A political platform for education in St. Louis
Plus, Flashback #3 - City reform is education reform
We’ve got a major election coming up in just a few months. The mayor, half of the aldermen (odd wards), and three seats on the SLPS school board will be on the ballot. That’s a lot of power up for grabs. As voters and City residents, we need to make sure that power is wielded by people who will use it wisely and for the betterment of our City as a whole, not just their own personal interests. There have been a lot of examples lately of questionable decision making and allegations of corruption in both city government and the school district that are eroding the public trust. These elections, and the campaigns leading up to them, can restore that trust but only if we, the voters, are able to truly assess what candidate stand for and what they plan to do.
I’ve mentioned before that I wrestled with the idea of running for school board again. I was feeling conflicted. I have this restless, itchy feeling to do something that gets us back on track. I’m also pretty sure I still haven’t fully recovered from the time I already served on the board. Those were a wild four years. Not to mention, there’s this pesky dissertation I still need to finish. So, I started thinking about other ways I could direct my knowledge, experience, and expertise, ultimately deciding to address one of our city’s most glaring political shortcomings.
Candidates running for office don’t know how to talk about education. Sure, we sometimes get throwaway statements about special programs, partnerships, or events, but mostly the go-to line is “Well the mayor/board of aldermen doesn’t have any authority over the school district." It’s true, but it’s not the whole story.
I’ve got my theories about how that came to be the default statement — more than a decade of appointed governance and a lack of direct experience with SLPS because of VICC and charter schools — but they don’t really matter too much at this point. What does matter, however, is that we have political candidates who are committed to supporting public education (yes, that means charters too!) and helping the system as a whole improve.
But the discourse is so toxic and the system so convoluted that it’s nearly impossible to have a constructive debate. We have to do better. In the next election, let’s move beyond the political purity tests and black-and-white thinking and actually weigh the pros and cons of policies.
To get us started on a productive path, I wrote a political platform for public education in St. Louis. Is it the be all and end all of things our school system needs? Nope. Are some of you going to hate it? Probably. But I learned a long time ago that the best way to tackle a seemingly insurmountable policy problem is to put ideas down on paper and open the floor for debate.
And that’s what this platform is, a way to open the floor to the healthy, productive debate about education that we’ve needed for so long. It’s also a way for candidates for political office to have a safe place to start building their own campaign’s education platform. They can take these ideas outright or modify them to fit their own goals and beliefs.
I hope you’ll visit the website and read all the details, but in short the platform has two primary goals:
Newer and fewer school buildings - The City of St. Louis has too many public schools for its population causing us to have some of the smallest average building enrollments in the country. Our school buildings, while architectural marvels, are old and expensive to maintain. We must prioritize the construction of newer and fewer school facilities so that resources are distributed efficiently and equitably.
A City Department of Education - Schools are city infrastructure. They're every bit as important to our city's health and well-being as water, transportation, and parks yet there is no city department currently dedicated to them. We must prioritize the establishment of a City Department of Education to provide accountability and oversight for the public school system as a whole without changing the governance model for SLPS or charter schools.
Let the debate begin.
As my fellow perfectionists out there know, sometimes it’s hard to put an idea or product out there into the world. There’s always something more to add or another review to search for mistakes. I didn’t want this platform to fall victim to that hesitation. So, I’m publishing it knowing that I’ll likely update it as we get closer to the elections by adding data, research, or ideas that make the platform more complete. I may make adjustments based on feedback or correct errors that I may have inadvertently made. I hope you’ll see it that way too, as a work-in-progress written out of my deep belief that we’ll never get better if we don’t at least take the first step.
I started this newsletter about a year ago because I have a lot of thoughts to share but not enough patience to work within the time constraints of more traditional publishing outlets. Plus, it’s nice to have complete editorial control over and ownership of my content. I am thankful for all of you who have subscribed, read, and shared my posts to help my thoughts and ideas find a larger audience.
I love writing this newsletter every week, but it also requires a lot of time to do well. In addition to the writing time, I also spend a lot of indirect time on this project — reading about what’s happening in other districts and cities, researching policy alternatives, submitting sunshine requests, and meeting with education and city policy makers who can help turn ideas into action. Now that I’ve ventured into the world of writing political platforms I’ve decided that some financial support would be helpful to ensure the work continues.
So, I’m turning on paid subscriptions. Honestly, not a lot will change. The weekly-ish newsletter will stay free. The archives will stay free. The paid subscriptions are simply a way for you to help contribute to my coffee budget and send me a little encouragement. As a small incentive, paid subscribers will now be able to comment on posts. It would be nice to develop a sense of community here at City Reform and commenting seems like one way to get that going.
Thank you for supporting my work in whatever way that fits into your budget. I’m really glad you’re here.
I’ve been publicly writing about what it would look like for there to be true collaboration between SLPS, charter schools, and the City for a long time. That first op-ed is almost 4 years old now, yet another reminder of how long I’ve been on this journey.
But here’s another piece I’m particularly proud of. It all started when my neighbor came across an old set of newspapers while cleaning out a friend’s office. I may have written it almost two years ago, but it still rings true today.
This opinion piece originally appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on April 10, 2023.
In 1950, the Post-Dispatch ran a series called “Progress or Decay? St. Louis Must Choose,” daring the city to stare its problems in the face, goading residents and policymakers into finding solutions lest they bear the consequences. The most pressing policy topics of that time — transportation, health, housing, public education, and race relations — easily, and eerily, reads almost as if it were written today. More than 70 years later, it’s hard to determine which option we chose. Perhaps, it is because we never chose at all, too dependent on an already well worn path.
The hope that St. Louis will reclaim its status as a world-class city remains ever present. Despite years of planning initiatives, consultants and leadership changes, the city has not regained its standing. For decades, St Louis has stood at the brink of crisis, peering into the abyss but never falling over the edge. Recently released estimates reveal the city’s population has dropped to under 290,000 residents, a mere one-third of what it was at its peak in 1950, the same year it stood at the crossroads of progress and decay.
Too often, the story begins and ends here, ignoring more specific trends. Between the 2010 and 2020 census, our city’s under-18 population has declined by more than 13,000 — a 20% decrease in only 10 years. Not a single ward increased its child population. Instead, child population decline ranges from a shocking 35% decline in the 13th Ward to a 4% decline in the 4th Ward. This stands in stark comparison to the adult population, which over the same time period has decreased by less than 2%. In fact, more than half of all wards have an increasing adult population, including the 9th Ward, where it has grown by 18%.
Too many problems too wicked to solve all receive their share of blame, but the public school system remains the eternal scapegoat. As the argument goes, families would stay in the city if only the schools were better. If only there were more choices, more high quality seats, or more professional school board members. This excuse has been used for so long it’s accepted as truth. However, we must consider if attempts to make the city palatable to adults and businesses have had the reverse effect on children and their families.
These shifting demographics have a profound effect on an already struggling public education system. The city’s educational infrastructure is not tethered to the existing population circumstance. Between 2010 and 2020, a net 11 schools (both district and charter) opened across the city even as overall public school enrollment dropped by more than 2,500 students, nearly 8%. The selected locations for new schools are seemingly unconnected to the child population of the surrounding area. Take, for example, the 11th Ward, which had four new schools open even though its child population declined by 31%. The staggering decline offers a possible explanation for the 4% drop in the ward’s public school enrollment despite the addition of the new schools.
Even though 10 district and charter schools have permanently closed since 2020, recent attempts to open new schools or expand existing ones suggest they were too quickly forgotten.
The newfound public attention on these efforts brings some solace, but crucial opportunities to align schools with neighborhoods have been missed. Future school closures loom over our city for both district and charter schools.
We are not obligated to repeat the indecision and inaction of our past no matter how deeply those patterns are entrenched in St. Louis. Instead, policy makers and citizens alike have the magnificent responsibility to choose progress, and there is no better time than the present to begin.
A new and smaller Board of Aldermen led by a new president coincides with a new superintendent of St. Louis Public School for the first time in 15 years. We must all set aside any remnants of the past that preclude the thoughtful long-range planning necessary to build a city that families can truly call home.
The public school system has shouldered the blame for a changing city for too long. The plummeting child population must be treated as the full-fledged crisis that it is. City reform is education reform and a city without children has no future at all.