By Antonio D. French
Filed Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 11:27 AM
By a vote of 6-0, the St. Louis City School Board today ousted its controversial president. Labels: Schools
After a procedural move to change the number of votes required to remove an officer, School Board member Donna Jones made the motion to remove Veronica O'Brien as board president. New member David Lee Jackson seconded.
After the vote, applause came from the audience of parents and district employees.
O'Brien did not attend yesterday's or today's school board meeting.
Also as expected, the new board majority voted today to challenge the district's loss of accreditation.
The Board approved a resolution to request a hearing before the Commissioner of Education, D. Kent King, regarding the accreditation status of the St. Louis Public Schools. State law allows any school board to file such an appeal if the members are dissatisfied with their district’s classification.
Board also voted to authorize the district’s legal counsel to "engage in legal research and dialogue with officials at DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) and take any such action, if necessary, to challenge the creation and authority of the proposed Transitional District and to have the proper authority of the Board declared."
Board member Flint Fowler voted against the action, saying he did not think it was appropriate for the financially-strapped district to spend money in such a way. But board member Peter Downs responded by saying that the district will spend much more if they are forced to pay for city students to attend County school districts as the loss of accreditation would allow under current law.
18 Comments:
Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
4/12/2007 11:53 AM
Ding Dong the wicked which is.......................wounded, not dead! She's still on the board, better hope she doesn't survive, mutate, and multiply!
4/12/2007 12:31 PM
If she were to be removed from the board entirely, then Slay would get to appoint somebody else. At least right now everybody knows what kind of nutcase they're up against. There's no telling who might come in behind her.
4/12/2007 12:45 PM
I agree with you "Cleeland".
4/12/2007 1:17 PM
I have been very critical of Veronica O'Brien. But please remember her role in confronting Floyd Irons and remember the frightening fallout which followed.
The explanation i hear for her doing the 180 turn against her former allies is the deal where Bourisaw reduced Bonner's salary.
Until shown otherwise, I can never rule out that the murder of Tim Bacon, and the complete failure of the media to follow up on it, might have made her fear for herself and her own children.
I am glad to hear of the 6-0 vote---it was completely necessary.
4/12/2007 2:36 PM
The BOE is a reality show where coalitions are made and broken with the deeds and misdeeds of the contestants. No regard for the society but only the gains at the end.
4/12/2007 2:45 PM
TRouble said...
The BOE is a reality show where coalitions are made and broken with the deeds and misdeeds of the contestants. No regard for the society but only the gains at the end.
4/12/2007 2:45 PM
I think you are completely wrong.
What you are describing is what happens with people appointed or slated by a higher political power with an agenda. It is what was the case from 2003-2006.
These democratically elected people with stakes in what happens are a big improvement.
But do not worry---you will get your appointed by bigshots formula back on June 15th if the courts do not rule otherwise.
4/12/2007 3:16 PM
"I can never rule out that the murder of Tim Bacon, and the complete failure of the media to follow up on it, might have made her fear for herself and her own children"
uh, ya think?
Veronica did some good and bad things. This is true. The problem is that some of the players have read Bill Clay's book, "No Permanent Friends, No Permanent Enemies, Just Permanent Interests". These are your Sly and Shame Gangstas! Most only are mere pawns. Problem is, those who need the book are those who have the community's interest at heart, and thus the students'. As for the pawns, they will switch back and forth as guided by the manipulators of the shytstem.
And those like Veronica, will back off when it gets dangerous. FLOYD IRONS HAS BEEN IN THE COMMUNITY FOR MANY YEARS AND HE WOULD BE LOCKED UP WITH DEVLIN IF PEOPLE IN THIS city WERE NOT AFRAID TO STAND UP TO HIM AND DEMETRIUS JOHNSON!
4/12/2007 3:52 PM
po, I have to agree that it may be a lot scarier than most would like to admit. While I try not to let fear rule my life, I am pretty sure that a threat to my family would be a lot harder to ignore. The sad reality is that we have some fairly frightening people with a lot of power to do harm. We may never know what triggered the abrupt change of attitude, but I was actually a big fan of O'Brien's when she took on the big guys, and I'm very sorry if she paid for that bravery with her ability to feel safe in our city.
4/12/2007 5:04 PM
I don't get it. Certainly, Demetrious is a loud mouth and Floyd is a bully. But, if they did as you are insinuating, order or actually perform the assassination of Timothy Bacon; don't you think that some budding young journalist, itching for a Pulitzer, would have ferreted out the truth by now?
And hey, if Kjoe can't get Antonio to do an expose on it; there probably is not anything there.
Your thoughts? Even you po. (if you promise not to use the word shytstem)
Oh and Kjoe, I just wish that this dialog had happened 30 years ago when mediocrity was still knocking from the outside of the door. I don't prefer the state takeover.
4/12/2007 7:18 PM
I promise (evil grin)! OK I don't personally know about Bacon, but I personally know that DJ is more than a loud mouth. A brave journalist should look into an alleged rape at McKinley High School during the early 80's and as for Floyd Irons, interview a nephew of his who attended CBC High School during the late 70's.
Now I am no rocket scientist but my intuition tells me that where there is smoke, there is definitely fire. Also, I learned at a very early age that sociopathic tendancies occur in clusters. People who lie have no problem cheating and stealing. People who rape and molest usually hang out together and they also have no problem commiting murder.
See? I kept my promise!
4/13/2007 8:11 AM
TRouble said...
I don't get it. Certainly, Demetrious is a loud mouth and Floyd is a bully. But, if they did as you are insinuating, order or actually perform the assassination of Timothy Bacon; don't you think that some budding young journalist, itching for a Pulitzer, would have ferreted out the truth by now?
That is a really good point, and it does give me some pause. Antonio and Bill mcClellan are the only two media members who did not change the subject when i asked them about it. Antonio has obviously been busy. McClellan has been giving several columns to a reather ordinary case, which, while interesting, does not carry the same significance for the community in which his columns appear as would the bacon murder.
I almost have to assume that the kid was murdered for reasons other than anything related to the school stuff---but until something is said about the forensics report---or lack of one---regarding the 12 bullets---I have to continue to wonder. Anything at all--an interview of his mother---but no one seems willing to say anything. maybe it is because there is nothing there.
I also have to assume that the report by ksdk about an fbi investigation regarding irons was erroneous reporting by that station---there has been zero follow-up.
But there is lingering doubt.
Funny what the media chooses to make a big deal about---and what they choose to ignore.
4/13/2007 11:53 AM
In McClellan's case you have to change "budding young" to "fuzzy old" journalist.
I believe that you are falling for the "CSI" problem that is infecting juries across this country. That the forensics report will have some spectacular tidbit that will lock up the case in 60 minutes.
4/13/2007 1:07 PM
I would settle for "the forensic report regarding the 12 bullets revealed nothing. Interviews of relatives and friends led nowhere. All possible leads on this case are dead".
4/13/2007 1:29 PM
Not an unreasonable request.
4/13/2007 1:39 PM
Kjoe, something about your 4/13/2007 11:53 AM post has been bugging me for the last day or so. Then it hit me... if the patron Saint of the disenfranchised, Sylvester Brown Jr, did not want to tackle your question; there might just be some cover up.
How was that for a conspiracy theory?
4/14/2007 7:29 PM
Sylvester brown did have a story about him in September---there was a silence following similar to the silence following ksdk's recent report about an fbi investigation of Irons.
I was surprised at kevin Slaten's silence.
I posted a thread last August on the tivo site (the happy hour section) asking for outsider's objective view of the murder. Most thought that Bacon was just a troubled person who could have been executed for any number of reasons. One which i had forgoten--domestic troubles. Maybe the media and the police thought it was obviously a family matter, and the less said, the better.
I revisited the tivo site (my name there is spiro improved), and it seemed more suspicious to them now, than last summer.
4/14/2007 8:08 PM
here is another lead:
In the report where Veronica O'Brien and Diana Bourisaw were quoted as saying, "Floyd Irons should never work with children", the anchor person said, "they both stopped short of calling him a pedafile". Why would that statement ever come from an anchor person if there had been no allegations of sexual misconduct on the part of Floyd Irons?
Maybe his nephew isn't a liar after all?
And maybe molesters and rapists do commit murder?
Who will be brave enough to find out?
4/15/2007 10:18 AM
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