By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 11:04 PM
As many as 1,000 people showed up at Harris-Stowe State University tonight to let their voices be heard about the possible takeover of St. Louis Public Schools. The vast majority of the people that came out on the coldest night of the winter were clearly against state action at this time. Labels: Schools
Here are a few videos to get you through the night. More tomorrow...
School Board President Veronica O'Brien...
We didn't get this lady's name, but you better believe nobody at tonight's meeting will forget her...
A St. Louis County mom that chooses to send her kids to SLPS...
Committeeman Jesse Todd...
Radio host Lizz Brown...
State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed...
18 Comments:
Liz, Jamilah, Jesse,the others, brilliant, just brilliant. Gave me chills. Good chills.
Veronica give me chills too. The kind pneumonia is made of. There are chills, and then there are chills. As posters on the other threads say, she needs to be out of the way, not only since she's wrong, because she's entitled to her opinion, but especially because she's just a bad President, doesnt build consensus and doesnt well represent the board. Board members who dont want to stand and fight for the schools independence, should resign. They werent elected to abdicate their responsibilities by ceding control of the district to the state. But remember, dont hate the players, hate the game.
ps Going to court Friday to have my name removed from the schoolboard ballot to help insure the peoples' candidates win. And then going to win my Alderman race just to make sure my name is off the ballot for schoolboard!
1/31/2007 1:21 AM
The points made on these videos provided by PUB DEF are well presented, and well taken. I respect all those that spoke in these videos, and think that the issues are pertinent to the reality that we face as a community. I can feel the passion from the speakers on these videos, just as I felt the passion in person from speakers as I attended many board of education meetings at Carr Lane and other venues.
I really don't feel that the State of Missouri will take over the St. Louis Public Schools as a directive from the Governor, unless he is not planning on running for re-election or feels that he can win again without the black vote as he did before. However, with Jay Nixon running for office on the Democratic ticket, the Governor will not expect to win the rural Missouri areas overwhelmingly like he did against Senator Claire McCaskill. If the Governor is not running again, then look for the Republicans to run Sarah Steelman and she will not want to take on the St. Louis Public Schools as her first campaign issue. So either the state takeover will happen fast enough to take the money from the SLPS retiree board and school budget, or it will not happen at all.
The real problem in the St. Louis Public Schools is the lack of discipline by the children. If these same 700 people that attended that meeting, visited the schools as secret shoppers then they would be appalled by the environmental hostility that exist in most schools. Sure a few magnet schools are doing O.K. academically, but even at those schools there is a lack of discipline. Most school environments are dominated by fear and intimidation, and Diana Bourisaw knows about this but doesn't know how to deal with these problems. This was Craig Williams number one priority, because he believed that it was tough for a child to learn in a hostile environment and I agree with him. We need a campaign to visit 700 parent's homes to see what the hell is going on in them. Jesse Todd is right on target about the socio-economic problems that our students face everyday, and that people need to quit once they don't believe they can do a job. Ms. Brown is right on target about politicians being ready to take all the money in the system. Jamilah Nasheed was right in that this will be just another meeting with no real meaning in a month or so. Veronica O'Brien was right in saying that the majority of the School Board supports a takeover behind closed doors. Bill Purdy has shared with plenty of people in secret that he is ready to let the state takeover, and so has Flint Fowler, and Peter Downs, but not Donna Jones.
However the people are tired of all this talk and talk and talk and talk and talk because there is no real action just:
Protest after protest, after protest, after protest, after news conference, after news conference, after news conference, editorial after editorial, after editorial, after editorial, vote after vote, after vote, after vote, after vote, election after election, after election, after election, school dropout after school dropout, after school dropout, after school dropout, superintendent after superintendent, after superintendent, after superintendent, shooting after shooting, after shooting, after shooting, meeting after meeting, after meeting, after meeting, killing after killing, after killing, after killing, and we are going to do something after we are going to do something, after we are going to do something, after we are going to do something, so there is noise after noise, after noise, after noise, get my point after get my point, after get my point, after get my point!
When are we going to shut down some things and let people know that we are serious about these matters being dealt with!
1/31/2007 1:30 AM
A couple of speakers last night FINALLY began to speak of using the power of the people to take meaningful action...
maybe we need a focus group and a meeting to discuss it!
p.s. The lack of alternatives for disruptive and/or learning disabled students is STILL the one and only problem we should even be addressing right now. Addressing that would yield the most positive effects by far. Everything else is a distraction.
1/31/2007 6:33 AM
Bill Haas said...
Board members who dont want to stand and fight for the schools independence, should resign. They werent elected to abdicate their responsibilities by ceding control of the district to the state. But remember, dont hate the players, hate the game.
ps Going to court Friday to have my name removed from the schoolboard ballot to help insure the peoples' candidates win. And then going to win my Alderman race just to make sure my name is off the ballot for schoolboard!
1/31/2007 1:21 AM
Spoken like a true leader Mr. Haas! Thank you for all your wisdom and work for the betterment of St. Louis Public Schools!
anon. 1/31/07 1:30a.m.
"The real problem in the St. Louis Public Schools is the lack of discipline by the children."
I believe schools are an extension of the family, part of the "village" to borrow from the old saying. How do you understand a family where the children are undisciplined? Remember the root word of dsicipline is "disciple." Who are the disciples in this equation and who are they looking toward for discipline? How would you act if your were V. O'Brien's disciple?
1/31/2007 7:02 AM
Forget takeover, DISSOLVE SLPS! There is no hope for public schools in St. Louis City, when these clowns are the "concerned parents."
1/31/2007 9:23 AM
Snead Hearn, my brother. Thank you for your kind words. (Not easy to find on the blogs some days.) Made me smile in the morning - no mean feat, in either sense of "mean". Best, Bill
and welcome in 18th Ward anytime: Savoy Restuarant, I think (may be on opposite side of Lindell - will have to look if has odd, my side, or even, other side), tho never been there, Metro School, et al. best, Bill
1/31/2007 9:52 AM
You may have a point anoy... But I think mr french miss most of the good speakers last night because later on the really good speakers came out. Like that kid in the orange shirt. I think they should have kept the rappers out though
1/31/2007 9:54 AM
The retired teacher (who told everyone not to applaud during her time) was Edwina something. I have "Wing" but that could be incorrect.
There was a great show of support last night for Dr. Bourisaw. There's one thing I cannot figure out - Why does O'Brien advocate for state intervention? What are her motives?
Also, which other districts in the state have less accreditation than St. Louis?
1/31/2007 10:22 AM
"Bill Purdy has shared with plenty of people in secret that he is ready to let the state takeover,"
This statement is absolutely untrue. I normally do not respond to rumors but this is an exception. My position in opposition to State intervention is clear:
A statement from William Purdy
Vice-president, St. Louis Board of Education
January 31, 2007
It is remarkable and unprecedented in Missouri that there is a plan for a St. Louis city school board coup to remove the authority of the elected city school board. The transition board idea would be in fact a recall of an entire elected body without the vote of the people.
There is a very real possibility that Commissioner Kent King will recommend that the Missouri Board of Education strip St. Louis voters of any direct voice in the operation of the St. Louis Public Schools even though they bear half the costs of running the schools. And that is not all.
Proposal Puts Boards Across The State At Risk
Under a proposal being seriously considered, the voters would not even have an opportunity to go to the polls every two years to select members of the Board of Education who would be nothing more than figureheads. Under the proposal being considered, authority over the schools would be taken from the seven elected school board members and turned over for six years to a three-member committee appointed by the Mayor, the President of the Board of Alderman, and the Governor.
All three have personal political agendas and Mayor Slay himself is the chief propagandist for state control. It was the mayor who first proposed a takeover after losing the 2005 and 2006 school board elections in spite of spending millions of dollars to defeat mostly parent candidates. By April 2006 it became evident to the community that the district was going in the wrong direction. There had been a steady decline in students' performance so St. Louis voters, both parents and teachers, endorsed and supported the election to today's board members, district parents, Donna Jones and Peter Downs.
In a step well-known in St. Louis City politics, the mayor – who lost control of the board last April after three years – wants to change the ground rules. His concept would violate two fundamental principles of American democracy:
"No taxation without representation" was a rallying cry that helped fuel the American Revolution, and "Government with the consent of the Governed" is part of the bedrock of our democracy.
Some bureaucrats have now decided to circumvent the rights of the voters to elect their own representatives. This is the beginning of a dangerous slippery slope reminiscent of third world countries. Other St. Louis area and school boards across the state are now at risk. Representatives, senators, mayors, and alder persons may be next. Also, it is troubling that there are no qualifications determined, at this point, for either the transition appointees or an exit strategy.
Kent King and DESE should pledge not to disrupt the remarkable progress now being made and need to have specific new procedures in place as direct overseers of a large urban district. Clear guidelines of responsibilities need to be spelled out before any action is taken.
The State board must also pledge to work for payment in full of the $120 million dollars in state money that is owed St. Louis and the suburban districts under the same settlement agreement which presumably empowers the state board to establish the transition board. Also, the state board needs to assure our citizens that it will have the staff resources to provide guidance for special education, for the district's responsibilities to instruct children of immigrants and those who are homeless as well as other numerous urban needs.
Our citizens need to know that Kent King and the state board are not singling out St. Louis and that the other 12 school districts across Missouri – including Kansas City – that are not doing as well as those in St. Louis will get the same “state intervention.”
Commissioner Kent King should consider that the accreditation data that he is using to make his recommendation largely reflects the work of the previous four superintendents and the Slay school board majority and not the current Superintendent, Dr. Diana Bourisaw and Board of Education. It was the reforms supported by Mayor Slay and implemented by the 2003 board members that led to the rapid decline in SLPS academic performance, enrollment, graduation rates, college entries and created the turmoil in the district from 2003 until today.
And most important, the takeover will now be seen as rewarding Mayor Francis Slay and his chosen board for losing 25 accreditation points and sending the schools into an unprecedented tailspin. From 2003 to 2005 that same Slay majority board hired the following four (4) superintendents in just three years: William Roberti, July 2003-July 2004; Floyd Crues, July 2004-December 2004; Pamela Hughes, December 2004-April 2005; and Creg Williams, April 2005 - July 2006.
The majority of the 2003 board hired William Roberti of Alvarez & Marsal as Superintendent and paid that firm over five million dollars. Roberti had never been a Superintendent, did not have certification, had no plans to become certified for this position and had no professional experience as an educator. In spite of his lack of credentials and experience and over the objections of the community, Commissioner Kent King and DESE waived Superintendent certification for Roberti. Community members pleaded to King and DESE for help; filed a lawsuit; however, King and DESE ignored the appeal from St. Louis citizens. Citizens traveled to Jefferson City; Hundreds of letters were written and phone calls made; however, all of their efforts were dismissed.
It is truly amazing that after all the struggles that parents, teachers, and community members endured for the past three years that DESE now responds by proposing to return the governance of the St. Louis Public School District to the same individuals who made the decisions that led to the present state of our schools today.
Finally, Kent King and DESE are reminded that two new members will be elected to the city board on April 3, 2007. I agree with Senator Maida Coleman who has asked the State Board of Education to postpone a vote until after the school board election before making a decision on a transitional district.
Mayor Francis Slay, Veronica O'Brien, Robert Archibald, and Ronald Jackson are the chief takeover advocates while the Danforth - Freeman Committee, DESE, and the State Board are being misled right into a total disaster for the St. Louis Schools.
There is still a good opportunity for DESE and the State Board to climb back off the plank.
Should this transition board and recall be successful then total responsibility and accountability Must rest squarely on the shoulders of William Danforth, Frankie Freeman and their committee members, Kent King, Peter Herschend and the State Board members, Governor Matt Blunt, Mayor Francis Slay, Veronica O’Brien, Ronald Jackson, Robert Archibald and all those politicians who will have taken away the rights of the voters of St. Louis. These public officials will assume total responsibility and accountability for their actions in experimenting with the education of our children.
"Taxation without representation is tyranny"
James Otis
US politician in American Revolution (1725 - 1783)
"Consent of the governed" is a political theory that says a government's legitimacy and moral right to use state power is, or ought to be, derived from the people or society over which that power is exercised.
John Locke
English Philosopher
1/31/2007 10:33 AM
I believe this was a momentous and unprecedented event; in other words, it was historical.
The anonymous that said, "Bill Purdy has shared with plenty of people in secret that he is ready to let the state takeover, and so has Flint Fowler," I have to question the accuracy of that statement, since both Peter Downs and Bill Purdy have been very vocal against a state takeover.
The passion and well articulated speeches were astounding! The first speech, however, did not speak to the purpose of the meeting and included a falsehood. The teachers' retirement system did not change its name, it has been the Public School Retirement System of the City of St. Louis for eons of years.
Dr. Charles Brown was the best person to moderate the meeting, and his comments regarding the rudeness shown to Ms. O'Brien needed to be said. We're supposed to be civilized people. Booing those with whom we disagree is hardly proof of being civilized and confronting problems rationally and respectfully. This does not help the image of St. Louisans. I say this even as I am in complete disagreement with Ms. O'Brien. She deserves her say and opinion in a public forum. Dr. Brown calls us back to respect and common decency toward one another. Let's hope all can learn this important message.
Lastly, every politician should recognize the will of the people. They are against any partial or total takeover of their children's education and future. There appears to be unanimous appreciation and support for Dr. Bourisaw. I loved the comment that the previous superintendent arrived at a school with an entourage and an armed guard, while she came alone, unprotected and humbly ready to hear the parents speak. People are tired of arrogance of power. They want educators who care and who are professional.
An Arab statesman long ago said: "History never sleeps." I am happy to say I think the truth about what has happened to destroy our school district is rising to the surface and for all to learn. Hip hip hooray!
1/31/2007 10:37 AM
The cruelest of all the ironies in this situation:
there is almost a maniacal demand by King, Slay, Blunt and others to get this takeover done now---and why?
Because good things are being accomplished in the face of almost impossible odds by Bourisaw and supportive board members. They must be thrown out now, before they get reinforcements from the next election. It is the possibility of success by takeover opponents which is the real crisis in the eyes of the takeover advocates. What good is helping the kids if they have to give up power?
1/31/2007 12:08 PM
General Question to those opposed to state takeover on the grounds that it is disenfranchasing--
How many years will you give the new (old) majority, Downs, Purdy, Jones etc. to produce student achievement before they should be given the boot, either by election or state takeover? Can poor student achievement ever be the impetus for state takeover? If so, what must the achievement levels be before it is justified?
It takes so long for the ocean liner of SLPS to be turned around, if it can be, and I can't say that the right people are at the helm. Not saying the previous people were either, but there will be a time when enough is enough.
1/31/2007 1:37 PM
Student achievement should never be a determining factor regarding state takeover because the appointed panel cannot control the actions of students and make them perform anymore than parents and teachers can. The appraisal method must be within the control of the individuals being evaluated.
1/31/2007 1:53 PM
I do not understand why O'Brien spoke at the meeting last night. This was supposed to be a forum for the public, whose voice is usually not heard in the halls of power. Mrs. O'Brien has ample opportunities to get her voice heard; she did not need to step up to the mike last night. Did she not expect people to respond negatively to her, or was her intention all along to disrupt the meeting, cause it to be stopped, and give the citizens of St. Louis a black eye?
1/31/2007 1:54 PM
One of the pro takeover speakers gave her definition of insanity---repeating the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome.
That makes the case against the takeover---letting Peter King and Slay run the district is a repeat of the mistakes circa 2003.
1/31/2007 3:18 PM
Bring me back and I will turn things around.
2/01/2007 4:48 AM
Hi Mr. Williams! Just wanted to let you know your brilliant idea of putting the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders in with the younger kids has been a disaster for discipline!
2/01/2007 6:02 AM
Concerning discipline, try teaching a couple of days in any city school to see the absolute depravity of the students, and the teachers who ultimately have to turn a blind eye to many things that would have kids kicked out of other public schools.
"Doing it for the kids" and all that liberal b.s. has turned the school system into what it is today. It's time to make kids aware that they're actions have consequences, immediately, not "if you don't study, you won't succeed in the future." That's much too far away to register with kids. They need discipline that bites immediately.
Please, if you doubt my views, go sub teach a few days to see how far Michelle Pfeiffer has distorted the truth.
2/06/2007 7:34 PM
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