After denials four months ago by his aides, Robin Wahby and Ed Rhode, of secret conversations first reported by PUB DEF in July in which the mayor’s office called on the state to intervene following the defeat of his hand-picked school board candidates, Mayor Slay, a Democrat, has grown more and more vocal about his desire for Gov. Matt Blunt to take control over St. Louis’ beleaguered schools.

“A State takeover of the district is a needed first step,” the mayor wrote on his website Saturday.

“If legislation is needed to make the law clear and to protect a takeover from legal challenge, the Missouri General Assembly should pass a bill the first month it is in session — and the Governor should sign it.”

The current school board president, who Slay appointed to the board in 2004 after former member Rochelle Moore was removed because of her erratic behavior, has joined Slay in calling for state intervention.

Veronica O’Brien said that while she doesn’t yet support an all-out “takeover,” she does think the state should do away with the superintendent’s office.

“A state takeover in the truest sense would be disastrous and it would not help the children,” O’Brien told KSDK this week. But she said she wants to see the position of superintendent completely eliminated and replaced by two positions; a chief operating officer and a chief academic officer.

O’Brien also has begun to undermine the credibility of the very woman she abruptly introduced as superintendent just four months ago.

“Dr. [Diana] Bourisaw does not have the experience to handle some things in this district,” O’Brien told Channel 5. She said she once believed Bourisaw had the “potential to grow,” but no longer.

O’Brien said she doesn’t believe she personally deserves any of the blame for the current state of the district. “I don’t think I bear the burden of many years of the district falling apart,” she said.

In that regard, she and the mayor are again on the same page.

For three years, between April 2003 and April 2006, Mayor Slay enjoyed unprecedented influence over St. Louis Public Schools. Under the direction of his original slate of candidates — Vince Schoemehl, Bob Archibald, Ronald Jackson and Darnetta Clinkscale, who later became the heavy-handed board majority — the district embarked on an expensive experiment, overseen and co-directed from the mayor’s own office, that turned control of the district over to a New York City-based corporate turnaround firm and a superintendent that had absolutely no prior experience in education.

When the dust settled, the district was left in debt, the community was even more divided, and the New Yorkers where back in New York preparing for their next adventure in New Orleans.

But Slay, like O’Brien, accepts no blame for his role in today’s mess.

“It would be controversial to give up local control of the St. Louis Public Schools, but it would be plain wrong to allow the district to continue to betray the futures of thousands of students,” Slay wrote today on his website. “It’s past time for a state takeover. Why not just say that?”

If Slay and O’Brien get their way, it would put St. Louis City residents in the very unique position of being perhaps the only city population in America with no control over either its own police force or its own public schools.

Now the commentary:

It is not leadership to jump to the front of a steady march and join in the chorus. Indeed, it is cowardice for elected leaders to abandon their mission and turn over the power voters invested in them to outsiders — whether they be from New York City or Jefferson City.

If Mayor Slay wants to be a good leader and if he truly wants someone to have the authority to “put the district in the hands of a strong administrator with a mandate to stabilize the district and start it on the long road to recovery,” as he says, then he should ask for that power, not pass the puck to a governor who has repeatedly voiced his own insensitivity to this state’s urban people.

Instead of giving our power over to the state, the mayor should ask for control over his city’s schools — as mayors have done in Chicago, Cleveland and Los Angeles, and as is currently being considered in Seattle and Washington D.C.

It would be controversial, but no more so than if a governor who is not directly accountable to St. Louisans was given control.

And at least there would finally be one person the voters of this city could hold accountable for the future of our public schools.

UPDATE: There were a few surprises this morning as the filing window opened for incumbents and challengers seeking to run in the March 2007 primary elections.

As we first reported last week, former school board member Bill Haas is challenging 18th Ward Alderman Terry Kennedy. When we asked Haas, who has run unsuccessfully for numerous offices over the years (including mayor and, most recently, state representative), why now alderman, he said simply “it was on the ballot.”

Haas added it would be an honor to replace “a great alderman like Terry Kennedy.”

The biggest surprise came in the filing of retired police officer Matt Browning against 12th Ward Ald. Fred Heitert. [Click here to read more about this and view a video interview with Browning.] Both are Republicans and Browning’s moving personal story and considerable name recognition could make this race very competitive.

Alderman Craig Schmid (20th Ward) also got a challenger in Cherokee Street resident Galen Gondolfi.

In the 6th Ward, Kacie Starr Triplett‘s name will appear on the ballot above Committeeman Patrick Cacchione and first-time candidate Christian Saller.

Another surprise came in the 4th Ward, where neither incumbent Ald. O.L. Shelton or his expected challenger, Sam Moore, showed up this morning to file.

Still Developing…

UPDATE 2: Here are some photos from today’s filings. Please don’t steal our photos. If you’d like to use them, just ask.

The informational debate, which occured at a meeting of The Tilles Park Neighborhood Association, is largely moot since the state-appointed police board voted last week to significantly relax the ban just seven weeks before voters are scheduled to let their opinion be known on the matter in a non-binding referendum.

Reed joked that the debate took place on Ahlbrand’s home turf, in SLPOA’s hall in south St. Louis. Those in attendence — including Ald. Jennifer Florida, state senate aide Harold Brown, mayoral aide Charles Bryson, and current Aldermanic Pres. Jim Shrewsbury — also heard debates on the stem cell initiative and the proposed tobacco tax increase.

Circuit Court Judge Richard G. Callahan ruled this week that the Missouri Voter Protection Act is Unconstitutional, saying it “constitutes an impermissible additional qualification to vote in violation of Article VIII, Section 2 of the Missouri Constitution.”

Callahan also said it represented an “undue burden to the fundamental right to vote,” it violated the prohibition on interference with the “free exercise of the right of suffrage” and the requirement that “all elections shall be free and open”, and by requiring payment of money to vote, it violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the state constitution.

Governor Matt Blunt is expected to seek an appeal. So stay tuned.

Here’s a video of the new election board chair, Kimberley Mathis. She was recently appointed by Blunt to preside over St. Louis City’s elections.

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) explains that because of a state law enacted in 2004, the MAP exams were revised to align more closely with the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exams. These are national tests in which all states must participate. Missouri’s academic standards may not exceed those used in the NAEP tests.

Now the MAP tests for communication arts and mathematics are based on four achievement level categories instead of five to describe student performance. These categories (Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced) are identical to those used by the NAEP.

DESE advises that these changes make it difficult, if not impossible, to compare 2006 MAP results with previous years.

For example, on the previous MAP tests, a substantial number of students (based on state averages) scored in the “Nearing Proficient” category. This category has been eliminated with the four new achievement levels. Students who might have scored in the middle range could now be in any of the four new categories. The results may vary widely among schools and districts.

In the past, many school officials have looked at student performance in terms of the “top two and bottom two” levels. This kind of analysis may be less meaningful now as a result of the elimination of the “Nearing Proficient” category.

“There will be a natural tendency for people to try to compare this year’s results with prior years. DESE discourages such comparisons,” says the department’s advisory. “Our advice to everybody is: Recognize the important changes that have occurred in the MAP program and be cautious about making comparisons.”

And now St. Louis Public Schools’ results:

In Communication Arts
Grade 3 – Below Basic (21.2%)/Basic (53%)/Prof (16.2%)/Adv (9.6%)
Grade 4 – Below Basic (25.6%)/Basic (51.4%)/Prof (16.4%)/Adv (6.6%)
Grade 5 – Below Basic (23%)/Basic (55.7%)/Prof (15.9%)/Adv (5.5%)
Grade 6 – Below Basic (36.8%)/Basic (47.7%)/Prof (12.6%)/Adv (2.9%)
Grade 7 – Below Basic (36.1%)/Basic (48.6%)/Prof (12.5%)/Adv (2.7%)
Grade 8 – Below Basic (25.8%)/Basic (58.4%)/Prof (12.2%)/Adv (3.7%)
Grade 11 – Below Basic (28.7%)/Basic (53.4%)/Prof (13.6%)/Adv (4.3%)

In Mathematics
Grade 3 – Below Basic (19.9%)/Basic (55.8)/Prof (20%)/Adv (4.3%)
Grade 4 – Below Basic (24.2%)/Basic (55.5%)/Prof (16.7%)/Adv (3.6%)
Grade 5 – Below Basic (23.4%)/Basic (55.1%)/Prof (17.5%)/Adv (4%)
Grade 6 – Below Basic (39%)/Basic (47.3%)/Prof (11.4%)/Adv (2.4%)
Grade 7 – Below Basic (48.3%)/Basic (39.8%)/Prof (10.2%)/Adv (1.7%)
Grade 8 – Below Basic (55.8%)/Basic (31.4%)/Prof (10%)/Adv (2.8%)
Grade 10 – Below Basic (60.5%)/Basic (26.4%)/Prof (11.2%)/Adv (2%)

SLPS has issued the following statement and analysis:

The St. Louis Public Schools today announced the preliminary results from the 2006 Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests which reveal increases in achievement among middle and high school students. While the majority of the District’s middle and high schools show increases, elementary school scores declined.

“We obviously have a great deal of work to do to ensure that all of our students are performing at advanced and proficient levels,” said Dr. Diana Bourisaw, Interim Superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools. “The 2006 MAP scores make it clear that we must offer support, including professional development for teachers and more flexibility within curriculum programs, for teachers. We cannot continue to demand accountability without providing the necessary resources for teachers,” she said.

A review of the 2006 MAP scores by grade level reveals:

• In Grade 3, 25.8 percent of students scored at the advanced and proficient levels in Communication Arts, a decrease of 9.4 percent from the previous year.
• In Grade 4, Mathematics scores dropped 15.8% in the number of students scoring at advanced or proficient levels.
• In Grade 7, the Communication Arts combined advanced and proficient performance level percentage was 15.2%, an increase of 4.2%
• In Grade 7 Communication Arts, 17 of 21 (80.9%) of the middle schools experienced increases in the top two levels.

• In Grade 8, there was an increase in Mathematics with 12.8 percent of students scoring advanced or proficient, up 4.6% from last year.
• In Grade 8 Mathematics, 15 of 21 (71.4%) of the middle schools experienced increases.
• In Grade 10, Mathematics scores averaged 13.2% in the top two performance levels, an increase of 9.7% from last year.

• Communication Arts scores at Grade 11 averaged 17.9%, an 11.7% increase from the previous year.
• In Grade 10 Mathematics, 10 of 11 (90.9%) of the high schools experienced small increases in the number of students testing as proficient or advanced.
• In Grade 11 Communication Arts, all 12 of the high schools experienced increases in the advanced and proficient levels.

“While the official results from the State of Missouri will not be available until November, these preliminary numbers suggest three elementary schools previously identified as ‘Needs Improvement’ by DESE may have made enough gains in student achievement to be removed from that status,” Bourisaw said.

The MAP measures academic standards and determines the level to which schools enable students to become proficient. The tests are scored on proficiency standards of Advanced, Proficient, Basic, and Below Basic. The levels of Advanced/Proficient scores are used to determine each school’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) required by the Federal No Child Left Behind law. New for 2006 was that all students in Grades 3-8 were tested in both Communication Arts and Mathematics. High school testing remained the same as previous years with 10th graders tested in Mathematics and 11th graders tested in Communication Arts.

As a result of the changes in the testing of student performance, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) discourages the comparison of the 2006 data to the test results of previous years.

“All St. Louis students must be given the fundamentals they need in order to demonstrate proficient performance in communication arts, math, and science. We must align our investments in curriculum and professional development for all grades,” said Veronica O’Brien, President of the Board of Education. “It is clear that a top-down approach to curriculum development did not empower teachers to teach, or help students achieve,” she said.

The MAP score information is preliminary, as the Federal government requires the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to provide districts a 30-day appeal process. Final determinations of MAP data and Adequate Yearly Progress will be made by DESE in November.

Co-chairs Dr. William Danforth and Attorney Frankie Freeman were joined by St. Louis American publisher Dr. Donald Suggs and Attorney Ned Lemkemeier. Michael Middleton, the group’s fifth member, did not attend today’s meeting.

The group drew criticism for closing their first meeting to the public. Danforth today said it was later brought to their attention that they are subject to the state’s Sunshine Law, which is why today’s meeting was public.

“Now that we know we are subject to the Sunshine Laws, I suggest we obey the law and the spirit of the Sunshine idea,” said Danforth.

In the meeting, which lasted about thirty minutes, King presented to the group some slight modifications to the points of its mission, all centered around addressing what he described as the “turmoil” in SLPS in the past four years.

Danforth introduced the group’s first hire, Bethany Johnson who will serve as study director and an interviewer for the committee.

It was revealed that the co-chairs had already conducted private interviews with some members of the school board. Danforth said they would also be requesting interviews with Interim Superintendent Diana Bourisaw and Teachers’ Union Pres. Mary Armstrong.

Bourisaw and School Board Pres. Veronica O’Brien watched tonight’s meeting from the audience.

Danforth said the committee also plans to convene focus groups of parents, teachers and principals and to hire an expert in school finances to help paint a clearer picture of the district’s finances.

No date was given for the committee’s next meeting, but Commissioner King did say that their work must be completed by early December.