Donnybrook
Donnybrook Last Call | December 12, 2024
Clip: Season 2024 Episode 47 | 9m 40sVideo has Closed Captions
The panel discusses spending by the ousted SLPS superintendent & declining student test scores
On Donnybrook Last Call, Charlie Brennan, Wendy Wiese, Sarah Fenske, Joe Holleman, and Alvin Reid discuss questionable spending by the ousted SLPS superintendent and the declining student test scores in the St. Louis region.
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Donnybrook is a local public television program presented by Nine PBS
Support for Donnybrook is provided by the Betsy & Thomas O. Patterson Foundation and Design Aire Heating and Cooling.
Donnybrook
Donnybrook Last Call | December 12, 2024
Clip: Season 2024 Episode 47 | 9m 40sVideo has Closed Captions
On Donnybrook Last Call, Charlie Brennan, Wendy Wiese, Sarah Fenske, Joe Holleman, and Alvin Reid discuss questionable spending by the ousted SLPS superintendent and the declining student test scores in the St. Louis region.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Thank you very much for joining us for Last Call.
Alvin Reed you're the son of educators, I believe am I correct yes yes so what do you think about the audit of the St Louis Public Schools that showed that there was some questionable spending in fact the credit cards were used uh at Massage Envy Planet Fitness true Fusion bath in the body bath and body that was a big expans that was huge how much was that do we know s thousand something it was that's a lot of soap that's a lot of but it smell lot of lotion it smell lot oftion so I I think it just shows that the U board of education has shown no stewardship no did not fulfill its Watchdog role and as a result should announce that it's tendering resignations tomorrow morning what do you think well um there's the people can resign them because they have elections coming up and I think that that the citizens of the city of St Louis should be given the chance to throw these folks out it's all out there and you could you know Cas of scarlet and that was just out of completely out of control I will say this too a long long time ago I learned that either if you have one or you're passing one out a company credit card that is like dynamite and you got to watch that closely and you got to watch it every month and it's not a point that people use them to steal it's just a matter of you want to keep an eye on that so you can say like hey you know that rental car that you got that really doesn't fall under the you know what you can do and just kind of like nip it in the MD as Barney F said um but yes the board is coupable but the board should have to answer to the people unless they really just feel so bad that you know I resign and that's not going to happen right I I think I would I would wish that they would do that because to a person they hold some responsibility for what happened each and every one of them because you're the board and you're supposed to watch over what the superintendent does and it clearly again we come up to one of those situations either they were watching and didn't care which is horrific to think about or they just weren't paying attention and we're saying yeah whatever you want to do you go right ahead and do it either way they let the citizens of St Louis down it's that simple so if they don't lose which I hope they do and and I think they should all because I agree with you that they should all be gone in some form or fashion I agree with you there but I agree with Alvin there's a process for it and you got to follow the process and I I hate to say that too Charlie but I I agree because I I'm like you I want them all like ridden out of town on a rail honestly but as Alvin astutely points out all it does is create more chaos at a time they don't need more chaos but this was an unbelievable Revelation this report it was re this is real housewi these are real housewives of Beverly Hills money that's what this is and the and the fact that she was spending like a drunken sailor and and just and and then that she had the nerve to counter Sue when she was fired I mean I guess that's just what you do but and and maybe this is the way it worked in Seattle but that is not the way it worked I doubt it it would be bad enough it was if it was the Acme widget company but this these are the children of this city and the future of this city it's just so so sad so I will say in defense of this board I mean they brought this woman in very bhood you know National search and then within a year they moved swiftly to fire her that's that's a bold move they had eggs on their FA egg on their face because of it I frankly wonder about the internal controls I've worked for much smaller companies than St Louis Public Schools but it's not the board of directors whose job it is to scrutinize your credit card receipts there's people in a in a controller's office or a com controller or an auditor there in a in an Administration this big there should have been other people that were catching this and for whatever reason didn't and so I feel like for this board um obviously mistakes were made some big mistakes but I don't lay it all on their feet I really don't can I one that which was it was all terrible but to me it was really egregious and this is where the board or somebody the fact that she was able to maneuver these people back pay and they were being paid before they actually moved to the city of St Louis or the area board approval and had and got board approval for this now that's the one where I said like now are you reading what is put in front of you that you vote on because anybody would have said like are they in St Louis yet no then why are we paying them what about this when she was working for the district I believe millison borade got a $10,000 trip to an education conference in Japan does any administrator in the St Louis Public Schools with a $30 million deficit this year have any business in Japan learning about Japanese education absolutely not and if that came up in many a district that I am familiar with they'd be gone before the sun came down I also got to disagree with thought we say don't want to lay it at the board's feet that's exactly where it says it should be the board is responsible for operating that District so there is no other feet to lay it at than the board there's no one else to blame but the board they let Kesha Scarlet get away with what they say she did and moving fast they move faster because they got tired of opening up the newspaper or turning on the television and hearing reports about it so this idea that all of a sudden they said we've uncovered I don't remember the school board calling anybody going we have a story for you that's not how this happened and the board of education is ultimately responsible for how that district is operated their feed is where it needs to lie what saying because I'm not smart enough to be a school superintendent heavy lies ahead that wears the crown that wears the crown and and that is that is actually where the and they fired her in a year again there's a lot of times that L the Mone with the guy they brought in because they don't want the embarrassment of everything that is coming out now they moved fast on this when these things came to light they took action I don't want to see them resign right now in part because of the whole chaos may had to take action you may not recall as recently as uh Last Summer the superintendent the then superintendent was asking for Rams money remember yeah and uh perhaps she needed more bath and body I don't know yeah okay they've got great candles a a pretty dismal report on school test scores we only have about two minutes to go in the program uh but areawide School District by School District there's really not much improvement over the scores from 2009 19 uh our postco test scores are not that good Sarah you also are the daughter of an educator your dad 54 years at Lutheran West High School as a teacher and my mom was also a teacher as well oh fantastic well thank them for me but do you think we need a a sixth day of school or more pay for teachers or what no I would like to not see a sixth day of school I think part of the problem that's plaguing modern education right now is teachers are being forced to teach to these tests these you know sort of national standards that we've brought in they've eliminated a lot of the creativity that allowed people like my dad to be great teachers it's very frustrating for teachers I think the other big problem is that we have a lot of uh administrations and school boards that don't have the teachers backs and we've got some kids that maybe have some real disciplinary issues and parents who don't want to hear about the disciplinary issues and administrators who just don't want to rock the boat I think there's some big systemic problems here but I don't think it's solved by making gluing these kids to their seats for even longer they need to be outside playing they need to break from this in Japan they have a sixth day and in South Korea too I hate that I you know I've got little kids and the idea of them having to go to school for even a few hours more than what they go to school that's not what their their childhood should be about my 32-year-old daughter didn't forgive Charlie until her wedding and she was sending him a wedding invitation for for proposing that very thing when she was a little girl she said he's got to be kidding I think that was summer school I proposed oh just a that's were okay yeah I was person Ang grada in Wendy's household for about 25 years you really made the 10-year-old man wait till my kids catch you into this Charlie I think you know it's not like the that the the public school district scores have been you know spiking high but I think we really are still getting the uh covid fallout and before and everybody before was saying you know I remember when Co was on and everybody didn't want to talk about but they're saying this is going to to be terrible for schools and everybody said oh no it's all a good thing it is it was terrible for schools it set kids behind so far and it it was almost like you missed a year of school as if you sat at home I mean and think of what would have happened to any of us if all of a sudden between sixth and seventh grade they just said you don't have to go to school this year and then you had to go back you'd have been behind paying that price all I can say is thank goodness the test scores for the panelists around this table were very high back in the day that's why we're in the communication Vis thank you very much for joining us we'll see you next week
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