By Antonio D. French
Filed Friday, December 22, 2006 at 9:08 AM
COMMENTARY Labels: Commentary, Media_Watch
When the balance of power shifted on the St. Louis City School Board back in April, the Post-Dispatch and its education reporter, Steve Giegerich, suddenly began to watch the district with a critical eye.
Before, when the board members were going through superintendents like Kleenex, thumbing their noses and the state's Sunshine laws, and talking fiscal responsibility while voting in favor of budgets that actually added to the financial crisis, Giegerich and his paper barely printed a critical word.
But suddenly, after the new board took over, around the same time Pub Def first reported that Mayor Francis Slay and board members Bob Archibald and Ron Jackson began secret communications with state officials about taking over SLPS, the Post began its series of attacks on the district and members of the new board majority.
As a matter of fact, the "good reporting being done by P-D education writer Steve Giegerich" (as Mayor Slay notes on his blog) is actually used as evidence in the Special Committee on SLPS' report calling for a state takeover.
Just today, Giegerich writes under the headline "Bourisaw slapped over wage issue at school board meeting", that one board member attacked the superintendent last night for him not knowing what he was doing when he voted against her recommended budget amendment last week.
Nowhere do Giegerich or his editors inform their readers that this particular board member, Robert Archibald, was the first public official to call for a state takeover of the district, a complete abdication of his own responsibilities, and therefore has an invested interest in attacking the superintendent.
And nowhere does the Post note in today's article that the majority of other board members did not blame the superintendent. They either voted for her request in the first place or acknowledged that maybe they just weren't paying close attention at the last meeting.
The fact is that many (if not most) of the reporters and editors at the Post-Dispatch do not live in St. Louis City -- and neither do their readers. Maybe that is why they seem to have no problem actively destroying the image of our public schools -- especially now that the mayor is leading the charge.
In fact, our crisis seems entertaining to their suburban readers who have their urban neighbors' education and crime problems to discuss until the new season of "American Idol" starts.
But for those of us that do care about this city, and deeply resent the constant attempts of outsiders to take away our power in the name of fixing our problems for us, I have to say that the Post is indeed disgraceful in its cheerleading for our disenfranchisement.
41 Comments:
The following comes from an advocate of SLPS:
The State Advisory Committee on St. Louis Public School recently released their recommendation to establish a three-member transitional board to oversee all operations of the St. Louis Public Schools. The State Board of Education is expected to act on January, 11
If this plan is approved it will disenfranchise the voters of St. Louis who have elected their own school board to govern the school district.
The St. Louis Public Schools recently met five accreditation standards -- just one point shy of provisional accreditation. The district is confident it will meet a sixth standard for college placement if approved by the State Board of Education.
If the District maintains provisional accreditation, the State Board of Education would have no legal grounds to appoint an oversight panel or other governance structure that would diminish the ability of our duly elected local school board members to oversee the day-to-day operations of the school system.
If the State of Missouri places St. Louis in "Unaccredited" status, it will be doing so to the exclusion of 12 other school districts that also failed to meet accreditation standards, including:
Kansas City
Riverview Gardens
Hickman Mills
Gilliam C-4
East Prairie R-II
Skyline R-II
Hancock Place
Hayti
Jennings
Winfield
Normandy
Wyaconda
While the recommendation to appoint a three-member oversight board is not technically a "state takeover," St. Louisans need to realize the three panelists will be appointed by Gov. Matt Blunt (who has repeatedly expressed his insensitivity to the state's urban population), Mayor Francis Slay (whose three-year influence over SLPS brought the recent instability), and the President of the Board of Aldermen Jim Shrewsbury. Without a doubt, the makeup of the transitional board will lean heavily towards the privatization of St. Louis schools.
Concerned citizens need to reach out to State Board of Education members and legislators to voice their opinion. Letters to the State Board can be sent to:
Missouri State Board of Education
PO Box 480
Jefferson City, MO 65102
pubinfo@dese.mo.gov
SLPS – BACK ON TRACK
Schools opened on-time and were ready for students this year despite the lack of planning that had occurred prior to July, including:
o Thousands of teachers who had not yet been assigned to a school.
o Bus routes that had not been approved.
o Textbooks that were never ordered.
o School reconfigurations that were not yet complete.
o No planned professional development for teachers and principals.
· Superintendent Diana Bourisaw quickly moved to refocus the District on accreditation and not large, unfunded plans.
· Administration proposed, and the board approved, a budget that balances expenditures and revenues. Despite the discovery of several under-funded areas, the District continues to introduce a balanced budget.
· Over $21 million in new grants were awarded to the District thus far for the 2006/2007 school year. In addition, it is Dr. Bourisaw’s goal to raise $20 million in scholarships for students in the class of 2010.
· The central administrative office was completely restructured in a manner than improves communication while also reducing costs.
· The District has been reaching out to community partners, parents, elected officials, teachers, and other stakeholders.
· Administration has developed a new Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) that will serve as the master plan for all goals and objectives. Further, each school has developed a School Improvement Plan aimed at improving academic achievement for all students.
· Newly established attendance rates have boosted the attendance at all levels.
· Increased the number of permanent, certified teachers in classrooms. This year the District has 50 long-term substitutes compared to approximately 200 in past years.
· Increased accountability at all levels of the organization.
· The District has begun to more effectively use current technology. For example, our Human Resources Division will soon be completely paperless.
· The District now has a nurse, a counselor, and a parent facilitator in every school.
· They have completed a facilities analysis.
· The District continues to focus on student achievement, fiscal accountability, systems improvement, and community outreach.
12/22/2006 9:17 AM
This letter has been submitted to the Post-Dispatch as a letter to the editor. We'll see if they publish it.
12/22/2006 9:40 AM
The one sided reporting by this reporter at the Post caused me to cancel my weekly subcription months ago,they keep calling wanting me back but I keep telling them I found a new source for my daily news.
Keep up the great reporting Antonio,
Steve B
12/22/2006 9:43 AM
The Posties should know that reprinting Callow's spin isn't "good reporting."
12/22/2006 9:44 AM
Thank you for being a voice of reason for the many people who know the truth of the situation. There are many excellent things happening in our schools that people don't know about, because people like Steve Giegerich prefers to stir the pot. Look at the success of College Summit, but nobody knows about it. Good news does not make for good sales. Again, thank you Antonio!
12/22/2006 9:54 AM
Powerful letter, Antonio. It's incredible that, in spite of the evidence and arguments you present, the powers that be want to short-circuit Dr. Bourisaw's tenure and transfer authority to the state. Their success rate is not convincing!
And...a pet peeve. As a former Journalism teacher, I find the headline in today's Post-Dispatch..."Bourisaw slapped over wage issue" a violation of journalistic standards of objectivity. Where did Steve Giegrich go to J school, and where are his copy editors???
12/22/2006 10:17 AM
To a previous anonymous: reporters rarely are entrusted to write headlines. That awful one on the story was probably not written by him.
To everyone else that's kissing Antonio's (ring): Antonio usually does a fine job. The Post often misses stuff or gets it wrong. That doesn't mean Antonio is the only source of information on this district. He is often tied up with other important aspects of St. Louis for which we are also grateful. But this means he can't always be the first to get out important information about the schools. I would suggest everyone here sign up for Peter Downs sls watch email newsletter and ask Bill Purdy to put you on his email list as well. The South Side Journal also does a surprisingly good job of covering the schools, and not just the bad stuff. I don't think anyone else has been following the ongoing Cleveland efforts.
AND would some people please start posting more on Antonio's School Watch message boards? I miss the word from the people in the trenches like teachers, parents, etc. that were on the old SLPS Waatch Web site.
12/22/2006 10:34 AM
Thank you to those who are finally stepping up and calling out the Post on their biased reporting. The trouble is, by calling them out we might be giving them publicity that will increase their circulation.
My suggestion? The Post could use a higher quality (softer) grade of paper and contract out with Sodexho to provide restroom supplies in our schools.
12/22/2006 10:47 AM
Thank you Antonio, for expressing better than I ever could, my complete rejection of the Post-Dispatch, and particularly its headline. I awoke at 6AM this morning and saw the article, and immediately logged onto Pubdef, only to find there wasn't yet a forum to express my outrage. I had to leave and have just gotten the opportunity to log back in, and thankfully, you have covered it well. It is a sad, pathetic day when the one 'mainstream' oracle in our city abdicates its responsibility so completely. The headline was inexcusable, and so blatently biased, it truly defies description.
12/22/2006 11:02 AM
Maybe what we need is a newspaper such as the one published about the Chicago public schools. Go to substance news.com to see what can be done.
12/22/2006 11:06 AM
Sounds like nobody likes Post-Dispatch headlines:
http://www.mayorslay.com/desk/display.asp?deskID=589
12/22/2006 12:04 PM
I wrote to one of the columnists at the PD, expressing bafflement at the paper's support of the e member takeover thing.
I raised a possibility---
"That is the crisis. All of Slay's power was to be wiped out by voters preferring parents to what Slay was giving them.
Why did the PD endorse handing the power over to three white guy politicians? Is it to bust the union-----which has a large percentage of black and female membership? It has ugly undertones of sexism and racism."
the response I received:
"I hate to see you make this a racial thing. That really stops discussion. I have nothing to say to you, Joe."
Is he right? Was I wrong to ask?
12/22/2006 3:24 PM
Are you so ignorant, Antonio, that you think St. Louis can solve all its problems by itself? This city sucks at doing everything. Why should we control our police and our schools? It's clear our schools are going to hell in a handbasket, thanks to people like you who put those nutsos on the schoolboard. Nice work.
12/22/2006 3:37 PM
Good job Antonio. I'll look for your letter to the editor.
I'm tired of having to justify my support for Dr. Bourisaw to all my county friends and family.
Why don't people see that Slay's people on the Board are as much or more of the public relations problem as anything else? Why doesn't the PD cover that angle?
Antonio, could you expand on what you mean by "privatization of St. Louis schools" and what that would mean for SLPS students?
12/22/2006 3:39 PM
"This city sucks at doing everything."
Especially when it comes to selecting its own mayor.
The state should step in.
The city should be run by a three person committee selected by governor Blunt, the speaker of the state house of representatives, and the mayor of Kansas City.
12/22/2006 3:57 PM
Back to Story - Help
Judge blocks LA school takeover law By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer
Thu Dec 21, 11:26 PM ET
A judge on Thursday struck down a law granting Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa partial control of the nation's second-largest school district.
The law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, violated the state constitution by interfering with the governing authority of the Los Angeles Unified School District board, Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs ruled.
"The statute makes drastic changes in the local governance of the LAUSD giving the mayor a role that is unprecedented in California," she wrote.
A coalition of parents, students and administrators sued in October, contending the law takes too much power away from the elected school board. The city and state maintained that such a move was needed to reform the education system.
"We already have a school governance structure in place, and our focus needs to be on academic achievement," said Scott Plotkin, executive director of the California School Boards Association.
Villaraigosa said he was considering a direct appeal to the state Supreme Court.
"I believe we have the law on our side. I believe we have the Constitution on our side," the mayor said. "More than that, I believe we have the people on our side."
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement supporting Villaraigosa.
"The status quo simply isn't working, the current system is failing too many of our students," Schwarzenegger said.
The law would have shifted some power from the seven-member school board to the mayor, the district superintendent and a new council made up of more than two dozen other mayors within the district's boundaries.
The legislation would have also given Villaraigosa direct control over the city's 36 worst-performing schools. The mayor had initially sought near-complete control over the district.
The district includes more than 727,000 students, more than 1,130 schools and 78,000 employees.
12/22/2006 5:13 PM
Out of curiousity, can anyone name me something the city does well, bureaucratically speaking?
I'm at a loss to think of anything.
12/22/2006 8:21 PM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
12/22/2006 10:01 PM
The City of St. Louis, with the Mayor's office in charge, would do a far better job than alien State control. Why? City voters would throw him on the street if he didn't make improvements. Our City Residents, when motivated, can do great things evident in the recent signature collection for the Forest Park issue. Yet a massive failure in both the private and public arenas has lead to the further weakening of St. Louis' accountability to the electorate.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch used to cast a critical eye upon the practices of its own City officials as well as regional policymakers, yet now it seems to be in collusion without any regard for the price.
The fact is that the media in this town is sensational. They portray St. Louis as entertainment on one hand while protecting the mistakes of its officials on another. Rampant reporting of shootings allows their suburban readership to cheer with glee that their neighborhoods are safe, whereas this SLPS crisis reveals their relationship with City Hall. I really do not understand how journalism is practiced at the Post Dispatch. Maybe that is why they are the worst urban newspaper in the Nation.
We have no objective watchdogs in St. Louis as the media has sold out for entertainment. Perhaps they should hire Cendric the Entertainer as a correspondent. This entire situation explains why St. Louis as a region is in decline. We would never expect another Peirce Report as this would anger their suburban readers. Meanwhile E-W Gateway confirms the continued deinvestment in the core thus continued sprawl. The captain is not asleep at the wheel. He actually switched sides and is now actively firing upon his old crew.
If only journalism was about journalism not profit. Journalism is supposed to educate for the public good yet now education has been replaced with sensationalism and the idol of readership.
12/22/2006 10:25 PM
Yes the Post has been a second rate paper for some time. I read the New York Times for national news. They are part of the problem, it is a cozy little system of insiders patting themselves on the back and feeding the public what is essentially their propaganda under the guise of journalism.
The Post does not bother with true analysis and criticism of those in power because they are part of that same power structure. Thus third party candidates are ignored. Alternate ideas are ignored, minorities, and the disenfranchised are ignored (unless they can show the power structure giving handouts to them) Meanwhile those in power have the Post publish their views for public consumption whenever they need to influence opinion.
The proof of the Posts' failure lies in these blogs. In Pub Def, in Urban Review and others the coverage is much different, more complete and accurate than anything the Post-Disgrace dares to print. The Post is so busy trying to satisfy the power structure they don't notice how poorly they report and analysis the news.
Antonio, I'll tell you right now the Post will not give you the space to voice your views, even though your views are balanced, well researched and I feel mirrors the actual truth surrounding the issue.
You are not an insider, not one of the good old boys. Instead they will splash Slay all over the newsprint, and of course old Danforth will have his chance to pontificate over and over.
It's the same old, tired, dying power structure, grasping to maintain their death grip on society. It’s the same people that have given us not only the failure of the SLPS, but also the failure of the city in so many other ways that we can't even attempt an accounting here.
Personally I'm tired of listening to them. Their credibility is gone.
And then the Post-Disgrace wonders why they are losing circulation.
12/23/2006 12:31 AM
Antonio,
The reporter whose work you call into question actually moved to MO one year ago - d'ya think maybe it's not just a coincidence the thoughtful reporting on this issue began about that time?? By the way, perhaps before you call his credentials into question, you should do some, you know, actual reporting yourself. Read: GOOGLE him, already! Award-winning journalist Pulitzer finalist... You're blog is nothing but hack work.
12/23/2006 10:44 AM
Antonio you may want to submit your article to the commentary page to emink@post-dispatch.com.
They seem to have a policy that has power structure approved opinions both far and against a subject. They also seem to reserve the commentary page for their inner circle. Nevertheless they may be so embarrassed about their biased reporting that they need to compensate for that incompetence.
By the way could you imagine if the Post and other major media were still the only means of communication? Their failure to represent the citizens and tackle the issues according to the Platform of Joseph Pultizer is a major reason St. Louis is in trouble. The Post is the mouthpiece of the powerful and influencial, much like Pravada in Russia.
12/23/2006 11:06 AM
On the issue of St. Louis voters being disenfranchised if there is a state takeover--
Who has the greater right--
Voters to elect their own school board
or
Children to a quality education
Of course, we can have both, but we haven't for quite some time now, and not just with Slay's friends on the board. When was the last time the district was fully accredited? I would love to know.
State takeover doesn't guarantee better results, but what we have had hasn't got it done for a long time.
12/23/2006 12:40 PM
Whatever awards Steve Giegerich may have been awarded or been a finalist for don't matter at all to what he is doing now. If the man is inaccurate and his writing tends to include biased language (sometimes subtle...sometimes not so subtle) that is influencing opinion, then he is writing an editorial or, at best, a feature piece...not a news story. He writes good features (the stories about the students in band, for example) but tends to include language that is biased in his "news" stories. I'm not saying he has a secret agenda because I have no proof of that, but many people recognize his news writing as slanted one way or the other. Maybe the Post should give him a column...then he can promote whatever he wants without having to disguise it as news.
12/23/2006 12:46 PM
A great weekend to educate our visting family's and guest about what a piece of crap reporting(sensationalize) the Post Dispatch does for are fine city..oh, and share this fine (pubdef) website with them....
Steve B
Keep it up Antonio
12/23/2006 1:21 PM
State takeover doesn't guarantee better results, but what we have had hasn't got it done for a long time.
12/23/2006 12:40 PM
What the proposed takeover does guarantee is that Slay will choose a person with 1/3 the power, and so will Blunt. Slay has chosen or endorsed 6 or 7 people who served during the Roberti disaster and during whose time accreditation points went from 68 of 79 needed down to 38.
Blunt has an education agenda not well-received by people in public education all over the state.
Two people were elected who changed the direction in a positive way, and two more were going to be elected. The takeover is about power and patronage and keeping it in the same hands, and if that means cancelling the people's right to vote under the phont guise of protecting the children's education, so be it.
12/23/2006 3:11 PM
went from 68 of 79 needed down to 38.
70, not 79---sorry.
12/23/2006 3:13 PM
giegerich's latest:
News > Education > Story
St. Louis Public Schools: It’s the same problem, 40 years later
By Steve Giegerich
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
12/23/2006
In a 1967 report for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission on race and American education, Frankie Freeman wrote:
“Our present crisis is a human crisis, engendered and sustained in large part by the actions, the apathy or short-sightedness of public officials and private individuals. It can be resolved by commitment, the creative energies and the combined resources of concerned Americans at every level of public and private life.”
Earlier this month, as she helped draft a proposal that would reshape the St. Louis public schools for the next six years, Freeman re-read the passage. And time stood still: “I said, ‘My God, we can say the same thing today.’”
On Dec. 15, Freeman and four other members of the advisory committee appraising the troubled city schools repeated, in so many words, the exact sentiments Freeman expressed nearly 40 years ago. Advertisement
The context is smaller. But the root problems affecting the city schools remain a microcosm of the virus that has plagued urban education since well before the days Freeman, a prominent St. Louis civil rights attorney and activist, made her observation.
“I’ve been here 30 years and this has been decades coming,” said Michael Casserly, the executive director of the Council of Great City Schools in Washington, which represents and advocates for the nation’s 66 largest school districts. “And it hasn’t been just the schools, the whole city has been mired in its own maelstrom for a long time.”
The advisory committee suggests that the most effective way the school system can climb out of its own quagmire is to turn the district over to a non-elected, three-member School Board for six years.
If, after six years, the district’s academics and leadership have stabilized, governance would be returned to an elected School Board.
Even if it’s only temporary, the prospect of removing city residents from the governmental process poses a sticking point as the committee’s recommendation heads to the State Board of Education, which is expected to take up the matter at its January meeting.
State Rep.-elect Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, last week called on the State Board to postpone action until city residents can weigh in at a public hearing.
Democratic state Sen. Maida Coleman of St. Louis, the Senate minority floor leader, agrees that the voice of the people needs to be heard before the state intervenes.
But, like many, Coleman is conflicted, as she balances the impact that years of decline have had on thousands of minority students with the prospect of disenfranchising the citizens of St. Louis.
“I’m really torn over what could happen,” she said. “We certainly need day-to-day stability, but what does that do to the voters who say we have spoken and our voices need to be heard?”
Coleman said the city schools, and the committee report, have dominated conversations with fellow legislators before their arrival next week in Jefferson City for the forthcoming legislative session.
Breaking the city school system into smaller districts and denying tenure to teachers in poor-performing schools are among the ideas raised during those discussions, Coleman said.
“The legislature is going to get involved in a serious way,” she predicted.
Whether legislation, a public outcry and possible legal challenges can stave off the advisory committee’s recommendation to the State Board remains to be seen.
Reluctant to show its hand in the face of expected litigation, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has refrained from saying how the St. Louis public schools might function in the coming years.
Casserly said the closest model would be the Philadelphia schools after Pennsylvania dissolved the existing form of that district’s governance some years ago.
Philadelphia now has a system of schools operated by public and private interests with varying degrees of success in improving academic outcomes.
The success of the reforms proposed for St. Louis, proponents of the advisory committee proposal agree, will depend on the effectiveness of one of the three people appointed to the transitional School Board.
That appointment, first among equals, would be the chief executive officer selected by Gov. Matt Blunt following substantial input from Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Board of Alderman President James Shrewsbury would make the other two appointments).
It did not end well the last time St. Louis placed the responsibility for its schools in outside hands.
More than three years after he departed, the name William Roberti — the president of the turnaround firm that closed schools and outsourced maintenance and food service jobs in 2003 — is venom to a considerable number of people across the district.
“In a place where community involvement is very strong, I hope they have learned the Roberti lesson and won’t let it happen all over again,” said Casserly. “You can have a strong-willed person who knows what he is doing. But if you can’t talk to or involve the community, then you won’t accomplish what you set out to do.”
The Roberti experience inspired the committee to recommend the appointed School Board delegate daily operations of the district to a superintendent, former Washington University Chancellor William Danforth said last week.
Danforth and Freeman co-chaired the committee.
“We looked at all the different options,” Danforth said. “Every kind of governance has succeeded and every kind has failed. That is why the people who are appointed to the board are critical.”
Frankie Freeman turned 90 in November. She’ll never know if the words she penned in 1967 will again ring sadly true 40 years from now.
Unless St. Louis puts aside its differences and marshals the creative energy of the public and private sectors alike, Casserly fears they will.
“What is needed is clear articulation from the three-member panel, a vision for what the school can be. They then need to reach for that vision by collaborating with the community.
“If these three people can’t find the vision or can’t sell it or sustain it over six years because of community uproar and turmoil, then they will fail as well.”
12/23/2006 3:31 PM
That last paragraph is exactly right, and the problem will be that the majority of those with children in the SLPS won't trust anyone, no matter how well qualified or well intentioned, who are appointed by the three who will do the appointing. This is exactly why this next election needs to happen and we need to see if the board with two new members can continue the work being done by the few who are now on there that the community has actively voiced support for, as shown by the resounding results of the last two elections.
12/23/2006 5:51 PM
Two things.
I do not trust this concept that if, after 6 years, things have stabilized or improved---they will be willing to give up control by the the 3 man thing? If it would be working---why would anyone want to fix it?
But if it is not working---gosh--could that happen? There would probably be a demand for 1 man rule---not going back to 7 board members. This will be a permanent takeaway of voting power of the citizens.
The other thing---there should be other school districts getting nervous about this---circumstances could arise where the powers that be in other communities could say---"hey---why not? Educators should not be in charge of education---we in the business community are the only people smart enough to do anything." Other school boards should be fighting this stupid 3 man plan now---or possibly being sorry later.
12/23/2006 6:32 PM
I've been calling for an organized boycott of Post Dispatch advertisers until Christine Bertelson is removed as Editorial Director, and Marica Koenig as Schools Editor, for years, but no one was paying attention. I also said the Editor Ellen Sotoeber should go to; she was bad, and I had first hand experience. I like Arnie Robbins better (that we went to the same elementary school in Cleveland doesnt hurt, but isnt dispositive of the issue), but the other two still leave a lot to be desired, even tho I try not to judge.
Now may be a good time, tho I dont have the time to participate. Someone make a list of post advertisers and everyone who thinks their coverage stinks, call them and say that you wont shop there as long as they advertise in the Post.
The best time to have done it was when the Post was being bought out by Lee Enterprises because it would have effected the price. Lee may be thinking of selling the Post, so now might work too.
I've always said that an arrogant media is more dangerous than an arrogant politician, cause you cant vote the media out every two to four years.
Just a thought.
12/24/2006 1:17 AM
Postscript: in our boycott we can have one other request: the Post is one of the only major papers in the country without an Ombudsperson/Reader's Advocate to respond to and advocate for IN PRINT readers'concerns with coverage. We should demand the Post hire one; I'm thinking of maybe an attorney, maybe a Yale Phi Beta Kappa Magna Cum Laude English Major, a college instructor of English, law, government, philosophy and business, with a history of standing up to bullies, being fair, and calling them like they see them. Now where can we find someone like that?
ps if there are any typos in here, that's what editors are for, tho they didnt catch the one in the Post editorial on capital punishment the other day.
Happy Holidays.
12/24/2006 9:27 AM
yea, I know I misspelled Soetober; it was 2 in the morning for goodness sake. No alcohol was involved.
12/24/2006 9:29 AM
Why, with barely 8 months on the job why is the new board being ousted? The new superintendent has even less time on the job. In the Giegerich article, William Danforth said. “Every kind of governance has succeeded and every kind has failed”. What is it that makes him or anyone else think the state can succeed?
Look at the Highway 40/64 debacle as a sample of state mismanagement. The state highway agency MoDot and a regional planning agency EWGCC have turned this project into a nightmare. Compare their vision of the future to Stockholm Sweden. In Sweden they realized suburban development was going to occur in the fifties; they devised a plan where train lines radiated out from the center like fingers on a hand. This left green space between the suburban developments. So today fully 70% of the traffic into the center travels on mass transit, in addition the people have the benefit of easy access to green space. Truly it is government policy concerned about the health and welfare of the people.
Now look at the chaos of the state mismanaged Highway 40/64 project. The road will be tore up for 3 years. There is not even a mass transit system in place that would allow as much as 70% of the populace to travel to the center of St. Louis. Mass transit should have been built along Highway 40 or along Page Avenue, supposedly the preferred route, before tearing up Highway 40. Even worse MoDot and EWGCC did not provide funding for new bus lines to accommodate citizens trying to travel to the center while Highway 40 was tore up.
There is an unbelievable lack of concern for the welfare of the people by state and regional government policy makers. Either they are grossly incompetent or more interested in serving a narrow corporate interest group. In any case the people of St. Louis will be faced with the chaos of poor urban policy.
With this colossal failure in transit how is it possible that the state is qualified to run the SLPS?
Those in power don’t really care about the children. They put on a great show however. If they really cared, all options would be on the table. A comprehensive plan is needed that includes economic and urban development, social development as well as educational opportunities. The urban, economic and educational efforts will tend to pull the social along. Until the society commits to comprehensive action it will be difficult to make any local school based initiatives work in the detailed, universal way that is desired and actions in the educational realm will remain futile and inconclusive
You can change board members and superintendents until you are blue in the face. Environmental development, along with the creation of economic opportunity in concert with educational reform is the only thing they haven’t tried
But if we are replacing elected officials with 3 person boards, perhaps we should look at the crime rates in St. Louis. They have been exceptionally high for as long as the school system has failed. The police chief and the mayor should each be replaced with a three person board “until we get it right”.
Ultimately the motivation behind this takeover of SLPS is rich white guys looking for a way to take the funds from the public through privatization. That is what this is all about in the end, money, not children.
12/24/2006 10:51 AM
Star Jones you hate everyone.
12/24/2006 5:11 PM
It was a dating and relationship column! Perfectly normal, perfectly natural, as Adam Coralla would say. I'm sorry if you think that only sex is a relationship. Some of us have risen above that. Not always necessarily by choice. Anyhow, I didnt write the stupid questions for that column, I just wrote the stupid answers. It was a paying gig, I was smart, funny and entertaining. Regardless of what the silly questions were about, and some of them werent so silly, I wrote about relationships; try one with someone other than yourself.
and for the record, I dont even like sex; even thinking about it gives me a headache; and I dont actually remember ever having it, but I might have when I was younger; I think I did that instead of drugs; perfectly normal, perfectly natural;
ps and I say this with the greatest of respect and in the good sense, Get A Life!
With a bad attitude like yours, you! probably work for the Post.
12/24/2006 8:10 PM
and nice post gmichaud; btw, not necessarily germane here, but one of the planks for my aldermanic platform is to stop the hwy 40 takeover, by public suit, police action, or private suit for a "taking" of the commercial properties which will be adversely affected or go out of business; recent legal precedent, I believe.
12/24/2006 8:12 PM
The truth is if you look at the decline of the City of St. Louis for the past fifty years, it parallels and exceeds any failure of the SLPS system. Perhaps then it is time to look for 3 person board to replace each alderman. If a state takeover is warranted for the school system, certainly it should be warranted for the city itself. The idea of replacing the aldermen is attractive and if the mayor is included, there could be a new 59 person body to govern everything, including the schools.
The idea of a three man board for replacing officials can become contagious.
Bill Haas, I’m glad to see a political candidate supporting the blogs. That way I can see how you feel on issues and on things in general. This can only help me decide whether or not to vote for you if the opportunity should arise.
I’m not sure why the political establishment, otherwise so concerned about communication, refuses to express their views on blogs. The only thing I can figure is they are afraid of democracy.
12/24/2006 10:36 PM
or afraid of themselves, or the voters, or the truth; or since it's christmas, just busy;
happy holidays to all;
Sweetie and I running the Park (Forest); and issue for today, more restrooms in Forest Park: have to go 3 miles sometimes in winter without bathroom; on holidays, 6; that's not easy at my age (Sweetie the Rott-Cattledog is ok; he doesnt like to go in the woods; I dont either, but a man has to do what a man has to do); been writing Forest Park Forever forever, and they say portable ones are not "aesthetic"; neither is people going in the woods; and they have all sorts of portables for special events for mostly county people; but city folk who use it all the time are unworthy? what a crock! It was that Jim Mann who now is a corporate flack toady or some such; not his decision necessarily, but he could have helped; probably never gone around the park in his life; mean to write the new guy; maybe as Alderman I can convince the Parks department to help us out in the Park; and most of the restrooms they have are locked in the winter cause pipes not built to withstand cold; shocker!
holiday to all, Bill
12/25/2006 9:27 AM
Bill Hass wrote: "mean to write the new guy; maybe as Alderman I can convince the Parks department to help us out in the Park;"
Ha ha ha. The new FPF guy IS a hack himself. He left his position with Fleismann Hillard as, among other duties, Civic Progress's conduit to, get this, city government! Good luck there.
Small city. Bad city government. Long tentacles.
12/25/2006 6:50 PM
that's Haas, dog, not Hass; next 18th Ward Alderman; but thanks for the tip on the FPF guy; yea, I remember that, you're right; well, we'll hope for the best; the Parks Department is of course separate from FPF, so maybe have better luck with them; also, City might have some leverage with FPF, I'm thinking; ran the Park with Sweetie today; 63 minutes, 6 miles (long route); not that impressive; stopped the clock of course if I had to go into the woods; not that I would do that, of course; dont stop Sweetie's clock when he goes; he runs rings around me (literally, runs ahead, runs back and around me, runs ahead, pretty much for the whole six miles; pretty good for 6 years; we're going to get old together, I hope; used to be able to stay with him; maybe if I can get back down from 196 to 175 where I belong); always on the leash of course; right.
12/25/2006 9:23 PM
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