2005

Peter Downs, publisher of St. Louis Schools Watch and a parent of SLPS students, will be announcing his candidacy for a seat on the St. Louis School Board on Saturday, Dec. 10.Downs' supporters hope the…

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen voted Friday to pass a bill that aims to make it more difficult to recall city officials.Board Bill #310, sponsored by Aldermen Jennifer Florida and Ken Ortmann, proposes new…

I understand there is a controversy regarding Cleveland's Naval policy. Is that true? I want to go on record that after living through Larry Myers last year and the horrible condition he left the school,…

A leader of the union representing teachers and other staff in the St. Louis Public Schools Tuesday evening thanked Superintendent Creg Williams for his actions in the Applied Scholastics controversy.As previously reported in the Argus,…

November 9, 2005 -- Alderman Jennifer Florida (15th Ward) was the target of Elliot Davis' "You Paid For It" segment on Channel 2 Monday night.The southside alderman spent 58,000 taxpayer dollars to install some pretty…

St. Louis School Board member Bill Purdy called the program "a national scandal" and "a travesty" and refused to vote for it at the school board meeting on October 11. Fellow school board member Ron…

October 17, 2005 -- Kudos to the staff at Shaw Visual and Performing Arts Elementary School for moving away from group punishments, and for trying new techniques for maintaining order in the lunchroom, and kudos…

PUB DEF Weekly is pleased to announce it is now hosting a blog for Peter Down's informative St. Louis Schools Watch.The URL is http://slswatch.pubdef.net and it will be updated often, so check it regularly.This continues…

November 7, 2005 -- According to a report in yesterday's Kansas City Star, several St. Louis legislators are among those being wined and dined by the Chiefs football organization.Senator Pat Dougherty and State Rep. Amber…

According to the AP, Vince Schoemehl said in his letter of resignation that he always had intended to serve just one year on the school board. If that is true, that was probably information he…