a chaotic and disastrous first week of school, then the board should have kept Diana Bourisaw "in waiting" for a few more weeks, let the disaster happen, then come in to save the day.
But now, if any little thing happens during that first week (and it always does), it's going to be seen as the board's fault for throwing the district into chaos just weeks before the start of school.
This thing should have gone done much smoother than this. As I write, nearly 48 hours after the bloodbath at 801, the board still has not held a press conference. The board still has not said why Williams (or even Floyd Irons) was dismissed. The board still has not explained why a quarter million dollars of taxpayer money is going to paid by an already bankrupt school district to get rid of a man who had a higher approval rating than the board of education.
The new school board majority has disappointed many of its supporters who backed them because they were upset with the secretive and arrogant manner in which the former majority operated.
That school board, backed by Mayor Francis Slay, made major decisions, costing the district millions of dollars, without any regard for public input. It thumbed its nose and the state's Sunshine Laws and operated like a private corporation whose major stockholders resided in City Hall and not in the poorest neighborhoods of our city.
This board is now on the brink of becoming what it said it hated.
Two months ago, after the board agreed to hold off on Williams’ recommendation to close Cleveland High School to allow time for public input, Board President Veronica O’Brien, a Slay appointee, called a special public meeting with less than 24 hours notice. Some school board members were out of town and couldn’t even attend. Some aldermen who showed up at the hastily called meeting complained that it appeared that O’Brien had called the meeting just to “get it out of the way.”
As we all know now, O’Brien again this week -- with far less than 24 hours notice -- called an emergency meeting to replace Williams with a woman that some board members had never met before and clearly the public does not know. After the deed was done, neither she nor board members Bill Purdy, Peter Downs or Donna Jones had anything to say to the media or the public about what they had done.
The level of arrogance of this board has shown this week matches, and maybe even exceeds, that of the Slay/Schoemehl/Roberti board. It has squandered much of the good will coming from the April election and has done two things that many thought were impossible: made Archibald and Jackson the voices of reason, and made this reporter agree with Mayor Francis Slay.
It is a damn shame how this thing went down. It didn’t have to be this way and the damage may be irreparable.
18 Comments:
Maybe the following can explain City Hall's "outrage" and the Board minority's eagerness to have the state take over:
"...upon a state takeover there is a mechanism contained in SB 781 for the Mayor to appoint a three person board who would then control the District...." (Archpundit, http://bsl.archpundit.com/archives/013870.html#comments)
Let's see here. A three member Board. Who might be on that. Perhaps Mr. Fowler, Mr. Archibald, and Mr. Jackson? So, the Board minority through political games becomes the Board entirety.
It is clear why the Board minority would want the state to take over the district.
7/16/2006 1:24 PM
Ray Hartman pointed out on Donnybrook this week (before they fired Dr. Williams) that some things you just don't do by a 4-3 vote.
7/16/2006 1:51 PM
To Travis Reems and to everyone else, please know that when the three memeber board comes into being, the Mayor only appoints one of the three. The President of the Board gets one appointment and the State picks the third person to sit on the board and oversee the district. Please see Wellston as the example.
7/16/2006 2:51 PM
Rat, do you think people haven't heard that the superintendent has resigned? Have you read a local newspaper, seen any local newscast. or listened to the radio in the past three days?
Yes, the board should have had a press conference Friday. No, the three members of the board majority should not have run from reporters and TV cameras after the vote.
Explain your actions on Friday. Clarify on Monday. But in the meantime, the story has been defined by the Mayor and the board minority.
And I'm sure you're aware that the Sunday edition of the Post-Dispatch is the most widely read.
Even on this site, Saturdays are usually the slowest. But Friday evening and Saturday were two of the highest traffic days ever for this site.
People know. And what they know has only come from the other side.
7/16/2006 3:00 PM
And to Travis (And Larry Handlin), don't expect it to happen like that.
The state has no grounds to take over the district based on existing law. The district is not currently unaccredited (as would have to be the case for two years before the state could come in). SLPS is "partially accredited," so the clock hasn't even started ticking on that option.
The second option is if the district cannot operate -- such as in the case of a financial collapse. That MAY happen late next year, but not any time soon.
Now, what CAN happen is, when they come back into session, the state legislature could pass a bill giving control of SLPS to... well, anyone they want.
They could pass a law giving the mayor complete control of the schools, like in Chicago. They could give the Governor control. They could set up a quasi public corporation.
As we've seen in many areas, including the police department, the state legislature is not beholden to the opinions of St. Louis City residents.
7/16/2006 3:11 PM
Antonio:
I agree with both the points and posts you made. There has been poor issue definition here, but I don't blame the citizen office holders we have on the board. These are not career politicians. So, I can't expect them to behave like smooth, polished political mouthpieces.
As for your comment about the state taking over, again I completely agree that there is no legitimate reason for the state to take the schools over, but that doesn't mean they won't try. The following is from an article by Steve Giegerich, of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
"The law allows the state to assume control of a district unable to keep classrooms open for a minimum of 174 days of instruction.
'I believe the law could be interpreted to say that if a district fails to open school, that could very well be grounds for a state takeover,' state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education spokesman Jim Morris said Saturday. 'If that is the case, I think it might be legitimate grounds for intervention.'"
7/16/2006 3:32 PM
The sad part is that we all know that at least Downs should be savvier than this.
I am basing this first assumption on the fact that Downs wrote the schools watch for years.
Antonio, not to drag the author of this site into the boards decisions, has taken over the watch and obviously had some kind of working relation ship with Downs.
Antonio obviously get's the power of a media strategy, based on this articles and how John Cross is terrible with media relations.
I think this non-existent media plan demonstrates that that the new majority is not as cohesive as their voting record shows.
If this is true the Leadership, O’Brien, of the new majority is not listening to Downs and possibly Jones that gave the new majority its power.
O’Brien needs to check herself. Activate talent and convince the public that common sense parents do have a place on the board. Other wise we will get another crop of corporate hack and spend folks like Slay's slate.
7/16/2006 3:53 PM
Rat, it is clear that you have no idea what you are talking about. Mayor Francis Slay held a press conference Friday night. Board member Bob Archibald held an impromptu press conference Friday before the meeting was even over!
Board member Ron Jackson was talking to reporters before he left the administrative building.
Board member Flint Fowler was addressing the black community on Sunday Morning Live today on Majic 104.9. Floyd Irons and Demetrius Johnson was on the same show this morning.
Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. was on his radio show on 100.3 FM today talking against the board's actions.
Everybody seems to understand the weight of the situation, except you and the board majority.
7/16/2006 4:34 PM
To Da Rat Bastid and Antonio French:
I go into the Saint Louis Public Schools everday, year-round. I have taught classes in the Saint Louis Public Schools on a daily basis and I have had multitudes of interactions with our children in the classroom of all educational levels from grade school through high school and of various ethnic backgrounds! I would really like to see more parents and community/political leaders visiting our children in the Saint Louis Public Schools, more freqently. Our children remember people that come into the classroom to spend time with them and share their personal thoughts about life experiences. Our children look for any opportunity to improve their quality of life and create stability. One of my mentors, Mike Jones once told me if you see a turtle sitting on a fence you know one thing-----he had help getting there, and then he said everybody needs help in life to get there!!!!!
A relationship with our children takes time and they must feel that you truly care about them. Our children face instability at home many times for a variety of reasons, such as moving to a different neighborhood, mama/father changing boyfriends/girlfriends or getting a divorce, relative or close friend was killed over the weekend, father or mother has left home because of a domestic altercation, father or mother is incarcerated and etc......
The children I serve have shared their real thoughts and opinions with me about their home and educational environment, and I do whatever the hell I can to help them if I can. I only wish I had the resources to do more for our children in the Saint Louis Public Schools, because I do love the children in the Saint Louis Public Schools. Hell, the teachers and community showed me love as a child when I attended the Saint Louis Public Schools, and I can remember it was the little things that meant so much to me. Most children in any school are trying to get some attention from adults because they miss out on this attention at home from their parents because they are too busy working (3) jobs or other reasons.
The number one thing that most of our children share with me that they are concerned about is their safety during school hours and when they leave school to walk or catch the bus home. Some of our children express violent anger toward each other in the public school system more so now (in all school districts), and they do so in a negative fashion!
The number two thing I hear from students is that they don't have the resources they need at home to do their best in school, a sample of complaints are the lack of a personal computer to type a paper or go online for research at home- although homework assignments are required to be typed(you say they can go to the neighborhood library-have you visited the libraries lately, now some have security guards at certain locations), lack of sufficient food in the refrigerator, electric, gas, water may be turned off, washer and dryer doesn't work, parents are on drugs, some children really don't get along with their parents girlfriend or boyfriend-and are worried about being put out, no money in the household to get a hairstlye or haircut, and many other problems mentally,socially, and economically.
I apologize for the length of this blog but when I start talking about our children, I get very because I do everything in my power to see our children have a better quality of life!
THIS IS MY POINT, WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER TO SEE OUR CHILDREN HAVE A BETTER QUALITY OF LIFE, AND IT WON'T HAPPEN IF WE KEEP FIGHTING EACH OTHER. SOME OF US HAVE SET A BAD EXAMPLE FOR OUR CHILDREN IN OUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE OF GETTING ALONG WITH EACH OTHER AND THEN WE ASK THE CHILDREN NOT TO FIGHT EACH OTHER. THE CHILDREN ARE SMART AND THEY WATCH US TO SEE HOW THEY SHOULD CONDUCT THEMSELVES, AND WE NEED TO CONDUCT OURSELVES BETTER. WE MUST FIRST BECOME THE CHANGE THAT WE SEEK...
IF WE TRULY LOVE THE CHILDREN, THEN WE MUST TRULY COME TOGETHER TO DO BETTER, OR ELSE WE HAVE FAILED OURSELVES BECAUSE WE HAVE FAILED OUR CHILDREN AND THEY ARE OUR FUTURE!!!!!!! POINT BLANK!!!!!!
7/16/2006 8:40 PM
Yes, the students need more from us (the adults) - no question. I was appalled when the Education Covenant came out and listed safety AFTER achievement
(Principle I: Academic Achievement,
Principle II: Safe and Orderly Environment) found at;
http://www.slps.org/boardofeducation/education_covenant/index.htm
When I was earning teacher certification, it was emphasized in every course that "safe" was always to be our first concern for those in our charge. We need to do a better job of making the students feel safe at school and that includes addressing the tough issues like bullying and other types of violence that they face every day. We used to believe that helping students learn good citizenship was as important as the other subjects because it affects every other subject.
7/16/2006 11:27 PM
I am a teacher in the St. Louis Public Schools and I can tell you first-hand, this District could not survive another day of Williams. Summer school was a complete fiasco! Williams talks the talk, walks the walk, but what he says and what really occurs are two different things. He tells the public about how he wants to get 20,000 kids in Summer School, but refuses to hire teachers in many areas until the kids actually show up - now you tell me - what are you supposed to do with 100 children and no teachers - this really happened! - Williams promises so many things and all sound good - but the man never came through. He got rid of anyone who actually knew how to run things downtown - he detested teachers and rarely came in contact with them - He took away Title 1 money and gave it to the High Schools - we needed that money to help children who had serious problems with reading - it seems every decision he made was not based on what was best for the children but what was best for Creg Williams - but people wanted to believe that Williams was going to save the District - I will tell you - Williams was on the same level as Roberti et al - I commend the Board for having the guts to get rid of Williams - teachers and administrators who have had to put up with his disorganized, discourteous, and disruptive admininistration are extremely pleased that he is out!!! All of you that think you know about Williams should ask teachers and principals what they thought of him - ask literacy coaches - ask Title 1 teachers - Williams came in with a negative attitude toward anyone who worked in the District -oh, except Floyd Irons - Thank you, thank you, thank you to the majority of the Board who listened to our concerns - Williams was out to destroy our district!
7/17/2006 1:00 AM
If you are the superintendant, you have to do more than come up with good idea. You have to also be able to implement the programs and make them work.. Williams was long on ideas but short on execution. And he refused to listen to any voices but his own. You have to be able to run a business, i.e., the district, as well as be an educator.
Creg Williams failed the test as a businessman.
7/17/2006 5:30 AM
But having not chosen option A, we now end up with both B and C. First, Williams is gone. But the state takeover will eventually follow.
7/17/2006 9:18 AM
Antonio, thank you for having the guts to admit to your voter's remorse.
7/17/2006 9:56 AM
O'Brien is by far the most reasonable fo the new majority, and critical of the teachers' union and its selfish leftist leadership junta.
I never liked Purdy -- too much a guy of the past.
Downs and Jones were reasonable when they ran, but after winning act like they owe the teacher's union everything they want. That's not good. The union didn't help them win -- ironically, the strength of ward organizations carried their victory.
7/17/2006 10:18 AM
Williams is being held responsible for a situation that was not created by him. Come On People!! This school system has been a wreck forever. It takes longer than 15 months to show great improvement is a system that has been in hell for decades!!! O'Brien knows this firsthand, her children are attending Clayton schools.
7/17/2006 10:25 AM
As a teacher/administrator in the SLPS for over 30 years, it greatly disturbs me to see people supporting Creg Williams who obviously have no idea of exactly how DISASTROUS his leadership of the district was for teachers, administrators and CHILDREN. Don't believe the PR.. he was very good at that... examine the FACTS. Talk to those who worked with him and for him.(not those carpetbaggers he brought from Philadelphia, Chicago and New Orleans) He continued the Roberti legacy of dismantling our school district with "imported" conspirators (planning to leave when their job was done).. so the mayor can have his voucher system, raid our retirement fund, and further misuse district funds. I thank God that the last vestige of the mayor's attempted take over is out of here.
The Mayor's new alternative for control is "state take over" duh!! Everything we've been working toward is to AVOID this. Why is it now a "good" thing ..check and see what state takeover would really bring.
All of us in the school district had heard of Creg's planning to leave in JULY months ago. Coincidence?? I think not!! He submitted his resignation people...if you check the facts you'll understand why..he didn't want disclosure of the truth. He's a "fighter"..why no fight? Other's are upset..but he has moved on quietly--richer,and unscathed..as was his plan. Good riddance to him and Floyd Irons. (and speaking of Floyd..why has no one questioned the conflict of interest of being the Athletic Director for the district while still coaching in the district? of serving as principal without certification to do so? of being in violation of board policy by serving as an administrator and as a coach? of financial improprieties or possible illegalities? and that is just the tip of his amoral and illegal iceberg) Does winning state championships excuse EVERYTHING he's done off of the basketball court. At last!! he's being held accountable. The sad lesson he taught and demonstrated for his players was that because they were successful athletes they were not accountable.
Those who are so vocal now... where have you been (at least)the last 5 years? Not defending or helping our schools that's for sure. Thank you Ms.Obrien for finally starting to clean up some of this garbage.
We should give the new interim a chance..she has more creditials than the last 5 put together..one was a former dance teacher ..another had no educational background or certification.. Creg was learning on the job having never been a superintendant. HE placed the opening of schools in jepardy with the craziest personnel decisions I have ever seen..HE is the reason 1,00 teachers dont know where they are assigned ..please! Let us help her straighten Creg's mess out..not attack her.
7/17/2006 3:56 PM
Thanks, Antonio, for putting into words my very thoughts..."it didn't have to go down like this..."
It's one thing to be treated arrogantly by your 'opponents. Generally, you expects that. Yet something else entirely, to have 'your own team' treat you so shabbily! I, too, wonder how we will get past this..
And Rat...believe me, many people (even simple parents like me) were listening and waiting Friday night, Saturday, Sunday.....for an explanation from 'our team'...because we truly want to believe this chaos is really in the best interest of our kids, but regrettably the only explanation we feel we've gotten thus far is from the other side.
7/19/2006 10:55 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home