St. Louis Schools Watch
By Susan Turk
David Jackson Claims EB Returning To Power After April
March 9, 2017—St. Louis--Now that the mayoral primary is over we can pay undiluted attention to the April 4 school board election. The Green Party held a candidate forum at Legacy Books on March 1st.
During the forum David Jackson reported that he had recently spoken with Governor Eric Greitens to ask whether he would consider replacing SLPS SAB Chairman Rick Sullivan and some of the state board of education members so as to effect the decision regarding a return of the elected board of education to governance of the SLPS. Mr. Jackson asserted that Governor Greitens said that would not be necessary because, “It’s a given the district will return to local governance.” The EB would be put back in power after April. Since what Jackson said contradicted what State Board of Education Vice President Victor Lenz had reported several times to the elected board, this reporter tried to get Mr. Jackson to clarify what the governor said. Mr. Jackson insisted that the governor stated that the elected board would unconditionally be returned to authority over the SLPS after April.
If true, that would be quite a piece of very welcome news. But Jackson has a history of being overly optimistic in his assessments of when the elected board would be returned to governance. As each of the three previous dates for the termination of the SAB approached, Jackson, who served on the elected board from 2007 until 2015 was always certain that the state board of education was going to terminate the SAB. But despite what Jackson believed or claimed to be certain of, the SAB is still governing the SLPS.
The state board of education undertook the development of a transition process during the spring of 2016. A transition planning committee comprised of 2 state board members, 2 representatives from DESE, 1 SAB member and 3 elected board members met once in July 2017 to commence transition discussion planning. Their second meeting in August was cancelled abruptly after a fourth elected board member, Bill Monroe, entered the meeting room. The state board had explicitly instructed the SAB and the EB to choose their representatives prior to meetings and to choose less than a quorum. The state board set the meeting parameters. The state board wished initial meetings to not be open to the public so that procedures could be determined and participants could become acquainted. If a quorum of any of the boards were present, the Sunshine Law requires meetings to be open to the public. Mr. Monroe had not been chosen as one of the three representatives of the elected board. When he attended in defiance of not having been chosen, creating a quorum of elected board members present, there was no alternative but for the meeting to be cancelled.
Subsequently, the state board of education decided to suspend the transition committee pending the outcome of the April 2017 school board election. Mr. Monroe’s term on the board is ending. He is running for re-election.
The state board appeared to be putting a condition on the transition of governance back to the elected board. They have not specifically said so, but they appeared to imply that whether there would be future transition planning discussions talks would be contingent on who won the election. The apparent implication being that if Mr. Monroe were re-elected, transition would not proceed.
So, if Mr. Jackson was correct about what the governor had said, that the return of the EB to authority was definitely going to happen no matter who won, that was news!
Given Mr. Jackson’s history of unjustified optimism, the Watch fact checked. We contacted Dr. Lenz.
Dr. Lenz reiterated what he has said numerous times since last August, that resumption of transition planning would be determined by the outcome of the April election. He reminded this reporter that state law provides that the decision to terminate the SAB is left to the sole discretion of the state board of education. The governor does not make the decision. Only the state board does. There have been no discussions between the state board and the governor on this subject. The state board will not discuss the matter until after the April election. So, the governor could not know that the board of education was going to be returned to governance.
Dr. Lenz also explained that the state board did not want to return authority to a dysfunctional board. Lenz said that it was normal for board members to disagree with one another while deliberating about issues but that once a vote was taken all board members had to respect and accept the decision of the majority. A board member who did not accept what the board as a whole decided and who took public action in opposition to a board decision was evidence of dysfunction. One disagreeable board member could create a dysfunctional board. One disagreeable board member could prevent the return of governance to the EB.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Monroe are friends. One could surmise that Mr. Jackson, in his quest for re-election to the board of education, would like to have his friend Mr. Monroe serving on the board with him as well. After Mr. Jackson, who was board president at the time, lost his bid for a third term as a result of the 2015 election, the board voted to create a voluntary community liaison position for Mr. Jackson, as a way of honoring him for his 8 years of service and continuing to benefit from his engagement with the board. At their subsequent meeting in May 2015, Mr. Monroe overstepped the intention of his fellow board members by submitting a 3 page resolution outlining responsibilities for an executive community liaison which would have turned the community relations oriented position into a shadow board president leaving little the actual board president could do without the assistance of Mr. Jackson. The board did not approve Mr. Monroe’s resolution.
It had been Mr. Jackson’s ambition to become president of the board soon after he was first elected in 2007. He went so far as to threaten to resign from the board 3 weeks after he was elected when he learned that his fellow board members would not agree to his demand so soon after his election. The prestige of being board president was terribly important to him. He was finally able to fulfill his ambition after Mr. Monroe was elected to the board in 2013. Mr. Monroe’s vote was crucial to Mr. Jackson ascension to the presidency of the board. One would therefore be forgiven for assuming that Mr. Jackson would again, if elected to the board, wish to return to the position of board president and would rely on Monroe’s vote to do so.
So, Jackson would of course like to believe that returning the elected board to authority over the SLPS would not be contingent on his friend Monroe’s re-election. But it clearly is. The sad fact is that it is more important to Jackson that he be president of the board than that the board have any actual power.
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HB 32 Update
The floor vote on the tuition tax credit for scholarships bill has been rescheduled twice. It is now on the calendar for Monday, March 13. Some of the same rural Republican legislators who object to charter schools in their districts are also worried about the effect that scholarships to private or home schools would have on their public schools and have held up the vote.
HB634 Update
State Representative Deb Lavender D-90 reported that, the charter school bill has been amended to exempt the 23 school districts represented by Republicans who strongly objected to charter schools in their districts. It was then voted Do Pass by the rules committee. It has not yet been scheduled for perfection and a floor vote.
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School Board Candidate Forum
The League Of Women Voters and the St. Louis Public Schools Foundation are co-sponsoring a candidate forum for the April 4, 2017 school board election on Wednesday, March 29 from 7-9 p.m. at Metro H. S., 4015 McPherson Avenue.
The Watch has sent all 7 candidates a questionnaire and those that have been returned will be published shortly. Due to the length of the responses, each questionnaire will be published individually in separate issues of the Watch over the next week. Please feel free to forward these issues of the Watch to help educate voters about the school board candidates.
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Questions for the Watch? Letters to the Editor? Stories to contribute? News tips? Send them to SLS_Watch@yahoo.com
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Please feel free to forward the SLS Watch to anyone you think will benefit from reading the publication.
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Calendar
March 14, 2017, Tuesday, Board of Education meeting, regular monthly meeting, 7 p.m., Adams Elementary School, 1311 Tower Grove Avenue, 63110
March 16, 2017, Thursday, SAB meeting, 6 p.m., 801 North 11th Street, room 108
March 29, 2017, Wednesday, School Board Candidate Forum, 7 p.m., Metro H.S., 4015 McPherson Avenue, 63108
April 4, 2017, School Board Election, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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