Election Day is tomorrow! Polls are open from 6 am to 7 pm and you can vote at any of the City’s polling places. Lots of SLPS schools are on the list which makes it easy to stop in to vote while you’re doing drop-off or pick up.
I am very excited to cast votes for AJ Foster and Karen Collins-Adams. You can read more about the reasons behind my choices in this post from March.
If you’re still gathering info on all the candidates, please take a look at my election guide where I’ve complied all the links, videos, and news coverage.
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I tried and tried and tried to put together some final thoughts on this election, but the truth is I’ve said everything I have to say. For almost a year now, I’ve been detailing the issues at SLPS and with the school board. In that time, the problems have gotten worse, not better and true governance is all but non-existent.
We need three new school board members who are committed to re-establishing the principles of good governance. They’ll also have to push for accountability and transparency by setting the expectation that the district will follow Missouri Sunshine Law and ensure that all board members have access to the same information and on the same schedule. This will be hard and require a lot of work, but I believe it is possible.
Regardless of who wins, the reign of board leadership will come to an end with one-half of that toxic duo choosing not to seek re-election. That alone is worth celebrating. However, don’t be fooled. Someone else can easily step into that role or another dangerous faction can develop.
That’s where we come in. It us up to us — the parents and family members, the employees, the taxpayers — to keep close watch on the board, to follow along with their decisions, to make sure they are carrying out their responsibilities with fidelity. Even if your chosen candidates win tomorrow, you cannot get complacent. This is a critical time for SLPS and it will take all of us to get it back on track.
I know we typically think about elections as the finish line, but they’re really just the beginning. I’ve got a lot of ideas for future posts. I know I hit a bit of a rough patch here lately with the writer’s block, but truly I just couldn’t bring myself to write another word analyzing this election.
We are going to finish our governance book club. I want to tell you what learned about the supposed sale of Marshall School. Plus, I’ve got lots of thoughts to share about the current process for school closures.
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