SUPERINTENDENT RESPONDS TO RECENT FINDINGS PRESENTED TO STATE ADVISORY PANEL
Says current administration is not the “status quo”

St. Louis – Dr. Diana Bourisaw, Superintendent of the St. Louis Public Schools, today questioned the accuracy of two reports given earlier this week to the State Advisory Committee, a five member board established by the Missouri Commissioner of Education.

According to Bourisaw, the first report, which announced the results of a recently conducted public opinion poll conducted by several organizations, was misleading. “The results of the public opinion poll are interesting to study, but difficult to determine the level of accuracy without having additional details on the number of people surveyed and the specific questions that were asked,” Bourisaw said.

“From the preliminary results provided to the advisory committee, it appears those responding believe the state would be able to ‘step in and fix things,’ while in reality the state would not bring in any additional monetary resources that are needed to reduce class sizes, improve instruction, and maintain our numerous buildings,” she said.

According to Dr. Robert Taylor, the St. Louis Area Supervisor for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, “the St. Louis Public Schools would not be entitled to receive any additional funding because of any form of state intervention in the district’s governance.” Using a current example, Dr. Taylor noted that the Wellston School District has received no additional state funding as a result of the state’s takeover of that district last year.

Bourisaw also says the report on the financial condition of the District is also misleading as the prediction that the district will “collapse into bankruptcy without significant oversight” did not consider the recent, and ongoing, cuts in administrative costs and an ongoing review of district facilities. “The current administration is not following the ‘status quo,’” Bourisaw said. “We have balanced our revenues and expenditures for this school year and will continue to do so in future years,” she said.

She noted that the Board of Education, school administration, and the community will need to work together to restore the financial health of the school district. “Tough decisions do need to be made considering the declining enrollment in past years and increasing operational costs,” said Bourisaw. “We need to work together as a community of parents, teachers, businesses, and board members, to fix the problems facing the St. Louis Public Schools. We know our students – our families – better than anyone else, and I am confident in our collective ability to improve this district,” she said.