By Antonio D. French
A rumor is circulating around St. Louis Public Schools that the Mayor and at least one holdover from the last school board majority have requested the state to step in to take over the troubled school district.
It is believed that Mayor Francis Slay and board member Ron Jackson told Kent King, Commissioner of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, that the current board majority is standing in the way of Superintendent Creg Williams‘ reform plans. Sources tell PUB DEF that the two asked DESE to take over the district at the first opportunity and appoint Williams to oversee it, effectively eliminating the St. Louis Board of Education.
DESE officials told PUB DEF that they are aware of the situation in St. Louis, but would not comment any further at this time.
Board member Jackson confirmed that he has been in contact with state education officials, but denied asking them to take over the district.
“I asked them to keep a close watch on the situation,” he said. However, Jackson did say he thinks that the state may need to step in at some point, should SLPS’ situation get much worse.
“Boards of education are creations of the state,” said Jackson, adding that he thinks tensions between Williams and the current board are standing in the way of needed reform. Jackson said he couldn’t say whether or not the mayor had also been in contact with DESE.
Ed Rhode, spokesman for the mayor, has not yet replied to our request for comment. PUB DEF today made a formal “Sunshine Law” request of the Mayor’s office for copies of any and all correspondences between that office and DESE.
Sources at DESE have confirmed that people from “several camps” have been in contact with the department in recent weeks about the situation at SLPS.
But even if DESE did decide to step in, the state can only take over a district after it has been unaccredited for two years (as in the case of the Wellston School District) or if disaster struck and a district was unable to open its doors and operate.
This scenario may give some support to the conspiracy theory quietly making its way around SLPS. Some SLPS principals, teachers and board members have been quietly asking this question: Is Creg Williams trying to destroy the school district? And why?
An article by Steve Giegerich in today’s Post-Dispatch highlights the concerns of some in the district that the 2006-2007 school year may bring the disaster that sets the stage for a state takeover.
Williams has repeatedly said that the district faces a $50 million deficit in Fall of 2007 that would mean that SLPS could no longer meet its financial obligations. Yet in his 2006-2007 budget submitted last month, which was rejected by the board, not only were no steps taken to address that crisis, but $4 million was added to it.
Almost two weeks ago, the district failed to pay many of its employees on time, blaming it on “human error.” And last week, many key district employees were dismissed, including most (if not all) of the people in the office which administers federal Title 1 dollars and possibly the only district employee familiar with the software used to send special data to the state.
District spokesman Tony Sanders has not replied to requests for comment on these dismissals.
The board will meet for three meetings tonight starting at 5:00 at the district’s Administration Building, 801 N. 11th Street. See the complete agenda, including consent agenda items, at our sister site STLSchools.org, home of the St. Louis Schools Watch.