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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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In a press release sent out today, St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Diana Bourisaw says CEO Rick Sullivan is still running the district.
"Rick Sullivan’s appointment to the Special Administrative Board remains in effect," said Bourisaw. "Reports indicating that Governor Blunt withdrew Mr. Sullivan’s appointment are unfounded. The district will continue with business as usual."
Unfounded? Not really.
Below is a copy of the letter, signed by Governor Matt Blunt, withdrawing Sullivan's nomination.
Click images to enlarge
The question that now remains is whether the Special Administrative Board will have to re-elect Sullivan as President of the Board following Blunt's expected re-appointment of the Chesterfield real estate developer in the coming days.
Both Rick Sullivan and Derio Gambaro have indeed been withdrawn. This is a fact. Read the letter for yourself above.
Before the next meeting of the Special Administrative Board of St. Louis Public Schools (and after the Missouri Senate has adjourned again till January), Sullivan will most likely be re-appointed by Blunt through a letter sent to the Senate. This is the process.
In the meantime, Sullivan cannot legally vote, hire, fire, sign contracts, or anything else. No matter what PR people or the "Daily-Disappointment" says.
Within the next seven days, all City of St. Louis registered voters will receive a very important mailing from the City of St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners. The postcard-style mailing will include a permanent voter notification card, information about the respective voter’s registration, and important election information for 2008.
This "voter canvass" is mandatory, according to State law, and it provides each voter with an opportunity to ensure that he or she is properly registered under the correct name and at the correct address. In addition, under current State law, the voter notification card can be cut out and used as identification at the polling places when the voter requests a ballot.
With the McKee development, the aldermen are gatekeepers of redevelopment. They don't need to see McKee's plans to articulate a vision for their wards, and ask that the developer act accordingly. They can expedite nuisance complaints. They will be on the front lines of the fight in the Board of Aldermen on McKee's plans. No matter what version of Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit Act passes the General Assembly this week, it will require a tax credit applicant to get a redevelopment agreement with a municipal government -- and that has to come from the Board of Aldermen in St. Louis.
Nothing can happen for McKee without the support of these alderwomen. That's mighty power. Furthermore, nothing can happen for these alderwomen without the support of their constituents. That may be the biggest power in play here, if people use it well...
In the following two-page letter from Governor Matt Blunt to the Missouri Senate, the names of 10 different appointees were pulled from consideration. According to sources, only two (SLPS CEO Rick Sullivan and State Board of Education appointee Derio Gambaro) were pulled because of controversy. The others, including Harris-Stowe University regent Wayman Smith, were pulled because they were unable to make the Senate hearing or some other minor reason.
Click image to enlarge
Blunt will likely re-appoint most, if not all, of the people on this list following the end of this special session of the Missouri Legislature. The Senate would then take up these appointments again during their regular session next year.
However, it is still not known whether Sullivan or Gambaro's senators (Jeff Smith and Joan Bray, respectively) will be willing to support their appointments next session either.
The Missouri Legislature has passed GovernorBlunt’s Economic Development Package, including the Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit. By a vote of 125 to 19, the House today passed the Senate version of House Bill 1.
Among those voting in favor of the bill were St. Louis State Representatives T.D. El-Amin, Rodney Hubbard, Rachel Storch, Tom Villa and Robin Wright-Jones.
Those voting against included Mike Daus, Jamilah Nasheed and Jeanette Mott Oxford.
Governor Matt Blunt’s office officially withdrew his nomination of Rick Sullivan as CEO of St. Louis Public Schools yesterday after Sullivan’s State Senator, Joan Bray, refused to sponsor his appointment.
Blunt also withdrew the name of his latest appointment to the Missouri Board of Education, former State Representative Derio Gambaro, after State Senator Jeff Smith also refused to support his appointment at this time.
Both Sullivan and Gambarro were recess appointments. After the governor’s withdrawal this week, he will likely reappoint them after the conclusion of this week’s special legislative session. The senate would then take up their nominations again next year.
In other St. Louis Public Schools news... Superintendent Diana Bourisaw was in Jefferson City yesterday meeting with lawmakers and touting the good things going on in the district. Earlier Story:
Late last night, the Missouri State Senate voted to pass House Bill 1, the economic development bill containing, among other things, the Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit and the Quality Jobs Tax Credit.
The vote was 25-7 with one absence.
Among those voting in favor of the bill were Senators Maida Coleman and Rita H. Days. The two announced last week they will be hosting a forum on "land assemblage and the potential impact on the community" on Monday, September 10, from 6:00-7:30 pm at Harris-Stowe State University.
They will be joined by State Representatives Esther Haywood, Juanita Head-Walton, and Robin Wright-Jones; and former State Rep Amber Boykins.
St. Louis City's other two senators, Harry Kennedy and Jeff Smith, also voted in favor of the bill, which now heads back to the House today and a conference committee possibly this afternoon.
As the Missouri State Senate continues to debate House Bill 1, the economic development package, PubDef is hitting the road.
Hopefully, we'll catch tonight's senate vote. But we'll definitely be in Jefferson City tomorrow when the bill comes back to the House and heads to conference.
Last week, Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe (D-St. Louis) appeared on Lizz Brown's radio show and was quoted in the St. Louis Argus screaming to high heaven about how horrible the proposed Distressed Areas Land Assemblage Tax Credit was for north St. Louis.
He even attacked St. Louis' black delegation to the state legislature for supporting the tax credit earlier this year.
But when he testified in Jefferson City before the special House committee examining the bill, Troupe had nothing but praise for the bill.
"Mr. Chairman, I think the bill is a great bill," said Troupe. "I think it brings a lot of economic development to the area and I support everything in this bill," said the former state representative.
Attorney General candidate Jeff Harris today picked up the support of the Sheet Metal Workers Local 36.
From the press release:
David Zimmerman, President and Business Manager for Local 36, said today that, “Jeff Harris is our choice for Attorney General because he has always been there on the issues important to the working people of this state. Jeff has stood up and fought for what’s important and we have no doubt he’ll do the same as our next Attorney General. Working families should rally around Harris. We are proud to endorse him." "It has been my privilege to stand with organized labor on behalf of the working men and women of this state,” Harris said. “Today, I am proud to have the members of Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 36 standing with me and supporting my candidacy for Attorney General.” As Attorney General, Harris has vowed to aggressively enforce minimum wage and prevailing wage laws to ensure that hard-working Missourians are fairly compensated for the work they do. Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 36 has over 3,000 members in eastern Missouri, including the greater St. Louis metropolitan area, Columbia, Jefferson City, and Springfield.
By a unanimous vote yesterday, a State Senate committee approved House Bill 1, the economic development package which includes the controversial Distressed Area Land Assemblage Tax Credit. The committee also passed two amendments to address some outstanding concerns with the credit. From the Post-Dispatch:
The revision stipulates that the tax credit cannot assist developers with outstanding fines, bills or taxes to a municipality. As of last month, public records indicate that McKee owed more than $35,000 in fees to the city for providing upkeep at the abandoned tracts, though city officials say they are satisfied the money will be paid.
The panel also approved an amendment ensuring that public hearings are held before the approval of any project qualifying for the tax credit. Last week, the House approved an amendment requiring local elected officials to sign off on qualifying projects.
Senator Claire McCaskill wants to make drug companies' contributions to doctors public. McCaskill said today that she will introduce a bill next month requiring drug companies to list all gifts, promotional items, money and drug samples given to doctors online.
The information would be listed on a national drug registry website. Patients could use this website to find out if their doctor has received gifts from drug manufacturers.
McCaskill says gifts can lead to preferential prescriptions from doctors, and she hopes the drug registry website will cut down on this practice.
McCaskill made the announcement today at a meeting with St. Louis members of the American Medical Student Association at Washington University.
In an opinion handed down today, the Missouri Supreme Court declined to order candidates and elected officials to return money raised during the brief time the state was without contribution limits.
In a 4-2 per curiam opinion that cannot be attributed to any particular judge, the Court held that its July 19, 2007, decision is fully retroactive as to James Trout and is fully prospective to all candidates and campaigns whose campaigns were concluded by July 19. The Court further held that, as to all other nonparty candidates whose campaigns were not concluded by July 19, the Court cannot make any bright-line rule of prospective or retrospective application on the record before the Court and, therefore, leaves such matters to the Missouri Ethics Commission, which is responsible for any enforcement action to require disgorgement of campaign contributions.
McCaskill Happy to See Gonzales Go [Updated with Video]
By Gabe Bullard
Not long after the news of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’ resignation broke, Senator Claire McCaskill released a statement praising Gonzales' decision to leave.
"It was clear to me from the start that Attorney General Gonzales had been part of a political scheme and consequently should have been quickly removed from his position," says McCaskill.
"The delay is another failure of leadership and display of incompetence by the Bush Administration."
Today in Sherman Park, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay dedicated a grove of trees to slain police officer Norvelle Brown, who was killed a few blocks away from the park.
In Missouri, the governor selects a judge to serve on the Supreme Court from a panel of three candidates submitted by the Appellate Judicial Commission. The Appellate Judicial Commission is made up of the presiding chief justice, three lawyers chosen by the Missouri Bar and three people appointed by governors.
Before they make the cut, the Supreme Court candidates are asked to complete a questionnaire. Governor Matt Blunt's office has posted their responses on the Governor's website. Click here to read them.
The Land Assemblage Tax Credit passed the House today, but not in the form everyone wanted it. Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford proposed to amend the bill to lower the required acreage to qualify for the tax credit from 75 to 30. Speaker Rod Jetton ruled the amendment out of order, saying it was not within the boundaries set by Governor Matt Blunt for the special session.
“He told us what to legislate and that was improper,” says Oxford. “I have just been appalled by the defeat and the anti-democratic way of pushing things through the House under the current leadership.”
Oxford voted against the tax credit, saying it’s current language allows too many opportunities for exploitation.
The LATC is now in the Senate for debate. If the Senate makes any changes to the bill, it must be re-approved by the House.
“I voted for it knowing that the battle is not over,” says Representative Connie Johnson. “I voted for it knowing there’s a memo on my desk saying ‘Please be prepared to be in session next Thursday and possibly Friday.’ I voted for it knowing that it’s going to the Senate and the Senate’s going to change it. We’re going to take this up again. It’s not over.”
Johnson says she thinks the bill has room for improvement and she supports lowering the required acreage.
As she said, Representatives have been asked to be in Jefferson City next Thursday and Friday.
After a move by State Representative Jamilah Nasheed to force a vote on the Land Assemblage Tax Credit separately from the larger economic development package, the credit still passed by a large margin of 106 to 45, with six members absent.
Voting in favor of the tax credit were Representatives T.D. El-Amin, Rodney Hubbard*, Connie Johnson and Tom Villa.
Voting against were Representatives Mike Daus, Jamilah Nasheed, Jeanette Mott Oxford and Robyn Wright-Jones.
Speaking on the floor in favor of the bill, Representative Hubbard said, "With the addition of local control, any concerns that people have with any proposed development can now be addressed at the local level."
Hubbard also read from an editorial in today's St. Louis American which said, "What is certain is that North City needs major development, and economic development in distressed areas in particular is driven by tax credits. It is also certain that a move from blight of its current scale (and not only on properties owned by McKee) to a project worth major investment is almost certain to involve compromises by North City residents and officials who represent them..." *Hubbard is a client of A D French & Assoc.
State Representative Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) offered an amendment to strip the land assemblage tax credit from the economic development bill.
The amendment failed by a vote of 86-62
Voting in favor were State Representatives Mike Daus, TD El-Amin, Rodney Hubbard, Connie Johnson, Jeanette Mott Oxford, Rachel Storch, Tom Villa and Robyn Wright-Jones.
Following Nasheed's amendment, Oxford offered an amendment to lower the acreage required to qualify as a developer from 75 to 30. Speaker of the House Rod Jetton ruled that amendment out of order, saying it went beyond the scope of Governor Matt Blunt's call of the special session.
On Saturday, August 18, St. Louis Public Schools Special Administrative Board member Richard Gaines spoke to a group of 1st Ward residents about the challenges which lay ahead for the city school district.
VIDEO: Michael Allen Outlines Possible Improvements to Tax Credit Bill
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Wednesday, August 22, 2007 at 7:34 AM
Michael Allen, the blogger whose research into the once-mysterious Blairmont land acquisitions led to all the attention the Land Assemblage Tax Credit is getting today, testified yesterday in Jefferson City on ways to make the legislation better.
State Rep. Jamilah Nasheed told the committee yesterday that her area didn't want the $95 million Land Assemblage Tax Credit.
"Until we understand it and until we know better what's going to take place in the areas we represent, we don't want it," said Nasheed.
She said developer Paul McKee has been "disrespectful to the local elected officials" and she thinks it is "pathetic" for anyone to support the tax credit without first seeing his plan for the area.
At yesterday's committee hearing on Governor Matt Blunt's economic development package, which includes the controversial Land Assemblage Tax Credit, State Rep. Rodney Hubbard* offered an amendment to require any redevelopment plan to be approved by the the Board of Aldermen. The committee passed the amendment 11-0.
Hubbard also offered an amendment to shrink the amount of land a developer needed to qualify for the credit from the current 50 acres down to just two. Committee Chair Ron Richard (R-Joplin) said he felt that amounted to "gutting the bill" and recommended the committee members vote against it, which they did.
Hubbard also attempted to add language that would require three public meetings be held before any redevelopment plan is approved. Committee members said they felt the local control amendment put in the hands of the Board of Aldermen the power to conduct as many meetings as they choose before they approve the redevelopment plan.
St. Louis Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe, a longtime critic of the city's Land Reutilization Authority's land-banking policy, testified today in Jefferson City that the proposed Land Assemblage Tax Credit would be good for north St. Louis — but only if it was amended to require any redevelopment plan eligible for the credit to first be approved by the Board of Aldermen.
Troupe said St. Louis has suffered over the years from "corrupt and backwards and sometimes outright stupid" policies. He pointed to the twenty-year-old LRA policy of acquiring thousands of properties, mostly in north St. Louis, and routinely denying independent rehabbers a chance to purchase one or two properties at a time.
With the protection of local control, Troupe said he supports this tax credit bill and sees it as promising for much needed investment.
Following Troupe's testimony, State Rep. Rodney Hubbard* offered an amendment, which was approved by the committee, to require any redevelopment plan to be approved by the the Board of Aldermen. *Hubbard is a client of A.D. French & Associates
Supporters of the proposed Land Assemblage Tax Credit bill testified today before the House Special Committee on Job Creation and Economic Development in support of the legislation.
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's chief of staff Jeff Rainford; Rev. James Morris; John Cross of SEIU Local 2000; and Robert Tillman, a 19th Ward homeowner, were among those who said the proposal will allow for much needed and much delayed development to begin in north St. Louis.
Education reporter Steve Giegerich might have a future in public relations when his days at the Post-Dispatch are over.
Giegerich's stories about the state of St. Louis Public Schools helped shape public opinion in suburban St. Louis and across Missouri against the elected board and for the need for a state takeover.
He has even written stories that blatantly disregard the facts as they relate to critics of the takeover. To the Post's credit, after watching PubDef's video of the meeting in question, the editors did issue a correction following Giegerich's last completely false story against Special Administrative Board member Richard Gaines.
But now, thanks to the wonders of the Internet, the paper's editors can correct Giegerich's stories as soon as the facts are made clear to them and before they waste any ink.
Yesterday afternoon, Giegerich wrote a story for STLToday.com with the headline, "City Schools Open Without Glitches".
Even the most optimistic school administrator knows that there's not a school district in the world that has a glitch-free first day. As a matter of fact, as the press release below from the elected school board, illustrates, there were quite a few glitches.
By evening, Giegerich's story had changed. "City Schools Open With Glitches, Optimism," read the new headline and story.
From the school board:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 20, 2007
Media Contact: Donna Jones Phone: 314-568-0149
Unacceptable Problems Plague First Day of School in St. Louis
Transportation and classes without teachers top the list of reported problems
St. Louis - Thousands of St. Louis children starting school today encountered more than the usual number of problems.
"While many schools had an excellent start, there were problems with student transportation all across the district," said Donna Jones, chairwoman of the School Climate Committee of the St. Louis Board of Education. "Many, many schools, elementary, middle, and high, reported that there were buses that were very late in bringing students to school," she said. "Transportation problems were made worse because the district was very late in sending out route assignments to parents, and families did not get their notices until after the deadline for correcting any mistakes. That kind of performance is unacceptable," she added.
"Many schools also reported that they had oversized classes and teaching positions still unfilled," Jones said, including magnet schools, regular elementary schools, and high schools. "Beaumont reportedly did not have a foreign language teacher, even though foreign language is a state requirement, and Central was offering only Spanish," she added.
The schools opened under the direction of a state-appointed board that began operating on June 15, 2007.
William Purdy, former vice president of the elected board of education said, "There should be no reasons why our schools did not open smoothly on Monday, August 20. Superintendent Bourisaw and her staff came to the elected board for support back in May and June – and the board responded by approving all of the requests made in order to assure that our schools would open on time. The board approved 143 items in May and June to ensure that schools would open on time and that students would be provided for."
Board of education member Katherine Wessling expressed frustration that problems were so widespread on the first day of school in spite of all the planning into starting the school year that occurred last Spring before the arrival of the state-appointed board. "Every school I visited or contacted had transportation problems," she said. "I don't want to hear any more about special programs when we can't get the basics right," she added.
The St. Louis Board of Education has undisputed authority and responsibility to monitor the activities of the St. Louis Public School district. This statement is issued in performance of those monitoring duties.
The Missouri House and Senate both came back into session today to revisit the economic development package (HB 327) previously vetoed by Governor Matt Blunt. Of course, included in that package is the controversial Land Assemblage Tax Credit.
There was not much action today. In fact, the House was only in session long enough to first and second read the bill and refer it to committee for a hearing.
That hearing is scheduled for noon tomorrow. Check PubDef.net tomorrow afternoon for video from the hearing.
“A Fresh Start” was the theme for the day. Today was the first day of classes for St. Louis Public Schools. It was also the beginning of the first academic year under the Special Administrative Board.
The district will be releasing attendance and enrollment figures later in the semester, but both Superintendent Diana Bourisaw and SAB CEO Rick Sullivan reported higher enrollment than previously estimated, especially at magnet schools.
Despite administrators’ concerns over the heat, no schools were closed or released early due to the weather.
Lunch menus remained the same as planned, but the SAB is searching for an independent dietician to help revamp school lunches. St. Louis Public Schools’ lunches were recently named the worst nutritionally in the nation.
Poisoning the well of good faith negotiations in trying to reach a compromise on the controversial Land Assemblage Tax Credit is the amount of anger and raw emotion people have towards its chief architect, Paul McKee, and the amount of damage he has done to a community already devastated by decades of neglect.
"Paul McKee creates blight," said 5th Ward Alderman April Ford Griffin last week as she showed legislators and her aldermanic colleagues long-standing brick buildings which now sit with entire walls spilled out onto its once green yard.
She told the other lawmakers about reports from neighbors of mysterious men ramming Bobcats into the sides of buildings, which only months before housed families, causing the walls to fall onto themselves and leaving the building open to the elements, looters and drug dealers.
Some scenes in the video you are about to watch look like they were filmed in the most devastated areas of New Orleans. Mr. McKee and others will point to these images and say this is why he needs this tax credit. What is important for Missouri's state legislators to understand, say city aldermen, is that just 18-24 months ago, many of these buildings were homes with families living in them. Then Blairmont came.
This is where the anger comes from.
But after all the anger surrounding this one man, what St. Louis' Legislative delegation must remember is that this problem is larger than one man, even this man who in the short-term has made the situation worse.
There are 100 million dollars in much needed tax credits on the table. The challenge over the next few days is how to make them available to people who do care about these communities, organizations and developers who are respectful of the people of these areas and sensitive to their desires about the future of their community, and not to reward a man who has for so long, so blatantly disregarded the men, women and children forced to live next to his piles of bricks and self-made blight.
When it comes to the proposed Land Assemblage Tax Credit, the devil is in the details.
A story in today's Post-Dispatch says leaders in the Republican-controlled legislature are confident that a scaled-back version of Governor Matt Blunt's economic development package will pass during the special session which begins tomorrow. Included in that package is the controversial tax credit which as originally passed seemed to include parameters that only one known developer could qualify for.
Developer Paul J. McKee Jr. has purchased more than 500 tracts of land in and around Old North St. Louis, land that could be used in part to qualify for such tax credits.
Blunt says the new bill would broaden the program so that more developers could participate. Under the latest draft, the subsidy could go to those who buy at least 50 acres for projects covering at least 75 acres in low-income areas. Up to $10 million in credits could be issued each year until the total hit $95 million.
The sponsor, Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, Mo., said he believed the new proposal satisfies concerns that the program was designed for one man. Griesheimer added that McKee "ought to be nominated for sainthood" for investing in decaying areas of St. Louis.
Senator Griesheimer may feel differently about McKee's qualifications for sainthood after he watches PubDef's latest video on the St. Charles developer's northside activities. Check back Monday for that special report.
Lowering the requirement of the acreage needed in order for a developer to qualify for the tax credit is a step in the right direction, said the original Blairmont watchdog, Michael Allen. But at 50 acres, the bill would still make McKee the only likely applicant in Old North St. Louis.
"What we need is a threshold much lower than that, closer to half that number," said Allen. "At 20 to 25 acres, other developers and even established neighborhood organizations could apply and receive these tax credits."
PubDef will be reporting this week from the special session in Jefferson City, following the negotiations as legislators, lobbyists and residents try to reach a compromise.
According to the Post, the Legislature's schedule calls for a House committee to hold a hearing on the bill on Tuesday. The full House will vote Thursday. A Senate hearing will take place Aug. 27 and the full Senate could vote Aug. 29.
Will Blunt Withdraw Sullivan? [Updated: Gambaro Too?]
By Antonio D. French
The term of St. Louis Public Schools' chief executive officer may be even shorter than many predicted.
Governor Matt Blunt's appointment to the Special Administrative Board of the city schools, Rick Sullivan, has yet to be confirmed by the State Senate, and is unlikely to be unless his senator, Joan Bray, sponsors him.
Blunt appointed Sullivan after the legislature ended its last session. As a recess appointment, Sullivan would normally not have to be confirmed until the senate came back in January.
But as the state legislature reconvenes this week, there is growing speculation that Blunt will withdraw Sullivan from the CEO post to avoid his senate rejection and reappoint him again after the special session.
UPDATE: According to Senate Minority Leader Maida Coleman, unlike a veto session, during a special session of the Legislature, the senate carries on with all its normal business, including confirmation of appointments.
The senate is scheduled to take up the confirmation of roughly 45 gubernatorial appointments during this short session. Unless they are withdrawn, that would include Sullivan and Board of Education appointee, Derio Gambaro — both of whom, at this point, do not have the support of their home senators.
The Governor's office has until the last 24 hours of session to withdraw their nominations. He then can renominate them 24 hours after the Legislature adjourns.
