A hastily called closed meeting of the School Board on January 2 gave an alarming indication that any state takeover would bring back the kind of uncertainty and even chaos that plagued the system during the three years that the board was in the hands of a majority controlled by Mayor Francis G. Slay. During those years, the district had four different superintendents and lost 25 accreditation points reaching such a low level in the 2005-2006 that the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education could classify the system as unaccredited.
In that hastily called private executive board meeting, two of the members, Veronica O’Brien and Ron Jackson, subjected Superintendent Diana Bourisaw – who had no advance notice of the agenda – to harsh bullying trying to intimidate her to resign. The January 2 meeting was recorded and, contrary to both policy and law, after the meeting O’Brien personally took the audio tape with her and then to Jefferson City and played the tape to friends and associates.
With much of the push for a state takeover coming from the mayor’s office, it is frightening to contemplate the unrest that will be created under a committee, with one member appointed by the mayor, which would be created to oversee the St. Louis schools.
Donna Jones
Board of Education