St. Louis Schools Watch  (continued)

SLPS SAB REPORT CARD

June 15 was the first anniversary of the appointment of the Special Administrative Board which currently governs the SLPS. The Watch asked readers to submit Report Cards to evaluate their first year. The following was sent by an SLPS parent. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of The Watch.

Behavior: Public: A Private: F
The perception for the public is a well functioning board that can agree to disagree. In private, they do not allow the superintendent into long range planning sessions and control every aspect of the schools.

Accessibility: Public: D Private: A+
They consistently hold meetings at times when working parents with few resources cannot attend. They do not return emails, and they still do not make themselves available to the elected board. In private, they are routinely accessible to downtown staff when ordering them to do things. They are very much accessible to each other for routine discussions in violation of the sunshine laws.
 

Stability: Public: F Private: F
They have shown no signs of being stable in public or private. The first order of business after the Sullivan confirmation was to remove a competent and caring superintendent who was once in charge of the accreditation process from which they are seeking to regain accreditation. They have destabilized the personnel so tremendously; they now must wave the two-year consulting rule. Previously, one must be gone from the district for two years before they could become a paid consultant for the district. Yet the principals are retiring in droves and being given high dollar consulting contracts and being labeled as "sole source providers." Since when, is a principal a sole source provider of administration services?

Transparency: Public: F Private: F
In public they account for nothing, and until recently after complaints to the Attorney General's office, they gave very vague agendas for their administrative board meetings. In private they keep everything secretive, including the phone calls to Human Resources to make sure friends are being considered and hired. They allow contractors to develop Request For Proposals and then bid on them. They have still not released information to the media that was requested under the freedom of information act.

Accountability: Public: F Private: F
The SAB is not held accountable to the public. There is no way to vote the SAB out for poor performance as was done in the previous elections. The SAB is not held accountable in private. They are the judge, jury, and executioner for many of our children. Judging by the latest budget, that is exactly the path they are preparing to send many of our at risk children. The only accountability I have seen is the retraction of money from the private sector into the public schools.

Reliability: Public: A+ Private: A+
The SAB has become extremely reliable in not posting meetings in time for sunshine requirements, holding the meetings at inappropriate times for SLPS parents, inflating parent participation at events, and skewing information for the public.

Direction: Public: F Private: A
The SAB after one year of the takeover and total autonomy is yet to publish a plan they have for the district. In private, a clear path and direction is in place. They are to continue the outsourcing, cut services, and make sure all children whose parents are economically viable- leave the district. This is to be done for at least two years until the district can be abolished along with the elected board in an attempt to bring vouchers into the city.

Satisfaction: Public: F Private: A
In general, the public is not satisfied with the SAB because it is not what was promised to them. The SAB was brought in under the name of stability, and they have yet to stabilize anything. In fact, it has become unstable in the district and employees are looking for jobs everywhere- including other fields. In private, the SAB is very satisfying to those who control St. Louis. Civic Progress is extremely happy they control the Mayor and the schools once again- especially after losing over a million dollars in the school board elections. They have continued their control over the major budgets in St. Louis and are well on their way of dismantling public education in the City of St. Louis.

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