Judge postpones hearing on district’s future
By Daniel R. Brown
Of the St. Louis American
On Friday, July 1, the special administrative board appointed by the Missouri Board of Education to govern the Wellston School District officially assumed control of the embattled district, following several failed, last-minute appeals by former Wellston School District officials and attorneys to halt the state action.
The district’s future remains uncertain. On Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan postponed a hearing that was previously scheduled for Thursday, which would have allowed the school district to challenge the state Board of Education’s June 23 ruling that the district should remain unaccredited. With Thursday’s open-ended postponement, the state will continue in its governance of the district.
The agenda for the first meeting of the special administrative board included providing an orientation for board members regarding their duties, taking steps to secure the district’s assets, authorizing newly appointed superintendent Charles Brown to employ staff, and setting future meeting dates.
In addition to the community members who attended the board meeting, Wellston Mayor Frank McNeil was in attendance.
“I feel sorry for the school and the hurt that has followed as a result of the way things have turned out, and I also feel bad about the way it affects the community as a whole,” McNeil said.
“It really hurts me to see the way it turned out. I think that this really showed the citizens of this town the importance of working closely together. The people in Wellston better start working together on every issue.”
Former school board member David Wallace, who is also the husband of newly appointed special board member Cassandra Hollins-Wallace, said that no matter what decision is ultimately made by the courts, it is important to keep the best interest of Wellston’s students in the forefront.
“If they feel that the state coming in will benefit the children more than the administration that we had, then I am for it. If the judge says that the administration that we had is best for the children, then I am for it,” Wallace said.
“Whatever is best for the children is what I am for.”
Hollins-Wallace agreed, saying, “We are working to do what is best for the children.”
Following the board meeting, an impromptu question-and-answer session gave community members and teachers an opportunity to voice their concerns about the district’s future.
“Although the school board meeting had adjourned, I felt that it was important to listen to the concerns of community members,” Brown said.
“If they had taken the time to come there, then certainly we needed to hear them express their sentiments. You can never go wrong listening to the person whose school district that really is.”
Though emotions at the session ran hot, Brown said that energy can be used to bring about positive change.
“Disagreement is healthy, because often that disagreement can turn into something productive in terms of implementation,” Brown said.
“Just because someone disagrees with me does not mean that we can’t work together, and I am glad that at least the majority of the community has taken that position. Although they disagreed with me publicly, privately many have expressed a desire to cooperate with me to help the young people in Wellston.”
“We have to keep moving forward. We can’t keep crying over what has happened in the past,” said Stanley Dooley, a middle school gym teacher.
“We don’t have any choice but to keep moving forward. I just have to move forward with the new board and work with them the best that I can. At least they didn’t shut us down and we didn’t have to send the kids someplace else.”