The elected school board of St. Louis Public Schools released the following statement tonight following the effective firing of Superintendent Diana Bourisaw by the state-authorized Special Administrative Board and forum tonight on the closing of eight more city schools:

State Control of Local Schools – No Room for Children?

Recent actions by the state appointed board (SAB) running St. Louis Public Schools make one thing very clear: the well-being of students is not one of their top concerns.

The members of the SAB clearly are following the charge laid down for them by the Missouri Board of Education: squirrel money away in an account you will never touch instead of spending it to educate city children. The state board of education established the SAB on the recommendation of a report that called for closing many schools in St. Louis in order to transfer money from the school district’s operating budget into the desegregation capital budget, a budget that the state board says can only be used to build new schools in the unlikely event that the county school districts suddenly pull out of the interdistrict transfer program and send all the city residents in their schools packing back to the city. The state board of education and the Missouri Attorney General have it in their power to waive payments into the desegregation capital fund. We think it is wrong that they do not do so.

School Closings

We believe that the state board of education’s demands that St. Louis Public Schools forego spending money it has on education and instead place it into a fund that the state hopes to takeover in 40 years is outrageous and immoral. We unequivocally oppose closing schools to bank money for the state.

We also note that the assumption shared by the state board of education and the SAB that smaller schools are more expensive to operate than larger schools is an assumption that is not supported by research. Studies by researchers at Brown University and the University of Wisconsin, for example, have shown that small schools are not any more expensive to operate than large schools. The key is not how large a school is, but how it is managed.

Instead of closing neighborhood schools, the SAB could have looked at changing the way they are managed to save money. One suggestion to emerge from neighborhood meetings is to have the principal and literacy coach in small schools teach classes, in other words, make the administrative positions part time administrative and part time teaching positions. Yes, that would have required getting the teachers’ and administrators’ unions to agree to changes in their contracts. More significantly, perhaps, it would have required that district administrators – education officers, assistant superintendents, and the superintendent – give up their practice of routinely pulling principals out of schools for daylong meetings. They would have had to think more carefully about when they really needed to pull a principal out of school and plan better in order to use principals’ time out of school more efficiently.

The SAB’s failure to consider alternative management structures for small schools suggests that they are more concerned with preserving management the way it is than with serving children.

The financial talk surrounding this round of school closings masks a prejudiced belief that city school children do not deserve the same small class sizes enjoyed by children in the county. Elaborate arguments about school capacity and utilization are all about one thing: making sure that when city public school children attend school they are in the largest classes possible. We believe that is wrong and we urge the state board of education and the attorney general to do the right thing and forgive payments to the desegregation capital fund.

Forgiving payments the desegregation capital fund would not do away with all of the school district’s financial woes – the state’s charter school policy of having more and more schools fight for pieces of the same fixed financial pie ensures that the city school district will continue to face strong financial pressures – but it would give the school district breathing space to consider alternatives. A year ago, the St. Louis Board of Education asked staff to estimate the cost of reducing class sizes to the state’s “desirable” level. That estimate could have served as the basis for a discussion with legislators and the community about funding. Under the weight of the campaign by the state education commissioner, Kent King, to remove the school district’s accreditation and the remove the elected school board, district staff never prepared or presented that estimate. The SAB never requested it. Forgiving payments to the capital fund could give the SAB time to repair its negligence, if it so desired.

School Violence

The decision to return to the classroom students, who were suspended earlier this year for such felonious offenses as making death threats to staff or getting caught with weapons or drugs at school, is another example of the SAB sacrificing students in order to put a few more bucks in the bank. Such students should have been removed from the population they threatened and put in a program where they can get the concentrated services to change their behavior and progress academically. We emphasize that the issue is one of providing students the services they need, not one of punishment. The decision not to provide such services is really a decision about money that hurts everyone in the school. We strongly urge the SAB to reconsider its decision to deny alternative education services to violent students.

Superintendent

Less than one year ago, the state board of education declared that it had to replace the elected school board with an appointed board in order to stop “the revolving door” of superintendents in the school district. They said an appointed board was necessary to bring stability to the superintendent’s office. Now, one week after the state-appointed CEO is confirmed in his position, he is spinning that door again, and for no good reason. The statement from the SAB that everything was good with the superintendent, but they wanted a change, apparently simply for the sake of change, is insufficient reason for again creating uproar and instability in St. Louis Public Schools.

We believe the SAB owes the public an explanation for their precipitous decision to fire Diana Bourisaw.

In addition to approving the above statement tonight, the school board also voted to appeal the recent court decision which upheld the state takeover of the district.

BREAKING NEWS

Sources tell PubDef that the Special Administrative Board of St. Louis Public Schools has fired Superintendent Diana Bourisaw. We do not yet have details on when Bourisaw would be leaving the district or if a replacement has already been identified.

Developing…

UPDATED:  This comes from St. Louis Public Schools:

The Special Administrative Board (SAB) of the St. Louis Public Schools announced today that it will conduct a search for superintendent of schools. The current superintendent, Diana Bourisaw, will continue in her current position during the search process and has been encouraged to apply.

“The SAB’s mandate is to improve our schools and the superintendent’s role will be critical to the district’s success.” said Rick Sullivan, chief executive officer of the St. Louis Public Schools.

“Our students deserve the best education possible, and it is our intent to confirm that we have the best person to lead them.”

Bourisaw was appointed superintendent in July 2006 by the elected Board of Education immediately after the removal of then Superintendent Creg Williams. Bourisaw was not selected through a public search process.

“This search is not a reflection on Dr. Bourisaw’s performance. It is our responsibility to make sure the district is on the right track, and an independent superintendent search is part of that process. We hope Dr. Bourisaw applies,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan has asked SAB member Melanie Adams to lead a national search. Currently, there is no firm time table.“Parents, students, staff and interested members of the community will have the opportunity to be involved in our effort to find the best superintendent,” said Adams.

“We hope to have that person in place by Fall 2008.”The three-member SAB took over governance of the St. Louis Public Schools in June 2007. Rick Sullivan was appointed by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt, Melanie Adams was appointed by the City of St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, and Richard Gaines was appointed by President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed.

Here’s video from today’s press conference:

PART 1

PART 2

Special thanks to Andrew Wimmer for the videos.

St. Louis Public Schools will hold the first of four scheduled community forums tonight to hear public comments regarding the preliminary recommendations for school reconfigurations and consolidations. Here are the dates and times of all the meetings:

• Monday, February 11 at 6 p.m. (CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER) at Lexington Elementary, 5030 Lexington Ave. 
• TONIGHT, February 12 at 6 p.m. at Wyman Elementary, 1547 S. Theresa Ave.
• Wednesday, February 13 at 6 p.m. at Walbridge Elementary, 5000 Davison Ave.
• Thursday, February 14 at 6 p.m. at Blow Middle, 516 Loughborough Ave.

As part of the preliminary plan, the district is considering the closing of several schools. They are:

• Mitchell (students move to Hamilton)
• Gundlach (students move to Ford, Lexington and Laclede)
• Wilkinson ECC (move program to Roe)
• Shenandoah (students move to Wyman)
• Simmons (students move to Hickey, Cote Brilliante and Farragut)
• Lyons (students move to Blow)
• Mark Twain (students move to Walbridge)
• Meramec (students move to Monroe and Froebel)

The proposal also includes reopening Carver School as a pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade school.Public comments may also be submitted online at www.slps.org, by calling (314) 331-6100, or by writing to: Operations Division, St. Louis Public Schools, 801 N. 11th St., St. Louis, MO 63101.

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.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. “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.”   

Members of the Missouri Senate affirmed the reappointment of Herschend to the State Board of Education today on a voice vote.

Keep up with St. Louis politics at www.pubdef.net

St. Louis Public Schools has scheduled four community forums next week to hear public comments regarding the preliminary recommendations for school reconfigurations and consolidations. Here are the dates and times:

Monday, February 11 at 6 p.m.
Lexington Elementary, 5030 Lexington Ave.

Tuesday, February 12 at 6 p.m.
Wyman Elementary, 1547 S. Theresa Ave.

Wednesday, February 13 at 6 p.m.
Walbridge Elementary, 5000 Davison Ave.

Thursday, February 14 at 6 p.m.
Blow Middle, 516 Loughborough Ave.

As part of the preliminary plan, the district is considering the closing of several schools. They are:

• Mitchell (students move to Hamilton)
• Gundlach (students move to Ford, Lexington and Laclede)
• Wilkinson ECC (move program to Roe)
• Shenandoah (students move to Wyman)
• Simmons (students move to Hickey, Cote Brilliante and Farragut)
• Lyons (students move to Blow)
• Mark Twain (students move to Walbridge)
• Meramec (students move to Monroe and Froebel)

The proposal also includes reopening Carver School as a pre-kindergarten to fifth-grade school.

Public comments may also be submitted online at www.slps.org, by calling (314) 331-6100, or by writing to: Operations Division, St. Louis Public Schools, 801 N. 11th St., St. Louis, MO 63101.