St. Louis Public School Board Lifts Deed Restrictions on Charter Schools

Coverage from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Charter schools will now — at least in theory — be able to buy shuttered St. Louis Public School buildings.

The St. Louis Public School Board voted last night to lift the deed restriction that barred charter groups from buying the former city schools.

District CEO Rick Sullivan said that the board simply bent to legislative pressure.

“The legislature felt very strongly that the provision was unfair or not appropriate,” he said. “We worked with legislative leaders to reach an understanding that I think is good for all parties.”

The ban had angered charter leaders searching for homes for their new schools, as well as dozens of state politicians tired of seeing the old buildings sit unattended in their districts, drawing crime and vandalism. (See prior coverage HERE.)

Word began to leak out at last night’s meeting that board members, in closed session, had voted to lift the ban. St. Louis Public wouldn’t confirm the news, but charter supporters began whispering.

Then, this morning, St. Louis Public made the news official.

State Rep. T.D. El-Amin, a Democrat who represents much of north St. Louis, said so many people were leaning on the board, it was just a matter of time. “We knew it was a levy bound to break,” he said.

Charter school advocates began celebrating early.

“This is a win for families in St. Louis who are seeking better education options for their children and for all of the taxpayers in the city who paid for these buildings,” said Earl Simms, state coordinator for the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri, a charter advocacy organization. “These buildings can now be sold to organizations seeking to open public charter schools. That not only gives more education options to parents, but the sale of these buildings will also provide more dollars to educate the district’s students.”

Others said the decision will help charter schools open more quickly.

“Charter schools often find alternative facilities to serve students - empty commercial space or other buildings constructed for purposes other than education,” Aaron North, director of the state charter school association, said this morning. “Making unused public school buildings available for purchase or lease will provide new and existing charter schools with more options to best serve the students and families in their charge.”

Still, the practical implications of the board’s decision are unclear.

The move doesn’t require the district to sell to charters, just to consider their offers.

"School buildings belong to the community."

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan stated in an interview with the Washington Post:

"School buildings don't belong to us. They don't belong to the unions. School buildings belong to the community."

The statement is extremely relevant to the St. Louis Public School deed restriction issue. The public school board and unions need to listen to the outcries of the community.

The current deed restriction is ethically, economically and logically absurd! And those living in the areas with closed/closing schools and even the U.S. Education Secretary publicly agree.

BAEO Battles Deed Restrictions at the State Board Meeting

The the Black Alliance for Educational Options (Missouri Chapter) battles the St. Louis Public School's deed restrictions at the State Board of Education meeting on February 20, 2009.

"These school buildings were built for education, and we want to see these vacant buildings do wonderful things in our community. Once they are open, they will become an anchor, particularly in the black community."

St. Louis City NEEDS Education Options

A sad reality for the St. Louis city from the Suburban Journals:

An unseen line separates here from there. Yet this simple, intangible barrier causes strain on the lives of Kelly Polson and her family.

They live in Clifton Heights on the western edge of the city. It's their home and they love it, but with a second son entering Catholic high school and the first of two young daughters readying for pre-school, they have a decision to make. Do they stay and pay tuition or move to St. Louis County to take advantage of the public school options offered there?

With the high cost of Catholic education, Polson would choose public schools in the city, if she thought they were working. She doesn't.

"I realistically cannot send my boys to St. Louis city public schools," she said. "We want to stay in the city. We love our home. It's just the schools are the problem. It's a constant conversation in our house of what we're going to do."

Families have been having similar conversations for years. A large number of them leave the city.

Charter schools have taken some of the enrollment, but not all, said Dan Schmidt, a demographer who worked on the report.

"Children are being born that are leaving the district before they enter a school there," Schmidt said.

The migration to the county started in the 1970s, said Robbyn Wahby, education liaison for Mayor Francis Slay. Even looking at the decline since 2000, Wahby said 9,000 of the students lost went to charter school, but the rest went to the county.

"The greatest competitor to the St. Louis Public Schools are the 25 school districts in the county," she said.

Tracy Garrett, head of school at St. Louis Charter School, said while some parents have chosen charter schools, she is concerned that people are still leaving. A lot of the students who leave the charter schools go to the county, she said, but some never enroll.

"You have young people moving into the city, starting their families and just when they're starting to be a little more economically stable, they move," Garrett said. "They feel they have to move."

Much of the concern comes from parents who are aware of the district's turnover of superintendents and the former feuding of the elected school board, said Kathleen Sullivan Brown, an associate professor in the college of education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

"Parents would look at that and say, 'I don't want to necessarily start my child in a system like that and have to deal with that for all the years my child has to be in school,'" she said.

People have a negative perception about the district, Sullivan Brown said. If people have the financial resources to pick another option, they do.

"If people have no options, the local school is where they have to send their children," she said.

The bottomline: Families need school choice options. Charter school expansion needs greater support. The SLPS district needs reform. And the St. Louis community desperately needs better education options!

Even More Against the Deed Restriction

The community opposition grows against the SLPS deed restrication.
The American Association of Architects (St. Louis Chapter) and the Landmarks Association of St. Louis have joined the fight for our children's education.

Basically, charter schools are currently banned from acquiring any of closing or already empty school properties in the St. Louis School District. Our children or the community were clearly not considered in this ridiculous policy by the Special Administrative Board. Why wouldn't school buildings be allowed to be schools?! No one, including the appointed administration, has an answer.

But for answers to your questions on the issue check out the Children's Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) video.

St. Louis Public Schools Power Struggle Ended

Missouri Supreme Courts decided earlier this month to judicially validate the takeover of the St. Louis Public School District. The suit, brought forth by previous board members, is just another example of misdirected and self-guided efforts and the denial of the serious education crisis afflicting the district.

The court agreed that the unaccredited status, that went in to effect June 2007, was based on valid criteria and objective information, including the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's evaluation of the district's performance.

Not that the verdict is in, leaders need to unite with a focus on actually improving the schools--fighting for our children, not themselves.


Want more on the topic?

The case

New York Times: Missouri Schools Takeover Upheld

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (story & local comments): Elected city school board loses again

Missouri Lawyers Weekly: Supreme Court upholds state takeover of St. Louis Public School District

Kansas City InfoZine: Missouri Supreme Court Upholds Decision on St. Louis School District’s Loss of Accreditation

KWMU: Mo. Supreme Court upholds state-appointed school board

Parents Review St. Louis Public Schools

Though the performance statistics prove otherwise, some still try to claim that the St. Louis Public School District is doing just fine. But instead of ignoring the problem all together, let’s look at what those affected have to say.

A review submitted by Annette Peoples, a parent from the Lyon-Blow Middle School:
“No sports…No one really guiding the right why…No one take time…The children’s teachers and principal are always blaming and never trying to get to the root of the problem. Kids attacks each other...This is not right.”

Another review from Buder Elementary School by parent Sarah Kelmendi:
“The teachers tend to be very rude and sarcastic to the kids which in turn lowers the students confidence, making it difficult to learn. Some teachers are down right mean! I make it a point to be at school everyday just to make sure my kids are not being verbally abused. In my opinion teachers should be nurturing and supportive, this is not the case at Buder. Unfortunately I think all St. Louis public schools are like this, I've checked them out.”

Yet another, this one of Sigel Elementary School:
“This school has got to be one of the worst schools in the district. The teachers don't care. They don't teach. All they do is shove piles of worksheets in front of the kids' faces and expect them to know what to do. The behavior and bullying is outrageous. The principal is lacking in credibility and backbone. There is no oversight on her part at all. The test scores were at 3% in all areas, then in 2004 they raised them meeting AYP, only to have them drastically fall the next year. What are they doing? They had tutoring when they were trying to meet AYP then when they did, they cut it out. Are they really for academic success? I don't see evidence of it. Grade F.”

Unfortunately, St. Louis Public Schools are unaccredited for a reason and families are really suffering. Passionate leaders and legislators must fight for education reform to ensure a proper education for all children and stop these unfortunate horror stories.

(The reviews are from http://www.greatschools.net/)