2006

The following report is by Nick Clement of the St. Louis Schools Watch:St. Louis School Board President Veronica O'Brien again has found a way to divert attention from students and teachers to herself. In a…

by Peter DownsMarch 20, 2006 -- Richard Pack made a modest proposal to the St. Louis Board of Education on March 14: teach children how to focus by teaching them chess.Pack said he was a…

Pub Def editor Antonio D. French, Arch City Chronicle publisher Dave Drebis, and (soon-to-be) State Sen. Jeff Smith were the guests on "Collateral Damage" with host Fred Hessel on Monday. The topics of discussion were…

by Peter DownsJanuary 25, 2006 -- The audience at Tuesday's St. Louis Board of Education meeting were treated to two shows in one: posturing from school board members desperately trying to show that they are…

St. Louis expatriate Margie Newman, a former KETC producer and cheerleader for City living, and KWMU 90.7 FM’s Tom Weber will be among the thousands of people running Sunday in the Chicago Marathon. This is…

As we reported yesterday, hundreds of teachers and staff at 13 city schools were given termination letters this week. They were offered the chance to reapply for their positions, but the president of the teachers'…

Claire McCaskill has declared victory in her race for U.S. Senate. Check back for video… Keep up with St. Louis politics at www.pubdef.net

Below are answers from school district administrators to questions from St. Louis Board of Education member Peter Downs regarding items on the administration's consent agenda for April 18, 2006.Textbook items: (Numbers 4, 5, 11, 12,…

In a room on the 18th floor of Bank of America Plaza on a rainy Friday afternoon, just hours before the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Championship, the team’s owners, their developer, and Mayor…

Several African-American elected officials and community leaders have asked supporters of the extremely well-funded Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures why so little of their budget is being spent with and on the black community. “As…