April 4th General Election Ballot

The St. Louis general election is just around the corner, Tuesday April 4, 2023. Early (no excuse absentee) voting is open now. I’ve voted absentee by mail.

In the March 7th primary we all had the one candidate race for President of the Board of Aldermen and races for all 14 wards — the first reduction from 28. The election has those races, plus two propositions, school board, and community college trustee. You can view the sample ballot here.

I’m not going to go through the aldermanic races, you probably know those. Instead I want to draw your attention to the other races you didn’t see during the primary. First, two propositions:

PROPOSITION C CHARTER AMENDMENT
Shall Article V of the City of St. Louis Charter be amended to establish a Charter 17 Commission which shall:Consist of nine registered city voters free of conflicts of
interest recommended by members of the Board of Aldermen, nominated by the Mayor of the City of St. Louis, and confirmed by the full Board of Aldermen.

Be appointed on August 15, 2023, and every ten years thereafter, or upon the certification of a petition signed by five percent of city registered voters who voted in the last general election for mayor, and discharge its duties and cease to exist within one year of its first public meeting.

Solicit public input and consult experts to consider revisions
to the City Charter, and, in accordance with the provisions of
the Missouri Constitution, submit proposed amendments to the qualified voters for approval, which amendments shall go into effect subject to a three-fifths vote in favor. YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION
NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

From sample ballot

I think it makes sense to continually look at the charter for areas to improve. If approved they could start with replacing our every other year primary & general elections with a single ranked-choice/instant runoff election for races with 3+ candidates.

The other proposition on the ballot is related to Missouri’s new adult-use recreational cannabis sales — specifically a local tax.

PROPOSITION
(Additional Sales Tax on Retail Sale of Adult Use Marijuana)
Shall the City of St. Louis impose an additional sales tax of three percent (3 percent) on the retail sale of adult use non- medical marijuana?
YES – FOR THE PROPOSITION
NO – AGAINST THE PROPOSITION

From sample ballot

Again, I voted yes because 3% is a small amount and it’ll help pay for local municipal services. This tax isn’t applicable to those of us with medical cannabis cards.

Lastly there’s three candidates for two 4-year terms on the St. Louis Board of Education and two candidates for one 6-year term as a trustee of the St. Louis Community College. Voters in DeBaliviere Place are also voting on a special taxing district.

For more information on this election and early/absentee voting see the Board of Elections. Another great source is Ballotpedia.

— Steve
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St. Louis urban planning, policy, and politics @ UrbanReviewSTL since October 31, 2004. For additional content please consider following on Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and/or Twitter.

Readers: Some Public Schools Must Be Closed Due To Declining Enrollment

The population of St. Louis has been shrinking for decades, so has the enrollment in St. Louis Public Schools.

Superintendent Kelvin Adams laid out a data-heavy case for why SLPS needs to overhaul how, and where, it educates 21,500 students across 68 buildings.

SLPS once educated more than 110,000 students and has been closing buildings for nearly three decades to keep up with a student population and overall shrinking city. Meanwhile, more independent charter schools have opened in the last 20 years and educate a third of public school children.

Having fewer students across more buildings, Adams said, “does not make sense, at least in my math.” (St. Louis Public Radio)

Adams is right, too many buildings for too few students. The problem is in deciding which to close. North St. Louis is more sparsely populated than South St. Louis, but some schools should stay open regardless. How many and where?

In the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll more than half of readers think some schools do need to close.

Q: Agree or disagree: St. Louis Public Schools needs to keep the remaining schools open. Vacant schools harm neighborhoods.

• Strongly agree: 12 [21.05%]
• Agree: 4 [7.02%]
• Somewhat agree: 9 [15.79%]
• Neither agree or disagree: 0 [0%]
• Somewhat disagree: 6 [10.53%]
• Disagree: 13 [22.81%]
• Strongly disagree: 12 [21.05%]
• Unsure/No Answer: 1 [1.75%]

It’s inevitable, schools will need to close. No matter which schools do close there will be people who are unhappy about it. I just hope the process is fair and transparent.  The neighborhoods with newly closed schools will need to help market the properties so they don’t sit vacant for decades. Of course, neighborhoods that are already struggling will find this harder to do.

— Steve Patterson

Awaiting NCAA Rules on Collegiate Athletes Getting Paid for their Image, Likeness

During part of my undergraduate days, mid-late 1980s, I worked part-time at Toys “R” Us — I was paid $5.90/hour at the end. I also had a small 401k plan. Not the worst college job.

For the top college athletes their sport is their college job. Their scholarship may cover tuition, books, room & board, but it doesn’t help them if they have family that needs financial help. And what if they get injured during playing college sports? Yes, they’re getting a degree that’ll help later on, but to stay in college many of the top athletes pass on a lucrative professional contract that would allow them to help their family now — while hoping they don’t get a career-ending injury.

Most college athletes aren’t anticipating a big contract after graduation, nor should they expect big endorsement deals during college. Though I could see local businesses offering sponsorship to popular team athletes. I can also see problems with male players getting more & bigger deals than female players who’re just as popular/talented.

Here’s the results of the recent non-scientific Sunday Poll:

Q: Should College Athletes Be Able To Get Paid For Their Name, Image, or Likeness?

• Yes: 10 [47.62%]
• Unsure: 6 [28.57%]
• No: 3 [14.29%]
• Don’t care: 2 [9.52%]

It’ll be interesting to see how the NCAA writes & enforces the new rules around college athletes.

Also, congrats to the SLU women’s soccer team for getting to play in the NCAA Tournament.

— Steve Patterson

Researching for the General Election April 2, 2019

I’m preparing to mail in my absentee ballot for next month’s general election. Yes, another election. Remember, last month was just so the various political parties could select their nominee. Next month nominees will face each other in the general.

At least they would if we didn’t live in a one party city.

It continues to be foolish why continue having a partisan primary followed by an even lower turnout general election.   The democratic nominees for president of the board of aldermen and the 14 even-numbered wards will all win, only a few have any marginal challenge.

But on the upcoming ballot is two open school board seats, one junior college trustee seat, and a proposition. See sample ballot.

SCHOOL BOARD

Seven candidates for two school board seats:

This election is more important than many prior school board elections.

Seven candidates are running for the St. Louis Board of Education next month. It’s very likely those elected to the board on April 2 will be handed back power over St. Louis Public Schools later this year. After nearly 12 years of state control, the state school board is expected to vote to reinstate the elected board in April.
(St. Louis Public Radio — recommended)

None of the seven are incumbents. I’m still researching, I’ve eliminated three so far. The West End Word has a brief summary of all 7 here. Vote411 has info here.

JUNIOR COLLEGE (only applies to some city voters)

• PAULA M. SAVARINO
• ANNE ADAMS MARSHALL

Vote411 has info on both here.

PROPOSITION S

Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Proposition S
Simple majority required.

Ballot wording: Shall the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) charge a Stormwater Capital Rate upon all customers, whether public or private, within the District based on the amount of impervious area on the real property of each customer for the purpose of providing revenue to fund capital improvements for flooding and erosion control, as set forth in the following schedule? Single-family Residential (per month) for the following tiers, Tier 1 (200-2,000 sq. ft. of impervious area) $1.42 Tier 2 (2,001-3,600 sq. ft. of impervious area) $2.25 Tier 3 (3,601-6,000 sq. ft. of impervious area) $3.74 Tier 4 (over 6,000 sq. ft. of impervious area) $6.84 Commercial and Multi-Family Residential (per month) $2.25 per 2,600 sq. ft. of impervious area.

Summary:  The measure would allow the district to impose a new stormwater charge to generate money to addressing local and regional flooding and stream erosion that threaten structures, roads or yards. The charge would be based on the amount of a property’s surface area that does not absorb rainwater. Funds would be used for property buyouts, rain scaping, natural creek bank stabilization, stormwater drainage systems and other improvements. All public and private property in MSD’s service area, including properties owned by governmental or nonprofit entities and those not receiving MSD wastewater services, would be subject to this charge.  If passed, the charge would raise $30 million annually and the average residential property owner would pay an additional $27 per year. 

Proponents say that the increased revenue is necessary to address local and regional flooding, erosion issues and to improve water quality for stormwater. They also say that the proposed rate imposes a fair and reasonable burden on all classes of ratepayers with an incentive system. Opponents say that there are no detailed engineering plans on the proposed projects and that there is insufficient funding for the projects proposed. They also say that the projects are not required by any regulation or law. (Vote411)

No clue how I’m going to vote on this.

— Steve Patterson

St. Louis’ First Public School Opened 180 Years Ago Today

Free public education in St. Louis began 180 years ago today — 74 years after the city was founded:

The city was founded by the French in Spanish territory in 1764. French fur traders Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau founded St. Louis on high land just below the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. (Explore St. Louis)

The city’s population in 1830 was 4,977, but by 1840 was 16,469:

The children of St. Louis responded for the first time to the call of a public school bell. Private schools had long operated in the city, but until the Spring of 1838 there was no free general education. Land grants for schools were provided through the Louisiana cession and a board of school trustees was formed in 1817.Confusion over titles of the so-called “school lands” delayed the establishment of a school for several years. In 1831 a new school board was organized under an act of the Missouri legislature, and in 1837 plans were completed for two schoolhouses.

The first, Laclede Primary School at Fourth and Spruce streets, opened its doors April 2, providing elementary education for both boys and girls, and requiring tuition only from those who could afford to pay. The second school opened a few days later, and in 1841 the Benton School followed. Male teachers received a salary of $900 per year and female teachers received $500. (St. Louis Day by Day by Francis Hurd Stadler, page 62)

Well. poor white kids were now getting a basic education in this time before the Civil War. Keep in mind St. Louis University was founded two decades earlier, in 1818 — so only those who could afford private schools would’ve attended for decades. Washington University in St. Louis, also private, was founded 15 years after the first public school, in 1853.

I wanted to know more so I began searching:

In July 1837, the board agreed to build two school buildings, known as the North School and the South School, respectively located at the northeast corner of Broadway and Martin Luther King Boulevard (then Cherry Street) and at the southwest corner of 4th and Spruce streets. In December, the board met to purchase supplies and to interview potential teachers, and by March 1838, they had selected two candidates, David Armstrong and Miss M.H. Salisbury. The South School, later named Laclede Primary School, opened on April 1, 1838, with Edward Leavy and Sarah Hardy as co-principals.A third school, later named Benton School, opened in January 1842 at the northwest corner of 6th and Locust. The North School, for which the Board initially could not find a teacher, was abandoned and sold shortly after construction of Benton School due to the encroachment of a nearby market.

With the growth of the city, the school building campaign continued at a rapid pace. Between 1840 and 1860, more than twenty new schools were built by the Board, while several others occupied rented space. Among these new schools was the first high school in St. Louis, which opened inside Benton School in February 1853. Approximately 70 students enrolled in the school, and its first principal was Jeremiah D. Low. Courses offered included higher arithmetic, grammar and composition, basic and advanced algebra, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, navigation, and the Latin and German languages. The high school proved very popular among all social classes, and it encouraged attendance at lower level schools. After two years of construction, the first high school building, known as Central High School, opened on Olive Street in July 1855.

In 1848 William Greenleaf Eliot, the Unitarian clergyman in Saint Louis, was elected chair of the school board. He had a passion for creating schools. He and his congregants worked on a campaign to fund the expanding district. Only weeks after the St. Louis Fire of 1849, St. Louis voters approved a 1/10 percent property tax to support the district, and three years later, the Missouri General Assembly passed a school tax, which set aside 25 percent of state funds for education and provided schools with money depending on their enrollment. During the 1850s, it became a St. Louis school tradition for students at each school to “go a Maying”, which was to take an excursion into the countryside.[29] These early field trips were more for recreation than for learning, but school administrators regarded them as healthy trips.

School closed six weeks early in 1861 due to a lack of operating funds and the outbreak of the Civil War. After the Civil War, in 1866, the district opened three schools for African American students.

The St. Louis Public Schools also opened the first public high school for black students west of the Mississippi, Sumner High School, in 1875.

St. Louis Public Schools opened the first public kindergarten in North America in 1873 under the direction of William Torrey Harris, then Superintendent of Schools, and Susan Blow, who had studied the methods of Friedrich Fröbel, the founder of the kindergarten system.

By the end of the 19th century, the district had 95 schools and employed more than 1,600 teachers. (Wikipedia)

— Steve Patterson