By Antonio D. French
Filed Thursday, February 07, 2008 at 3:58 PM
State Senator Maida Coleman (D-St. Louis City) today voted against the reappointment of Peter Herschend of Branson to the State Board of Education. Coleman spoke against the nomination for more than 40 minutes in committee Wednesday and for nearly an hour on the Senate floor today before he was eventually confirmed by the Republican-controlled senate. Labels: Appointments, Education, Schools, State_Senate
She released this statement afterwards:“In the committee hearing yesterday, Mr. Herschend told me I should be embarrassed of my school district,” Sen. Coleman said.
Members of the Missouri Senate affirmed the reappointment of Herschend to the State Board of Education today on a voice vote.
“I think Mr. Herschend should be embarrassed that he has decided to play politics with the children of my district. He should be embarrassed that he callously disenfranchised the citizens of my district by turning control of the St. Louis School District over to the state.”
In March 2007, the St. Louis Public Schools lost their accreditation when the State Board of Education voted 5-1 to rescind the accreditation after concluding that the district had met only four of the state's 14 academic performance measures. Peter Herschend was serving as President of the State Board of Education when the decision to strip the school district of local control was made.
At the time the state board voted to classify the St. Louis Public Schools as unaccredited, several other school districts possessed 2006 Annual Performance Review ratings that were equal to or below the scores assigned to the St. Louis City School District.
“It makes me wonder why Mr. Herschend has taken no action to reclassify other low-performing school districts,” Sen. Coleman said. “There seems to be no apprehension by Mr. Herschend or the Board that they are disenfranchising the voters of a predominantly black city. We are still forced to pay taxes, so we have taxation without representation.”
Additionally, Sen. Coleman expressed reservations about any person serving such a lengthy term on a state board or commission. Peter Herschend has served on the State Board of Education for 16 years, and with his confirmation by the Senate today, will serve another eight years on the board.
“Is it a good idea to allow anyone to sit on what is arguably the most important board in state government for 24 years?” Sen. Coleman asked her colleagues on the Senate floor today.
“If someone were to serve the maximum amount of time in the General Assembly, they could only serve 16 years. If the citizens of Missouri think it’s a good idea to limit the terms of their elected representatives, surely the length of service of an unelected official should be limited as well, especially one who wields so much influence over our children’s education.”
8 Comments:
I have been posting about what a (inappropriate for this forum noun) this guy is for a couple of years now.
Of course the republicans reappointed him---he has given them dozens of millions of dollars. He owns them, and through them, he now owns some of your votes.
Thanks for the illumination, Maida.
2/07/2008 5:27 PM
Even more embarrassing to Coleman, is the fact that she supports forcing city employees to live in that same pathetic school district, or face losing their careers.
2/07/2008 7:04 PM
Please excuse the brevity, but why the h&!! shouldn't they have to live in the city? Seems like a good idea to me. When employees live in the place they are helping run, it gives them an extra incentive to do a good job.
2/07/2008 8:17 PM
Since living in the city gives employees an extra incentive to do a good job, let's call for Sen. Coleman to require that St. Louis Public School teachers live in the City and send their own children to the SLPS.
It's not fair for city employees to be required to live in the city and school district employees to be treated differently when they are also payed by taxpayer dollars.
2/08/2008 10:24 AM
I live in the City and am proud of it. What I don't like is having no control over a school district that I pay taxes for. This man has no right to have 24 years of influence over a district so unlike his lily-white Branson school district. And he doesn't care, he's not accountable to us.
2/08/2008 5:35 PM
Well, no that "lily white" -- one out of seven Branson students isn't white.
Also, Branson graduates 89 percent of its students, 94 percent of them are in school every day, its avg class size is 21, and the per pupil expenditure is $6843.
SLPS graduates far fewer students (57 percent), has more truants (89 percent attendance), has smaller class sizes (19), and spends twice as much per pupil ($13,680).
2/08/2008 6:44 PM
I agree if the taxpayers live in the City why can't teachers live here too? Seems to me so many want to run from it and not build it. The said part our kids mostly democratic suffer due to a lot of Repulican control over tax dollars boards and state wide elected officals who either sent their kids to private school or in my case saw problems early and choose to home school til college. Education is the future for our kids and country and why isn't it supported more? I thank my Senator Maida Coleman for having vision some have closed their eyes long ago to.
2/09/2008 5:59 AM
Well, then maybe the Branson superintendent should have been appointed CEO instead of Sullivan. Herschend doesn't run the Branson school district. Send that superintendent up here and see how they do.
2/09/2008 4:12 PM
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