A group of St. Louis Public Schools parents, teachers, and board members were in Jefferson City on Wednesday to voice opposition to a pair of bills that could strip the district of $18 million.
“We’re going to stand strong, and we have everybody from entrepreneurs to attorneys to teachers themselves here, and they want to stand up,”
House Bill 1552 and Senate Bill 869 could change existing provisions to the state’s “local aid (for SLPS), essentially re-allocating $18 million in public school funding to charter schools.”
“There is nothing fair or equitable about an $18 million loss to our District,” said Emily Koeltzow, SLPS Parent Action Council president.
“SLPS’s doors are open to all and with that comes the need for programs and services that charter schools and few other public districts in the state have ever imagined having to provide, let alone pay for.
“Taking such a large sum away from the efforts to help children makes no sense.”
SB 869 is sponsored by Republican state Sen. Andrew Koenig, who represents parts of St. Louis County. HB 1552 is sponsored by Republican state Rep. Doug Richey from Excelsior Springs.
According to SLPS, there is support from both Democrats and Republicans to exempt SLPS from the proposed legislation.
Matt Davis, SLPS Board of Education secretary and Legislative Committee chair, said, “It is our responsibility, and it is our privilege to provide individual and targeted services to our students, no matter how challenging.”
“However, it comes at a cost. It takes far more funding to provide the services required to educate a child with severe needs or to bridge the gap for students with fewer resources.”
The SLPS parents made the trip “on their own time in order to make their voices heard,” Koeltzow said.
“We are parents who have witnessed the district take on a number of challenges over the years with noted success and we recognize the importance of investing in students, including our most vulnerable, and not taking money away from them.
In addition to protecting the $18 million, the group also sought to “raise awareness of the good work being done at SLPS in support of students.”
“We’re going to stand strong, and we have everybody from entrepreneurs to attorneys to teachers themselves here, and they want to stand up for public education,” said SLPS parent Gloria Nolan
“We keep watching. We write letters. We call. We keep showing up again and again to make sure they know public education and democracy is important to us and it’s important to the city of St. Louis.”
Jennifer Boudreau, a SLPS parent, said she was “proud to be standing with an awesome community of SLPS parents and students to tell our legislators about the great things happening in our District.”
According to an SLPS release, “Over the past 13 years, SLPS has established a record of accomplishment, fiscal responsibility, and accountability. Over time, support services have been expanded and additional services added as the needs of students and families.”
“The district works hard to meet the individual needs of all students and does so with what is now a years-long record of impeccable financial responsibility.”
