Interesting- what does this mean exactly? I havent followed the st.louis school board races much and am not 100% on the politics involved- can someone enlighten me on it?

To be honest, all I remember Haas from is his article in the RFT on love...yesh what a weird way to get your name in the press.

He's a lucky fellow because some nasty stuff is coming down the pike...

6, 7, or 8 candidates, depending on if Bill Haas actually withdrew and if Joe Clark got back to the Election Board before 5 pm with a check.

An actual four horse race with no wild cards now. I think not having Local 420s endorsement (let alone anyone else) was the straw that broke him. Just a thought.

Southsider, what kind of nasty stuff is coming down the pike?

The superintendent is bringing in friends from Chicago and this news comes from Chicago: "If the Chicago Board of Educaton did not routinely violate the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, even the Sun-Times and Tribune could see the corruption at the top.

Retired administrators earning large consulting contracts are one of the most important secrets currently being withheld from the public by the Chicago Board of Education’s routine violations of the Illinois Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws.

“[Beverly] La Coste officially retired as Principal of Philips High School more than two months ago,” an informed source in the administration, who asked to remain anonymous, told Substance. “. . . She is still working as a consultant, usually Tuesdays through Thursdays, at Philips — supposedly to help the current ‘Acting Principal’, Dr. Samuel Williams. I hear she’s getting over $300 a day. They built her a little office, put in electric hookups for computers and phones, the whole deal. Not to mention that everyone seems to run major decisions on school policy, staffing, and things like that past her [La Coste] before they go to Williams with them — if he gets them at all. I don’t get it; I heard he [Williams] worked as a principal at Englewood. Why does he need all this help to run a smaller school than the one he came from? And La Coste didn’t set the world on fire while she was here, were still down near the bottom on everything academic. What makes her such an irreplaceable expert? I think it’s just the central office taking care of someone with clout.”

"After retiring from his full-time job with the Chicago Board of Education, Buzz Sawyer — left at a recent press conference announcing “cuts in the bureaucracy” — returned to work as a consultant at an annual rate of $115,000 (higher than his salary had ever been as a full-time employee). Sawyer is one of dozens (perhaps hundreds) of former officials who have benefited from the deregulation of Chicago’s public schools by becoming private consultants instead of public employees. Substance photo, George N. Schmidt."

The 1995 deregulation of Chicago’s public schools opened the door to unprecedented patronage behind the fig leaf of ‘school reform’..."

Doesn't this all look familiar?

What "friends from Chicago" is Dr. Williams bringing in Philo-Teknos? And as for Bill Haas his logic was correct "we have a better chance to elect two people with three candidates than four" but what are the three candidates he speaks of? I read earlier in this spot and have heard that their are at least six candidates for the Saint Louis School Board. I know that Bill is a little out there but his statement doesn't make a lot of sense.

Philo, This ain't Chicago! And the system you described was the one that Darnetta Clincscale, got rid of in St. Louis. As for the nasty stuff, you'll just have to wait and see.

Worried citizen, One of those friends now in St. Louis is Beverly LaCoste. Word is Brenda Jackson, executive director of Human Resources has been replaced by someone who comes in from Chicago only three days a week and has been elevated to Chief Of Human Resources at big bucks. With all the human resource experts in St. Louis, it is ironic someone would be brought in from another city who knows nothing about ours to be involved in such n important task. There are others.

Once again a bloated bureaucracy with consultants galore at substantial salaries plagues the district.

One former highly degreed employee of Human Resources left after trying to recruit the best in teachers and saw them leave just as fast for better wages in the county and more importantly for better treatment. This person tired of being forced to hire unqualified friends and relatives and just couldn't tolerate it any longer.

Southsider, it isn't about the children; it is big time about the jobs! The available monies to squander on friends and relatives are too tempting. The slate of four has only increased and transformed such antics to an art.

There's an article in the New York Times today about trying to take control of the New Orleans school from a bloated bureaucracy. That's what we have now in St. Louis.

Worried citizen, you should be worried. Positions and salaries used to be public information handed out at board meetings; now the superintendent doesn't even need the approval of the board to grant such salaries. How foolish to give such power to one person!

Someone indicated even our superintendent's time in Chicago remains under investigation.

And this is reformation?!

Southsider, man are you out of touch with reality. Are you on Clinkscale's campaign committee?

One employee fresh out of college is receiving more than $90,000 a year--fresh out of college! And it's said she is related to someone in the board race (JC)

Too bad you have neither the contact nor the confidence of employees in the know as to what has been going on.

But there is hope, and you don't have to stay in la-la land. If you want to know the truth, you can research it and possibly gain at least an inkling of how the district has degenerated into more corruption and crud!

Final count: seven candidates for school board. Clinkscale, Buford, Downs, Jones, McLin-Shireff, Duncan, Clark.

Unless you are gonna name names Philo, or present some facts and data, your anecdotes are all just hot air to me.

Oh, and by the way Philos, the nasty stuff I was talking about:

"In a hint of what may lie ahead, racially charged leaflets attacking Buford and Clinkscale were circulated at the city's Martin Luther King Day commemoration."

from this Story in the Post-Dispatch: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/metroeast/story/2E5DB7F25343BB17862570FA0015F216?OpenDocument&highlight=2%2C%22Giegerich%22

Do you support racists? Are these your Buddies?

Don't forget that some thug slashed the tires on Jones' car, too.

Southsider, thanks for throwing in the absurd into this discussion; it always makes it amusing. What a question, Do we support racists? Are these your buddies? You have nothing better to do than cast aspersions on those who have marched, stood, sat, and fought for civil rights? What did you do, Bwana, Great White Father?

The Post states: "Buford, the longtime president and chief executive officer of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, said he was "disappointed" by a flier that depicted him and Clinkscale as house servants."

That is hardly racist, since only blacks would call other blacks "house servants." Or it could be, as suggested by some, that Richard Calloway did it in order to stir the pot and bring some sympathy. It's akin to what Tawanna Brawley and Al Sharpton attempted to do in order to stir up racial animosities. This falls more into the category of internecine conflict where blacks attack blacks. Whites have attacked whites in the past too. However, most have given up on this school district.

How many whites are running, and who among them is racist? We know neither Peter Downs nor bill Haas are racist. Now a plumber might consider successful black executives to be "house servants"

Some facts and names have been stated, but you're obviously too stubborn or lazy to search out the facts despite media like the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post publish about public school bureaucracies in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, New Orleans, etc. You're so provincial you can't see or don't want to see what's taking place on your own turf.

Like Jesus said, even if people came back from the dead and told what they knew, they would not be believed. Nothing can convince radicals like you--no facts, no data, no anything.

But, thanks again for spicing up the blog by throwing in the absured.

Does anyone know anything about this St. Louis for Kids group? Who organized it? Who belongs to it? Who distributed the flyer? Maybe we should know that before we start yelling "racist" at anyone.

I agree with Philo that this smells a bit like the Tawanna Brawley/Al Sharpton fiasco.

Nifty, Donna Jones was heavily supported by all white union members of the COPE Committee of Local 420. I doubt a white person slashed her tires unless, of course, it was someone associated with the Mayor's slate. I believe the same thing happened to either Veronica O'Brien or Amy Hilgemann who was supporting her.

Remember too, it was probably African Americans who falsely wrote in the names of deceased African Americans in the recall petition of Boyd (?)

I think Philo has a point that this involves people of the same race. In my many, many years of life, I never heard a white person speak of an African American as a house servant either.

At any rate it is sad. Issues should be the focus, and there are some serious issues facing the district. Some believe the State will eventually have to come in and take over the district due to poor performance and squandering of funds.

I know who did it, but I also know it has been sent to the proper election authorities, who will deal with it. I was just wondering if you were associated with that group. And it wasn't Mr. Callow.

It was a group of people that care more about the district being a cash cow and job factory for adults(Helen!), than a district that provides quality education for children.

Why don't you all put on blackface and sing your songs about how terrible it is that Buford and Darnetta are trying to fix these schools!
Because apperently a flyer that depicts Jim Buford as Amos & Andy, and Darnetta Clinkscale as Aunt Jemima isn't a "racist" thing to you folks.

Philo, you keep talking about school systems in other city's but don't site specific things in the St. Louis school system. I know there are problems in other school districts like there are problems in ours but because others are messing up in that way doesn't necessarily mean that the St. Louis school system is messed up that way. As for the racist stuff I think refering to someone as a "house servant" is a little racist whether it comes from whites or blacks. And for it to be passed out on Martin Luther King Jr. Day is disgraceful. His message was to move out of the slave mentality and create a culture where all people are equal. I don't know if anyone else was at the school board meeting but that 7th grade who read Dr. King's speech was brilliant and made me sad that his dream isn't a reality yet.

Southsider,

Who exactly are you talking to about putting on blackfaces? Some of my best friends are African Americans, I have voted for African American mayors and officers in other organizations. In fact, some of my friends are actual Africans from Nigeria, Togo, Senegal, Tunisia, and Morocco. After all, I lived and worked in Africa for several years. A couple of years ago I visited dear friends in England; he is African from Zanzibar and she is Lebanese. I detest racism.

It appears you think there are some racists on this blog--exactly who do you think they are? You are insulting, but to whom one has to guess. Worried citizen, do you recognize any racists on this blog. I'm sure you're not one either. Who is he talking about or to?

I have a hunch none of us who read this blog even saw the flyer or knew anything about it.

African Americans told me they can call one another "niggar," and it isn't racist--only if whites use the term. So I have a hunch the reference to the "house servant" isn't racist but political.

I believe that the Southsider was calling the people against Buford and Clinkscale racist. I don't think all of them are but I have seen the flyer that is being referenced. It was handed to me at the MLK parade. I was appalled. I didn't get to speak to the one who handed it to me because I was shocked that it was even produced. Whomever produced it should be ashamed, and everyone should be mad that race has even entered a school board election. The school board elections should be about the children and improving their lives not sending us back to the 1860's.

Worried Citizen,

Thanks for the explanation. But I don't think those people are reading or posting on this blog. When he said "Why don't you all put on blackfaces," it sure sounded like he was addressing those entering posts. He could have said, "Why don't they put on blackfaces," and it would have been better understood.

A couple of years ago they put out something ugly on Earl Nance, Jr. too; but once again, it involved parties of the same race. It's all so ugly.

Who did it, Southsider?

Let's have facts, not innuendo.

You Folks, we're with you. Southsider claims to know something and should say who did it. He can't demand names from others when he throws around so much innuendo.

Worried Citizen, a couple of names or parties are already noted in a previous posting. As noted, a former highly educated executive in the Human Resource department left because unqualified friends and relatives were forced on this party instead of allowing the best to be hired. It's about jobs and consultant fees (big time) that are going on. Some former employees who are back working as or worked as consultants are Larry Hutchins, David Flieg, Ida Woolfolk, Georgia Bland-Whitfield, Bessie Mosley, et al.

The Sodexho contract is costing more with less work being done than when the employees were in-house. There were lazy custodians, plumbers and supervisors before--true, but they're the ones who remain.

Go to the Board Office and demand to see the personnel transactions and you might see some surprising figures.

Employees in the Central Office who see and hear a lot indicate the superintendent is hiring a lot of friends and bloating the bureaucracy.

Philo-Teknos, I got it, a former human resource person didn't like what was happening. Dr. Williams "friends from Chicago"(still not named) are bad. Sodexho bad. Many contracts bad. I don't know about all of these but I will say what I think. Many former employees don't like what happened when the new board came in. I still don't know about his "friends from Chicago". I don't know that the sodexho contract costs more, and that they do worse work, but I can't imagine that after signing a contract for janitorial service they decided to keep bad janitors. As for plumbers and supervisors I think that those are different issues. I know nothing of plumbers that work or worked for the system, but some of the supervisors I hope that they got rid of are the ones who "helped" our children's MAP scores decline for years. The consultant fees you speak of I don't know exactly about but you say "Some former employees who are back working as or worked as consultants". Maybe they "worked as consultants", instead of working as consultants, because they have been let go, I don't know but I heard that the system was very poor before this board and Dr. Williams came here. I know that the system isn't right yet, but I know the MAP test scores were the highest they have been since 2001, in most cases. I think this is attributed to the work this board has done and I will support this board as long as the children continue to improve on the MAP scores.

===St. Louis for Kids group

Yeah, it's an intermediary that works to provide after school programming in the region. The Asst Director is Ron Jackson.

Oh wait, some geniuses put together a fake group and used the same name. The quality of morons is going down in Saint Louis.

===The 1995 deregulation of Chicago’s public schools opened the door to unprecedented patronage behind the fig leaf of ‘school reform’..."

Unprecedent patronage? Actually patronage was significantly reduced. The patronage was largely in non-teaching jobs and those were reduced significantly since Vallas took over and has continued under Duncan. The boiler watchers can't watch tv on the job anymore even.

Strangely, I can't find any articles in the Sun-Times or Trib that cover that period about consulting contracts or FOIA problems with the CPS. Perhaps Substance got the story wrong.

===It's about jobs and consultant fees (big time) that are going on. Some former employees who are back working as or worked as consultants are Larry Hutchins, David Flieg, Ida Woolfolk, Georgia Bland-Whitfield, Bessie Mosley, et al.

I was under the impression Larry was no where near the Central Office since Williams hire--nor Flieg--are you sure you aren't conflating time?

LaCoste is apparently the primary person who they Phil is talking about, but I've been impressed. New blood in the personnel office is nothing new--how many times has it turned over? Who was even there long enough to decide jobs were going to 'friends'? And how much of this could have happened under Williams?

Is by chance the new hire still moving their family down here?

===Someone indicated even our superintendent's time in Chicago remains under investigation.

Really? I talked recently with s persons who should have known if that were true in the CPS--where is the information from? What is the investigation about?

Much like the ArchPundit is an alternative source of information on Illinois politics, etc., The Source is an alternative source of information in Chicago, particularly the school system. It stated: "If the Chicago Board of Educaton did not routinely violate the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act, even the Sun-Times and Tribune could see the corruption at the top."

Witnesses at the MLK celebration indicate the questionable leaflets were handed out by African Americans. It seems certain African Americans criticize other African Americans for selling out. Some African Americans call others "Uncle Tom's.

Closed minds can't or won't see corruption that honest employees close to the action see because there is an unwillingness to admit it. No amount of effort to persuade will change minds. It's like trying to persuade certain Republicans to cooperate with good Democrats or vice versa. Blind affiliations proscribe seeing clearly.

Where is this corruption Philo? How is it that there was a 90 million dollar budget deficit when this board cam in and now there isn't one.

Under the old way of doing things, the district handed out $5000.00 contracts to consultants like candy on Halloween. Why? because any contract over $5000 was subject to board approval. hundreds of people got $5000 contracts because they had friends in the district. Well That practive is over. So what is this corruption you speak of?

And Sodexho saves the district $6 million dollars a year. That is why the board choose them. What in the world are you talking about?

==The Source is an alternative source of information in Chicago, particularly the school system

You mean Substance, right? Not being snarky, I just want to make sure we are reading the same article in the same place:
http://www.substancenews.com/April02/zombie1.htm

The problem I have with the statement about the Sun-Times and Trib is they are experts at FOIA because of the Daley administration--they report when they can't get information--why is there no mention? I believe the Trib developed a technique of delivering multiple FOIAs to the City in order to throw off the scent of what they are looking for--why wouldn't either source mention this? They had a rather large battle over FOIA and privacy in relation to test scores, but the above problems are never mentioned. Why not?

I'm serious about the claim about Williams' tenure being under investigation in Chicago--I know nothing of this--are there some details you can give us?

===Well That practive is over.

Significantly reduced--there are, and always will be that kind of contract--some are useful. Some, in the old days, bought off radio show hosts.

1. 'Bureaucracy' or 'Instructional leadership'
Description: Substance online June 2002: 'Bureaucracy' or 'Instructional
leadership

* largess, Duncan and Eason-Watkins have reportedly named retired Philips High Principal, Beverly LaCoste, to the Head the Board’s Summer School program. Substance readers will remember that Ms. LaCoste
* URL: http://www.substancenews.com/June02/bureaucracy.htm

2. Zombie payrollers' haunt Chicago schools' budgets. Description: Substance online April 2002- 'Zombie payrollers' haunt Chicago schools' budgets

* didn’t improve to any meaningful extent in the TAP or other high
school tests, but once LaCoste was in place and loyal to Vallas, the school no longer
faced the threats the continued to be * URL: http://www.substancenews.com/April02/zombie3.htm

3. Zombie payrollers' haunt Chicago schools' budgets Description: Substance online April 2002- 'Zombie payrollers' haunt Chicago schools' budgets

* attention of critics is the controversial principal of Kenwood and Phillips high schools, Beverly LaCoste. “[Beverly] La Coste officially
retired as Principal of Philips High School more than two * URL: http://www.substancenews.com/April02/zombie2.htm

Okay, but, again, what is Williams under investigation for and why would the Sun-Times and Trib that have made FOIA request problems front page news in the past not mentioning having problems with FOIA in the schools?

The Substance article doesn't shed any light on what is actually happening. What about position counts?

Saying that there are administrators bulging at the seams doesn't explain if those 'administrators' have the skills that Duncan was looking for--strangely, different administrators have different functions.

It's also a little confusing on LaCoste given she was considered an acting principal until June of 2002 at Philips and Wells. Perhaps Sharp is confused.

I don't know about the others, but Bessie Mosley is serving as an elementary school principal under a consulting contract, while also drawing a pension. The South Side Journal reported this several months ago. This isn't not unheard of in SLPS (or city government), but generally you do have to be a politically-connected individual to get such a deal.

"Public spending attracts special interests like flies to honey." Andrew P. Morris, Professor of Business Law & Regulation, Case School of Law, Cleveland

So true of the St. Louis Public Schools in the past, especially in the present, and probably in the future.

The present board speaking ill of past boards is like (excuse the adage) "the pot calling the kettle black."