St. Louis Schools Watch
Senators Duped
By Susan Turk
March 22, 2018--St. Louis--During the historic joint meeting Tuesday, March 13 of the elected Board Of Education which currently does not govern the SLPS and the Special Administrative Board which governs the transitional school district superimposed on the SLPS district, SAB Member Richard Gaines informed those present that a bill would be filed in the Legislature the following day that would enact the SAB’s recommendations regarding future governance not just of SLPS but of all school districts in the state which had lost and regained accreditation. In answer to a question from elected Board Member Bill Haas about how that could happen given that the deadline for filing new legislation had been March 1st, Gaines reported that a place holder bill had been filed by State Senator Jamilah Nasheed before the deadline and only needed to be replaced with a substitute bill.
The Watch subsequently visited the legislature’s website and discovered SB 1054 sponsored by State Senator Jamilah Nasheed. Senator Nasheed’s bill was filed on February 28th, first read, second read and assigned to the Rules Committee for a hearing on March 14th that was subsequently cancelled. As of this date, no substitute bill has been filed.
At the Tuesday, March 20th, regular meeting of the elected Board Of Education, a second placeholder bill was identified by EB Member Dorothy Rohde Collins, SB 1099 sponsored by State Senator Jake Hummel. It is worded almost identically to SB 1054. SB 1099 was filed on March 1st and has only been first read. This bill has also not been replaced from its inception with a more detailed substitute bill.
The legislature is on spring break this week. However there is reason to believe that neither bill will become law. It appears that both senators were duped. Both were told that the elected board agreed with the SAB as to the content of the bills. The elected board did not know that a bill even existed before the joint meeting on March 13th so they could not have agreed to legislation filed on February 28th and March 1st, nor was their agreement requested by the SAB on March 13th.
A substitute bill for SB 1054 was delivered to Senator Nasheed on March 13th by intermediaries for the SAB. It dismayed her that she was not included in the bill’s drafting. She reported feeling “disrespected” and decided that she would no longer “carry water” for this bill. When she subsequently learned that the elected board had not agreed to the substance of the bill, she said that in the future she would only support legislation that both boards developed together.
After SB 1099 was discovered, constituents contacted Senator Hummel and asked him to abandon the legislation. Apparently he also was told that the elected board supported the bill. When he learned that was not true, he is reported to have walked away from it.
One might wonder why people who presume to be our civic leaders thought it smart to mislead our elected representatives in Jefferson City in order to further their agenda regarding SLPS.
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Bill Summary
SB 1099 - This act creates requirements for school districts that have returned to local governance after being under the authority of an alternate governing structure. Such districts may comply with the following requirements:
• School board members may observe the proper role of a school board and respect the roles of the district superintendent, administrators, and teachers in running the day-to-day operations of schools in the district;
• A vote of greater than 2/3 of the members of the school board may be required in order to terminate the employment of a district superintendent;
• A school board may publicly establish annual goals, as set forth in the act, and provide a report at the end of each year on whether or not such goals have been achieved; and
• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education may develop and provide enhanced training for members of school boards in districts that have previously lost accreditation.
Additionally, the Commissioner of Education may establish an oversight body that may have authority to intervene in persistently underperforming attendance centers and schools, as defined in the act. Such oversight body may establish standards applicable to all public schools in the state and may develop a process to give school districts with underperforming attendance centers and schools a chance to improve. The oversight body may provide recommendations to underperforming attendance centers and schools as described in the act.
This act is similar to SB 1054 (2018).
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Board of Education Response
Just so there is no confusion on the Board Of Education’s position on this legislation, the Board approved sending a press release voicing it’s opposition at its’ March 20th meeting. On Wednesday, March 21st, elected Board Spokesperson Katie Wessling forwarded the press release.
It says, “The Board of Education opposes Senate Bill 1099.…The Board of Education opposes legislation which micromanages another governing body formed of elected officials who are accountable to their constituents. The Board also notes that this form of micromanagement is only directed at entities which are primarily comprised of people of color and people living in poverty. This overreach by the Missouri Legislature will only hinder a transition back to local governance and should be abandoned by Senators Jake Hummel and Jamilah Nasheed.”
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The editor encourages readers to forward The Watch to anyone you think would be interested. Our city and our schools need as much public awareness and public engagement as we can muster at this time.
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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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Calendar
April 4, 2018, Wednesday, irregular monthly meeting of the Special Administrative Board, 6:00 p.m., 801 N. 11th Street, room 108
April 10, 2018, Tuesday, regular monthly meeting of the Board of Education, Nahed Chapman New American Academy, 1616 South Grand Blvd., 6:30 p.m.
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