I realize you are asking a rhetorical question, but I'm going to answer it anyway. The answer: poor choices by the Board.

Example #1: the Board places a higher priority on bus drivers than teachers.

According to ladueschools.net, the district provides bus transportation to all students within the district. If it provided the State-mandated level of service (only to students living more than 3.5 miles from school) then it could eliminate 16 of 20 bus routes.

Cut the cost of 16 buses, 16 part time bus drivers and fuel at $4/gal instead of teachers. Parents in Ladue can drive their kids to school or form a carpool just like private school parents and parents at other public schools. Or, would they rather cut teachers? It's a choice, and the Board is making it for them.

I'm sick of driving down Dielman Rd between 8:10 and 8:20 am every day and seeing dozens of kids with their parents waiting for a bus that will to take them 1-2 miles down the road to Reed School. The State considers this level of service unnecessary, and so do I.

Those of us on the "Vote No" side would like to see the Board make better choices, like putting a higher priority on teachers than bus drivers.

A skeptic might suggest that the Board realizes that threatening to cut teachers will have a greater effect on voter turnout with the "Vote Yes" crowd than threatening to eliminate bus routes. The timing of this announcement seems to confirm it.

Example #2: under utilized & mis-managed assets.

The Board has known it would vacate the Early Childhood building on Clayton Road the minute that the last tax increase was passed to buy the Westminister property. Why is this extremely valuable property being wasted?

The Board claims that it is still "evaluating its alternatives" for the property. They had time to plan and build a new building, and now occupy it for 18 months, and they still don't know what to do with the old building?

The fact that it has been 2 years and they still can't figure out what they want to do with such an extremely valuable asset shows their blatent disregard for the utilization of the district's valuable assets. Is it because if they sold it, they could only use the proceeds to pay down debt (which the taxpayers have to pay back anyway?)

How many teaching positions could be spared with the money that is being spent to maintain the former EC building? How many teachers could be hired with the funds generated from selling such a huge property in Frontenac? The taxpayers may never know.

A young girl wrote in about a week ago. She claimed two kids in her math class didn't have chairs. I don't know if it is true, but I have to believe her. So, I ask you. If you were running the Ladue School system and you had a $300k travel and entertainment budget, wouldn't you take out a few hundred bucks out to buy these kids chairs? Wouldn't you think getting these kids chairs was more important than giving the Supt. of Schools, who already makes almost 40% more than the governor of Missouri a raise? We need new priorities that put kids first and administrators somewhere down the list. The way they are running things is not the only way. It is not necessarily the best way. If this board cannot figure it out, they should step aside.

MJF

You assumptions:

1) Every public school family in the Ladue School zone within 3.5 miles of their school has available cars and drivers in order to get one or more children to school day in and day out and perhaps attend to other responsibilities.

2) If you acknowledge that #1 is not true then it is okay for a second grader (age 7 or 8) to walk 3 miles perhaps alone in any weather that does not preclude school opening.

For your statement--you must agree to both of these things wholeheartedly or somehow explain a very different thought process.

Marc Bernstein

Again MJF

Regarding the property.

The money raised from the potential sale of that land could not be used for operating expenses--so the teachers would still need to be let go. Legal stuff gets in the way yet again.

As far as the property currently sitting fallow--sometimes all institutions have assets that are more valuable and better retained than liquidated immediately. It could be in a few years--Ladue Schools needs it and then buying it back would be worse than having sold it right away. It could be that in a few years the property would be more valuable than now and waiting was wise.

In essence you are just pointing to something that seems very obvious but I would contend that your reaction might be described as "knee-jerk" and unwise.

Marc Bernstein

Marc,
It's funny that Ladue parents like to compare Ladue schools to private schools, but when faced with some of the less attractive aspects of private school (ie - private transportation and paying market rates for before & after school care), suddenly the private school model doesn't look so hot.

To say that public school parents can't find a way to drive or participate in a carpool is beyond ridiculous. Private transportation may not be convenient, but the State does not mandate convenience, only compliance with the 3.5 mile rule. Are you suggesting that people living within the Ladue School district who don't have access to either a car or a carpool with neighbors? Should the school pay hundreds of thousands of dollars per year for bus transportation to accomodate these kids (who don't exist)?

If the Board prefer cutting teachers instead of 16 bus routes & subsidized babysitting, then that's their choice.

The taxpayers provide enough funds for an outstanding school system, one of the best in the Midwest and have historically provided excess funds to allow many extravagances not available in other districts (like excess bus transportation at no charge and subsidized before & after school care which, according to the Board, is at rates that are "below market).

Now, in this economy the school is faced with either raising taxes or cutting these extravagances, or their 3rd option which motivates voter participation - cutting teachers.

There is actually a little more to the bus issue than it being a luxury for parents. My children attend Spoede, where there is very little parking and virtually no place for cars to line up to pick up kids. As I understand, residents have complained about traffic congestion caused by parents lining up to drop off/pick up their children. On several occasions, the Creve Coeur police have been called because of traffic blocking Spoede Road. Our principal strongly encourages parents to have their children ride the bus in order to help alleviate some of the traffic congestion along Spoede, and so that we are a better neighbor to those living in that area. Personally, it is more trouble for me to have my kids ride the bus, and I would prefer to take/pick them up at school. So, it is not only the parents who want the bus service. There are a number of vocal Prop 1 opponents who live near Spoede School who I am sure can attest to the traffic issues.

"Ladue *was* a strong community because of its strong schools." The constituency in Ladue has aged out of caring about the schools. Their kids are done ergo *they* are done supporting it.

I'm a product of the public school system, from grade school all the way through getting a master's degree. Your reaction to my comments is typical of the "Vote Yes" side - avoid answering questions about the real issues and when hard questions are asked, resort to making personal attacks on the questioner.

I'm not a parent of a Ladue student, but that doesn't mean I'm not a stakeholder in this process.

And, I don't have to be a journalist to know that you aren't living up to the standards set by Patch for objectivity in reporting, either. Here is what the Patch website states are its standards for reporting:

Quote: "At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. We will count on our many sources to be honest and honorable so that our reporting will reflect that accuracy."

The article in today's Post-Dispatch / stltoday.com had more objective details from both sides of this issue than you have had in 3 - 4 stories about it, and the reporter from the Post didn't have to sit through multiple board meetings, either.

Here's a prediction - I'll keep being an armchair quarterback, and you'll keep being a lap dog for the Ladue School Board, dutifully putting out their talking points without asking tough questions about the bad choices they are making.

@ MJF- You said, "If that is the case, and I'll take him at his word, then most of the people on the "Vote Yes" side weren't there, either. There are +/-3,800 kids attending Ladue schools, and only 2 or 3 parents attend the Board meetings?

Is the lack of parent involvement at Board meetings worthy of a Patch article, or is this another fact that will be conveniently ignored"

I would say that most parents who send their kids to Ladue Schools eat, live and breathe what is going on. We have acess to information through Parent Association Meetings, Parent District Council Meetings, emails, etc.. so the need for us to go to Board Meeting is not necessary to know what is going on. There are many other ways for parents stay informed. Anyone who is involved with the Ladue schools would agree that parents are extremely involved.

While criticizing the people who are against higher taxes for not attending Board meetings, Mr. Baer reports that he was at the Board meeting with "two or three" other people.

If that is the case, and I'll take him at his word, then most of the people on the "Vote Yes" side weren't there, either. There are +/-3,800 kids attending Ladue schools, and only 2 or 3 parents attend the Board meetings?

Is the lack of parent involvement at Board meetings worthy of a Patch article, or is this another fact that will be conveniently ignored?

I think you're telling us something we all know - your real estate tax bill is calculated based on the value of your house. Yes, if your house is worth more, you will pay more in taxes. That is the structure of our tax system in America. Just as if you make more income, you will pay more income taxes. I guess if you want to maximize the bang for your tax dollar buck, you could move to a $20k house and pay little to no taxes. But, you would be living in a neighborhood with $20k houses....that's a choice you make. If you want to maximize the government services you receive for your income tax dollars, earn as little money as possible. Again, your choice.
Even with the proposed increase, the tax RATE is one of the lowest.

Hey Gregg, I am getting pretty tired of your group telling people to move if they don't like paying more. Yeah, they could move. So could you. There's another option and it is to Vote No. That's what I am doing and if all the signs that I see (at least the ones that haven't been stolen) are any indication, so are a lot of others.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLdYC5IkRI8

So please help me understand that those residents in Ladue and Frontenac do not use Ladue Schools as a marketing vehicle when selling their homes? Just as we all have to maintain our homes for ROI, we also need to insure our schools are funded for the betterment of our community. It is of best interest to everyone, whether or not you have children attending the schools.

What is it with all you Vote Yes people that all you care about it selling your house. Where are you going to move? If that is your argument, why did our homes go down in sympathy with the rest of the regional real estate market? If that is your best argument, I smell a huge defeat for Prop 1.

For anyone who skims through these comments without reading closely, I'd like to point out that Ladue School District does not have the highest median home value in the area. in 2010, Clayton School District’s median home value was $480,000, compared to $408,000 in the Ladue School District. (The residential property tax rate in Clayton School District is currently set at $3.2759 – higher than Ladue Schools will be if Proposition 1 passes.)

I won't argue that Ladue, Huntleigh and Frontenac have the highest home values in the area.

Heather, you hit the nail on the head. Therein lies the problem. The "City" of Ladue sends over 1/2 of all the money to LSD and less than a quarter of the students. Olivette, which sends the most kids, sends only 14% of the total dollars. Olivette controls the school board. 4/7 live in Olivette and after this election it could be 5/7. Olivette has more average priced homes than the rest of the district. If it were in its adjacent districts instead of Ladue its rates would be much higher. I agree, most (not all) Olivette residents are getting a great deal. Meanwhile, the rest of the district which sends few kids to the schools pay all the bills. There is a fable of the Killing of the golden goose. The moral of the story is: "Much wants more and loses all" (Samuel Croxall, 1722). Until the school board understands that it must respect the entire community that pays its bills and doesn't use its services and continues to covet what it believes must be a huge lump of gold inside the golden goose, the goose is going to bite back.

JFB,

Would you like to use this thread to call people in favor "Communists" again?( Like you did in this thread.http://ladue-frontenac.patch.com/articles/ladue-offers-public-meetings-round-tables-to-discuss-ramifications-of-prop-1#photo-9263772).

You are the LAST person to lecture anyone on open minds.

Why is there not a "NO" person running for the Board? Is it because it is easier to criticize than actually do something? The "NO" people have known since well before the deadline for declaring for the school board election (and well before the starting date as well), yet no one ran.

You obvious have enough time to relentlessly post on this site, why didn't you run?

Fixed Income- I think it is rather ironic that you are now coming to the defense of Ladue teachers who have been drug through the mud by the No Group up to this point. They have been referred to as overpaid, robots, and receiving gold-plated salaries. I am a parent with children in this district and I have nothing but the greatest respect for the teachers in this district. They work very hard and have to deal with such a vast spectrum of children. I have repeatedly seen posts about how much less private school teachers make (I have no idea if this is true or not). Perhaps private school teachers don't face the same challenges of public school teachers who have taken on the responsibility of teaching the most gifted of children, and those who are struggling with basic skills --- all in the same classroom. So, let me be very clear. I don't think teachers are like waiters but they are being punished for perceived bad decisions by the Board. That is my only point, and I think most other people got it.