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DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
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Students remain in City Hall tonight waiting for another meeting with the mayor — a meeting that is unlikely to happen anytime soon because Mayor Francis Slay is out of town on vacation.
Students met briefly with the mayor Thursday, but left unsatisfied (Check back later for exclusive video from that meeting). A second meeting was attempted Friday after approximately 200 students and adults arrived at City Hall in support of the young protesters, but that meeting did not happen.
The mayor sent a letter to the students yesterday in which he says he spoke with the Commissioner of the State Department of Education to convey their concerns about the loss of accreditation.
In his letter, the mayor also referenced an incident we first reported in which a city marshal cursed at the group of students saying, "I don't give a care about you motherfuckers."
"I have instructed my staff to treat you with respect," wrote Slay. "It is my understanding that a city marshal has apologized for a confrontation with you. That is appropriate."
"It is my hope that you can see that people who disagree — even a lot — can still treat each other in a civil manner," said the mayor.
There is a rumor that the sit-in may soon relocate to Jefferson City, the site of next week's State Board of Education meeting at which St. Louis Public Schools is expected to be stripped of its accreditation.
However, several students tell Pub Def they are committed to staying in City Hall until the mayor comes back from vacation and meets with them again.
Well-wishers from all over the region have sent food, water and snacks for the kids. Several adults remained with the students tonight, including radio host Lizz Brown, School Board Member Donna Jones, Alderman Charles Q. Troupe, former Alderman Irene J. Smith, and April Harris, a former campaign staffer for Aldermanic President Jim Shrewsbury, who is technically currently the mayor of the city in Slay's absence.
Last report has about 30 students sleeping in City Hall tonight, some in the Mayor's office and others in hallways. At one point today, over 200 students and parents crowded the halls of City Hall.
School officials reported that numerous high school students staged protests at Soldan International Studies and Gateway Institute of Technology this morning. Administrators at each of those schools were able to get the majority of students back into their classrooms.
Students at Roosevelt High School also walked out of class in protest.
"I understand the desire of these students to have their voices heard," said Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. "We are working to provide them answers to their questions regarding the proposed unaccreditation of the St. Louis Public Schools. In the meantime, I want them to all return to their classrooms."
This morning, Dr. Bourisaw and Senator Maida Coleman met with seniors representing all SLPS high schools. Bourisaw shared with the students the results of the district’s research into how unaccreditation might impact college acceptance.
"So far our research has found only one private college and one public university where students may have difficulty in getting accepted if the district loses its accreditation," she said. "However, the majority of our students should not have any difficulty in being accepted to college."
Yesterday, Bourisaw met with the students currently holding a sit-in at City Hall and encouraged them to return to school. She offered to answer any questions they had and offered to follow-up on the college accreditation issue. This afternoon, answers to the students’ questions regarding college admission were delivered to them.
"We want all of our students to be in school every day," Bourisaw reiterated.
Hundreds of students walked out of school today and headed to City Hall to join their peers who are engaged in the third day of a sit-in in the office of Mayor Francis Slay.
The students were not allowed to enter the mayor's office, which is now guarded by armed City Marshals as well as St. Louis Police officers. They have settled in and sat down in the hallway outside the office, where they plan to stay until Mayor Slay addresses their concerns.
We are told that city officials will make accomodations for the students to sleep tonight in the Kennedy Room in City Hall.
As students enter Day 3 of their sit-in protest in Mayor Francis Slay's office, time may be running out for the mayor to defuse the situation before it escalates.
After a brief and unsatisfying meeting with the mayor yesterday, students have committed to remaining in his office until he seriously addresses what they see as the most serious items on their list of 10 demands — and they may soon get reinforcements.
At three o'clock this afternoon, St. Louis Public Schools students begin their week-long Spring Break. The student protesters tell Pub Def that at that point, more SLPS students will be on the way.
City Hall may soon be the site of a 10-Day slumber party, with vacationing students joining their peers in the Mayor's office.
If that wasn't enough, the end of Spring Break comes just one week before the April 3rd school board election, adding even more political fuel to the protest.
Considering this situation will likely end in only one of two ways: the students leaving on their own, or the students being physically removed — the mayor may want to end this thing before 3 o'clock today.
Erica Simpson, a 16 year-old sophomore from Metro High School, said following the meeting with Mayor Francis Slay, the group was locked out of the lobby they had been waiting in. She said several members from the group screamed out of a window to a Fox 2 news crew that they were being held without their permission in the mayor's chambers.
Kaylan Halloway alleged that marshals cursed at the group of students, saying "I don't give a care about you little motherfuckers."
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today issued the following statement to address concerns about possible negative consequences for college-bound students if SLPS becomes unaccredited.
State education officials believe that students who graduate from an unaccredited school district have valid diplomas.
The fact that a school district is unaccredited should not disqualify any student from admission to a higher education institution or from eligibility for financial aid, if the student is otherwise qualified.
Higher education institutions typically consider several sources of information about prospective students (transcripts, ACT/SAT score, recommendations, etc.). The accreditation status of the school district is unlikely to be a significant factor.
These issues are not addressed by state law. As far as state education officials are concerned, students aspiring to attend college should not be negatively affected if their school district becomes unaccredited.
However, because colleges and universities may set their own criteria for admissions and financial aid, it is possible that students could encounter obstacles in some cases.
Meanwhile, State Senator Jeff Smith tells Pub Def that he will make personal phone calls and send letters on behalf of students to any college admissions office director, chancellor, provost, or other administrator affiliated with an institution that has withdrawn a scholarship offer from an SLPS student.
"I will do so as soon as I am supplied with documentation that a scholarship offer has been threatened or revoked," wrote Smith in an email.
Students Not Satisfied with Brief Meeting with Slay, Sit-In Continues
By Antonio D. French
Mayor Francis Slay met for only 25 minutes with the two dozen students that have been waiting in his office for over 20 hours and the group said they left feeling disrespected and unsatisfied.
Check back later for video interviews with students, School Board member Donna Jones, and radio host and activist Lizz Brown.
While students were settling into their spots for an all-night protest in his office, Mayor Francis Slay was in Jefferson City testifying in favor of a bill that would grant him the power to open more charter schools in the City of St. Louis.
Freshman State Senator Jeff Smith, the sponsor of the controversial bill, spoke with Pub Def Tuesday about Senate Bill 564.
Using tactics out of the FBI stand-off handbook, city officials ordered the air conditioning to be turned off yesterday as St. Louis Public School students, some as young as 8 years-old, waited to speak to Mayor Francis Slay about the coming takeover of the school district.
After sitting in the heat for nearly three hours, 18 year-old Howard Hughes, a senior at Roosevelt High, walked over to the two large window unit air conditioners and turned them back on. City Marshal Ron Hill quickly checked the young man, telling him he wouldn't turn his mother's air conditioning on without permission.
Hill ordered a deputy to turn the air back off.
Later in the evening, after these conditions were first reported by Pub Def and other local media, the air conditioning was turned back on.
Students talked to Pub Def yesterday about their protest in the mayor's office and why they believe the people most affected by the decisions on SLPS are being ignored.
Post-Dispatch education reporter Steve Giegerich has become a lightning rod for controversy and has for months been accused of fanning the flames of the takeover of SLPS supported by Mayor Francis Slay.
At press conferences in the past, speakers have called out the Post-Dispatch — and Giegerich, in particular — for what has been seen as biased reporting.
Yesterday, during the first hour of the continuing student sit-in in the mayor's office, Giegerich's reporting again became the subject of discussion after the reporter attacked the credibility of the students and their supporters.
After more than 15 hours of waiting for a conversation with Mayor Francis Slay, the group of two dozen students were greeted this morning by the mayor's education liaison, Robyn Wahby, who brought bagels, but no mayor.
The students refused Wahby's offer and remain determined to speak to the mayor. Here is the list of demands that the students are waiting to present to Mayor Slay:
1. Do not take away our accreditation before the end of the school year
2. Contact Missouri Colleges and Universities and provide statement/proof from them that the lack of accreditation will not have any negative impact on our scholarships or admissions to college
3. Make no final decision before the April election
4. "Play By They Rules" - Give us provisional accreditation until 2008
5. Show us your educational plan that would be put into place if you take away our accreditation
6. Explain in writing why you are treating our district differently then other districts
7. Provide proof that you have talked to the students of the SLPS before you decided to support a State take over
8. Provide a forum for a student-based discussion on a State take over
9. Provide proof that you will keep your promises
10. No retaliation against us for our actions
Listen to live coverage of the ongoing student sit-in on 920AM till 10:00 a.m.
The 6 o'clock deadline has come and gone and City Marshals have allowed the students to remain.
School Board member Donna Jones, radio show host and activist Lizz Brown, Committeeman Jesse Todd, and activist Eric Vickers are among the adults accompanying the two dozen high school students.
Pizza has arrived and although the room remains warm after marshals turned off the air conditioning, tempers have remained cool.
Head Marshal Ron Hill and three to five of his deputies are keeping a close, but so far polite, watch over the group.
No one from the mayor's office has spoken to the students yet. Ed Rhode, the mayor's spokesman, did invite reporter Charles Jaco into the mayor's chambers briefly before he and the rest of the mayor's staff left for the day.
Jaco was overheard saying that he was told the mayor was going to allow the kids to stay all night.
The air conditioning has been turned off and City Marshals are preparing to bring an end to the student sit-in currently in progress in the mayor's office.
We are told that officers will remove the students from City Hall in about 35 minutes.
A group of about two dozen SLPS students are engaged in a sit-in in the mayor's office.
The students are joined by parents, school board members, and activists opposing the takeover of St. Louis Public Schools approved by the State Board of Education and supported by Mayor Francis Slay.
Slay, who shortly after last year's school board election began lobbying for a takeover, is in the State Capitol today lobbying for several things, including Sen. Jeff Smith's bill to give him authority to open charter schools.
St. Louis Public Schools will hold another public forum tonight regarding the preliminary recommendations for additional school closings and reconfigurations.
Tonight's meeting will be at Carnahan High School of the Future, 4041 S. Broadway, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
State Senate Democrats have temporarily succeeded in putting off a vote on Governor Matt Blunt's controversial plan to shift hundreds of millions of dollars from MOHELA, the state's college loan program, to fund several construction projects around the state.
However, the Dems' victory will likely be short-lived as debate resumes Wednesday morning and Republicans, who control the Senate, will eventually get a chance to call the vote.
Earlier Tuesday, two very tired St. Louis senators spoke with Pub Def about the filibuster, which started Monday night, and why Senate Democrats feel so strongly about the changes.
Minority Floor Leader Maida Coleman spoke with us in her Capitol office.
We caught up with freshman Senator Jeff Smith outside the Senate chamber.
The Senate is currently discussing Consent Agenda items (those that are non-controversial and do not cost more than $100,000). They are expected to again pick up the MOHELA bill this evening. Democrats are expected to continue their filibuster.
Check back later for interviews with St. Louis senators Maida Coleman and Jeff Smith.
After a three-hour break for a quick shower and nap, Senators came back in session at 2 o'clock for hour number 20 of the Democrats' filibuster against Governor Blunt's controversial MOHELA plan.
Dems have a skeleton crew on the floor while leadership from both parties meet to negotiate a deal.
We're told that fundraisers have been cancelled for the night and both sides are ready for another night sleeping in chairs.
Pub Def will be reporting from the State Capitol today. Check back tonight for interviews with senators and representatives from St. Louis - and maybe the Governor.
The Senate has taken a break from their now 19 hour filibuster on Gov. Matt Blunt's MOHELA plan. They will resume at 2 o'clock.
State Rep. Talibdin El-Amin is preparing to introduce a bill aimed at crack cocaine. It would put a primary ingredient in the drug's production, baking soda, behind the counter, similar to what was done to the ingredients in Meth.
Naomi Silver of Milatino.com has produced a very interesting 20-minute video that outlines the debate surrounding the town of Valley Park, MO and its targeting of illegal immigrants. The video and features interviews with opponents like St. Louis lawyer Linda Martinez and supporters from Valley Park who list everything from public safety to disease as reasons to keep out undocumented immigrants.
Yesterday a St. Louis County Circuit Judge threw out Valley Park's laws against landlords renting to illegal immigrants and businesses from hiring them.
After nearly 12 years serving as the attorney for the Board of Aldermen, Patrick J. Conaghan received a warm farewell Friday as he headed to his new job in the Probate Courts.
Conaghan received a proclamation from Mayor Francis Slay and a resolution from the full Board of Aldermen, presented by Alderman Fred Wessels, before being sworn into his new position by Judge David Dowd.
Conaghan joked to the crowd filling the floor of the Aldermanic chambers that after a dozen years in City Hall he knew most of them were there for the food.
In an open letter to his old friend and publisher of the St. Louis American newspaper Dr. Donald Suggs, longtime activist Percy Green says the esteemed dentist should have remembered to "do no harm" before operating on St. Louis Public Schools.
"I have confronted the St. Louis Board of Education on issues as far back as 1969," said Green in the letter dated March 5. "So, that does not make me a 'Johnny-come-lately' on tackling issues pertaining to [public] education."
Green outlines Suggs' involvement with the 2003 takeover of the St. Louis School Board led by Mayor Francis Slay. Suggs served as advisor and campaign treasurer for candidates* Vince Schoemehl, Ron Jackson, Bob Archibald, and Darnetta Clinkscale. He also advocated in his newspaper their candidacies and their eventual decision to briefly privatize the management of the district and close several school buildings (located mostly in predominately black north St. Louis).
"Mayor Slay with Donald as a team member, lost two straight school board elections, year 2005 and 2006," wrote Green. "After the last election, 'like me and my shadow', Slay and Donald begin advocating a state take-over of the public school system."
Suggs was appointed to the five-member state committee (later known as the Danforth-Freeman Advisory Committee) which, as expected, recommended a takeover of the local school board.
According to Green, all five members of the Advisory Committee "were either friends or close associates. They all supported the Slay failed experimental school practices that lost many accreditation points over the past three years. This scheme was like putting the wolf in charge of the hen house to say the least."
"I am sure my old friend Donald had good intentions when he first engaged Mayor Slay about him teaming up with the Black [Leadership] Roundtable," wrote Green.
"Mayor Slay and Donald’s 'how-to' intentions of fixing the public schools became obvious after three years and the accreditation points slipped downwardly from 2 to 25 points from full accreditation.
"Purposely done or not, it happened. My old friend Donald has made it worse than what it was before he and Slay intervened."
When Gregory F.X. Daly is sworn in this morning as St. Louis' new Collector of Revenue, it will be the first time in nearly 60 years that someone has risen to that office by virtue of an election.
Daly's office sends the following history lesson:
In 1950, Del Bannister was elected as Collector of Revenue as a Democrat. Bannister left office and Midge Berra was appointed as Collector to fill Bannister’s unexpired term. Midge Berra died in office, and Jack Travers was then appointed to fill that unexpired term. Jack Travers left office to take a corporate position and was replaced by the final appointee Ron Leggett, who held the position for more than 30 years. While each of these esteemed officials won subsequent elections, Daly will be the first Collector in 57 years to obtain the position for the first time through an election.
Daly was elected to Collector of Revenue on November 7, 2006. State law requires the Collector to take office in March, rather than January when the other elected officials are sworn in. He will be sworn in by the Honorable Jack Garvey, Circuit Court Judge for the City of St. Louis. Mayor Francis Slay is scheduled to make remarks on behalf of the city, and other city officials are expected to attend.
The ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. today (March 12) in City Hall, Room 208 (The Kennedy Room).
The St. Louis Metropolitan Children's Agenda and Vision for Children at Risk will be hosting a School Board candidates forum on Saturday, March 24.
This forum is the eighth in a series of forums called "A Public Dialogue on Public Education". According to organizers, the purpose of this forum will be to provide an opportunity for school board candidates to outline their views on the critical issues facing the St. Louis Public Schools and to engage in a dialogue with voters and other members of the community concerned about the city's schools.
The session will be structured in three 30-minute segments: (1) each board candidate will be asked to outline his or her positions on issues facing the St. Louis schools in a presentation of about five minutes; (2) candidates will be asked to respond to a series of questions posed by a moderator; and (3) audience members will be allowed to ask questions of the school board candidates.
Admission is free, but registration is required. Please RSVP to blboston@visionforchildren.org. A light lunch will be served.
The forum will be at the Engineers' Club is in the Central West End on the north side of Lindell Boulevard between Boyle and Newstead Avenues.
Click here for a list of the candidates running in the April 3rd election.
