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A new start (again)
(by Rebecca S. Rivas - April 13, 2008)
In the field of public education, nothing stays stable for long. With local and national government officials — even St. Louis Public Schools’ own superintendent — set to change in the near term, the St. Louis community is rife with opinions about the direction the district ought to take.
The state-appointed Special Administrative Board, which was created last year to oversee the failing district, organized summits on April 5 and 12 as a way for parents, community members and staff to find some common ground.
“There’s a ‘wow,’ something electric in the room, because so many people have gotten involved,” said SAB Chairman Rick Sullivan as he addressed a packed crowd in Vashon High School’s auditorium on April 5.
At the first “Building Our Future” summit, about 500 people divided into 30 discussion groups to address some of the district’s toughest issues, including teacher training and hiring, use of facilities, communication and security. The goal was to come up with a comprehensive strategic plan that will guide the district’s “rebirth” over the next five to 10 years.
Most attendees said they were excited to have their voices heard, and Sullivan said they would continue to be part of the process. Every six months the SAB will hold meetings to update the community on the plan’s implementation.
Skepticism from some quarters
In his introductory speech, SAB-member Richard Gaines spoke as if he was leading a student pep rally. He told the crowd that 200 people volunteered and 750 had registered for the summit.
“They said we couldn’t get people out, and we said the hell with you,” he said. “Your presence is not a publicity stunt.”
A woman with a scarf covering her head yelled back at him, “What is it then?” It was almost a flashback to the period four years ago when corporate turnaround-specialist Bill Roberti controversially led the district, and school-board meetings become the focus of vocal and occasionally violent demonstrations.
The woman continued to aggressively rant about how SAB members were hiding their true intentions from the district. Gaines told the security guards to remove her from the audience.
Although the woman’s manner was aggressive, she wasn’t the only one who wanted to know if the event was a scam.
“I think the issue is going to be: Is this just a puppet show, or is this going to become an instrument of true democracy?” said Charles Murphy, a computer and graphics design instructor at Roosevelt High School. “So far the [SAB’s] role has been a puppet show. They are controlled by other interests who don’t have students at heart.”He said he included St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay and Gov. Matt Blunt in that category.“To me, the SAB members are on trial,” Murphy said.EngagementDespite his skepticism, Murphy said that all the people in his discussion group participated. “Everyone spoke from the heart and was upbeat and positive,” he said.In the discussion group that focused on facility use, one parent said that the district should use the task of rebuilding schools as a springboard to reconnecting the district with the community. “If you only treat a building as a building, you won’t be successful,” he said.The majority of the district’s 93 properties are 75 years old or older. SLPS’ falling enrollment means that the average building is at 62 percent of its capacity; 85 percent is considered ideal. One participant suggested that the schools should be renovated or rebuilt to be energy efficient. The group discussing security issues wanted to see more guards at elementary schools and suggested opening alternative schools for elementary students. Sean Nichols, principal of an alternative school called Big Picture Middle School, said that alternative schools are not a solution to security problems. He said people need to be re-educated about the purpose of an alternative school. “You don’t throw a student who is not interested in school [in] with someone who has gang problems or emotional problems,” Nichols said. “In St. Louis and Missouri, people assume ‘alternative’ means negative.” “Now you’re dealing with the YouTube generation,” he said, referring to the do-it-yourself video website. Just as YouTube promotes self-generated content, Big Picture schools work with students to customize a curriculum for each individual student. “Your alternatives of yesterday are not the ones of today.”Being in a very large school can be intimidating, he said, and some students feel their voices can never be heard. Those students don’t get kicked out of school; they just slip through the cracks. Those are the students who end up at Big Picture, he said. “Most things end up being successful when people feel they have a voice,” Nichols said.This why the summit is so important, he said. Unfortunately, the reality of funding can stifle the conversation.
Funding continues to fall
The SAB projects a $15 million decrease in its general operating budget next year, which will drop from $335 million to $320 million. The largest factor contributing to the decrease is the defection of students to other kinds of schools, namely private and charter schools. The district anticipates that enrollment next year could be down by as much as 3,000 students, or 10 percent of its population.
“We don’t know [exactly] how it’s going to impact us because of charter schools,” Nichols said. “You don’t want to speak badly about charter schools,” but it’s clear that they are “hurting public schools.”
Nichols acknowledged that the school district’s difficulties can also be attributed to the exodus over the past 40 years of higher-income families from the city to the suburbs.
There’s a different group of people living in St. Louis compared to 50 years ago, Nichols said. The city of St. Louis is the most cosmopolitan part of the region but with that comes complications for its school system, when, for example, part of its population comes from non-English-speaking families. “The faces in America are changing. Some people are afraid of [a] new America, but it’s here.”
Gaines said the district used to be a stable, successful environment. “We can’t go back to yesterday, but we can build something that yesterday resembles,” he said.
‘Just get the job done’
One of the significant differences between the past and the present is the number of contracts the district and state have with national corporations, Murphy said. For example, the district used to do janitorial work and food service in-house, but now these are contracted to outside companies.
“Outsourcing means they wiped out a bunch of jobs,” he said. “It was a neighborhood environment that they’ve turned corporate.”
“There was a time when working at St. Louis Public Schools meant you had a good job,” Murphy said. “They’re devaluing jobs so we leave and ‘they’ can take over.”
The issue of what “they” are doing to the district is one that crops up frequently when talking to long-time employees and supporters of the school district. “They” seems to refer to a combination of the political elite and the business community, which is seen as always looking for further opportunities, whether great or small, for privatizing a public-sector institution. A recent issue of the St. Louis Schools Watch newsletter referred to those who make the laws and funding formulas that govern the school system as “our civic overlords.”
Perhaps the greatest challenge SAB members face is demonstrating that their links to the world beyond education can be an advantage, not a corrupting influence.
Governor Blunt appointed Sullivan, an executive with the homebuilding firm McBride & Son Homes, to head the SAB. Mayor Slay chose Melanie Adams, who was a former executive director of Teach for America and now is managing director for the Missouri Historical Society. Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed appointed Gaines, an insurance broker and former school-board president.
In talking about the three SAB members, Sullivan said, “We do bring different experiences and viewpoints to every decision put before us.”
The next step for these three members will be to look through the feedback from the summits with professional developers.
“We have a special process to get input from students,” he said. “Once we have that information, we’ll be taking all of that input and narrowing it down to a short list of initiatives that will help move the district forward.”
Sullivan said he has made a commitment of several years to the task, and his family is supportive of his decision.
“I’m blessed with a close family and large extended family,” he said. “They’ve all been supporting and understanding.”
When asked how many hours he spends on the job, he said, “I don’t think they want to know. No one really cares — just get the job done.”
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