By Antonio D. French
Filed Sunday, December 31, 2006 at 10:08 AM
An abridged version of a public letter from renowned activist Percy Green on the Special Advisory Committee on St. Louis Public Schools appeared in today's Post-Dispatch as a letter to the editor. It reads:
Commissioner of Education Kent King's Special Advisory Committee is a fraud. Mr. King appointed to the committee people who supported St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's failed policies. Such policies led to the accreditation drop from 64 to 39 points, three years of mismanagement, outsourcing, turmoil and five superintendents. Two fair election processes have begun to repair the problems that the Slay board majority created for our St. Louis Board of Education.
The final two Slay members of the board (Ronald Jackson and William Archibald) are up for election in 2007 and must be replaced for the sake of our children and stability on the board. Because the community rejected Mr. Slay's failed experimental programs for public education, he now calls for a state takeover of public education, implying that St. Louisans are too stupid to vote correctly.
Board president Veronica O'Brien's behavior is a distraction from moving the new board majority's agenda forward. Ms. O'Brien launched a series of attacks on Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. After Ms. Bourisaw refused to be intimidated, Ms. O'Brien supported state control.
The committee recommended that the current elected school board members should not have full authority over the St. Louis Public School District. The excuse was a survey that everyone knows was not representative or credible.
If Mr. King should accept the Danforth-Freeman committee's recommendation, lawsuits and protest demonstrations should emerge targeting those throughout the state who are responsible.
For years, Green has been a vocal critic of Mayor Slay and policies of SLPS under the Slay-backed majority. In August he lost a lawsuit against the city in which he claimed Slay fired him as director of the Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification program because he was openly critical of what he called a "broken" certification system.
At Friday's press conference on the need for public hearings before any state action, Green called out Post education reporter Steve Giegerich for what many see as biased reporting.
It would help "if the newspaper would print the news fairly," said Green after a question by Giegerich.
"I know you don't like me saying that, but it's the truth, Steve," he said.
13 Comments:
Sylvester Brown had a good column in the pd, today.
Where can we see what Green wrote before it was abridged by the letter editor?
12/31/2006 12:16 PM
The Danforth-Freeman Committee a Fraud!
Commentary by Percy Green, II, ACTION ReUnion 2006, (314) 533-1686, percyg@sbcglobal.net
December 12, 2006
The Missouri Commissioner of Education Kent King’s Special Advisory Committee is a fraud. King appointed people to this committee that had supported Mayor Francis Slay’s Education Board majority failed policies. Such policies lead to the accreditation drop from 64 to 39 points, 3 years of mismanagement, outsourcing, turmoil, and 5 superintendents. Two fair election processes have begun to repair the problems that the Slay Board majority created for our St. Louis Board of Education.
In 2005, the St. Louis voters defeated two (2) of Slay’s three (3) heavily financed candidates, allowing for the community/taxpayers to maintain two (2) independent board members. A year later, 2006, the St. Louis voters defeated two more of Slay’s heavily financed school board candidates. Again, this caused the community/taxpayers to gain two more independent members bringing the total to four (4), now the majority of a board of seven (7) members. The final two Slay members of the board (Ronald Jackson & William Archibald) are up for election in 2007 and must be replaced for the sake of our children and stability on the board.
Due to the St. Louis community utilizing the election process to reject Mayor Slay’s failed experimental programs for public education, he now angrily calls for a State take over public education, implying St. Louisan are too stupid to vote correctly. Yes, Slay wants to eliminate the election process for the community to choose their school board members.
Board president Veronica O'Brien’s, contradictory behavior has become a distraction to moving the new board majority agenda forward. Slay’s link to the Post Dispatch via Steve Giegerich, reporter, seized the moment to start a propaganda campaign against the new school board majority. During the Post’s pursuits, it triggers other media to jump on board to exploit O'Brien’s irrational behavior. Her problem fully illuminates when she launch a series of unprovoked attacks on Superintendent Diana Bourisaw because she is a no-nonsense astute administrator. After Bourisaw refuse to be intimidated, O'Brien decides to support State control and pretends to rejoin the Slay’s team.
From all indications, Mayor Slay has been given assurances by the Danforth-Freeman committee that it would recommend to Commissioner King that the current elected school board members should NOT have the full authority over the St. Louis Public School District. The excuse that they will use for its decision is their fabricated survey that everyone knows is not legitimate, representative or credible.
Nonetheless, the committee members that are likely to support Slay’s failed agenda again are: William H. Danforth, Washington University; Frankie M. Freeman, retired attorney; Ned Lemkemeier, attorney; Michael Middleton, University of Missouri; Donald Suggs, St. Louis American.
If Commissioner King should accept the Danforth-Freeman committee’s recommendation, then lawsuits and all forms of protest demonstrations should emerge, and targeting those who are responsible through out the State of Missouri.
12/31/2006 2:27 PM
So, exactly who comprises the new school board majority these days, and who is Percy counting when he calls Jackson and Archibald the "last two"? Flint Fowler's term extends beyond those, but he occasionally disagrees with them. And whose side is Board chair Veronica O'Brien on? She was originally appointed by Slay to replace Rochelle Moore, but was elected on her own on an unofficial slate with Purdy (and therefore was one of the people that Percy called "independent board members"), but she supports some form of state takeover.
Anybody got an up-to-date scorecard?
12/31/2006 3:35 PM
Slay's failed experimental programs for public education, he now calls for a state takeover of public education,
Slay’s failed experimental programs for public education, he now angrily calls for a State take over
The pd seemed to leave the important points alone---I am not sure if the letter Green wrote said stuff about Giegerich.
I guess he went too far saying that Slay angrily calls for a state takeover. It might be more accurate to say Slay smugly calls for a state takeover.
12/31/2006 3:40 PM
Anybody got an up-to-date scorecard?
I do not think that is possible with O'Brien.
Purdy, Downs, and Jones seem very much in sync. Jackson and Archibald are both disgruntled lame ducks, who seem to be in the latter state of the rule or ruin mentality.
Fowler has time left to serve, and has the incentive of still being able to be part of the solution, so he is slightly set apart from Jackson and Archibald, with whom he usually votes.
O'Brien was appointed by Slay, and seems to be back where she started before he criticized her for being a mistake to have appointed. She has time left to serve, but if the board is not taken over, I would be surprised if she remains board president after the board election.
Which is more puzzling---O'Brien challenging Floyd irons and Williams and helping to elevate Bourisaw----or the 180 degree turn which followed after the surprisingly successful start of the 2006-2007 school year?
If elections are held in April, it is likely that five or more board members will be pulling in the same direction----a chilling thought for Mayor Slay to contemplate.
I do not know which is more puzzling with O'Brien
12/31/2006 3:58 PM
O'Brien is generally very clear when she acts and makes decisions.
1/01/2007 12:55 AM
Percy should know fraud. It's partly why he was canned by Slay.
1/01/2007 11:59 AM
I do not think that anyone has any question about what is on Veronica's mind at any given moment. That being said... her motives are anyone's guess.
My one question remains; Do you have to be crazy to be on the school board or does the school board make you crazy?
1/01/2007 12:06 PM
To the prior posting, this is why the board is being replaced 7 crazy people with crazy people following them.
1/01/2007 6:30 PM
To the other poster, Green is not as much as a crook as slay! Most people dont like slay, but for politics, they keep smiling at him.
1/01/2007 8:55 PM
Anonymous said...
To the prior posting, this is why the board is being replaced 7 crazy people with crazy people following them.
1/01/2007 6:30 PM
The ones who have acted crazy were supported by or appointed by Slay--------so now he and matt Blunt should be able to come up with a couple of profoundly insane choices.
Never mind what the citizens of St. Louis would choose in a free el;ection. That will count for nothing.
1/02/2007 12:42 AM
O'Brien is generally very clear when she acts and makes decisions!
Ho, Ho, Ho! No, this isn't Santa Claus. That has to be Veronica saying the above. Only she thinks she's clear. Everyone knows she isn't clear on what or why she is making some decisions.
1/02/2007 10:26 AM
I believe that insanity is either required or induced by attachment with the School Board.
O'Brien is anything *but* clear with regard to her actions on the school board. She is incredibly opaque and self-contradictory to the point where she seems random or even schizophrenic with regard to board decisions.
She's also a master at ignoring what's directly in front of her face. Case in point: during a televised interview, she blamed the fact that she's not well-liked on (and I am paraphrasing) the fact that "people in St. Louis don't like strong black women." Handy to whip out that race card and play it, never minding the fact that she flip-flops on issues, runs the board like her little fiefdom, ignores the wishes of parents (some of whom happen to be "strong-willed black women"!), and claims to know what's in the best interest of students of SLPS despite the fact that her own kids aren't even *in* the system.
Anyway, most of me thinks that the sooner she's gone the better off we all are, but I've also thought that about past board personnel, and the new recruits don't seem to be much better.
What a freaking circus.
1/02/2007 4:15 PM
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