Students hold sit-in at St. Louis mayor's office

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- High school students conducted a sit-in at the mayor's office Thursday, expressing dissatisfaction with his stance on the city's troubled school district.

A few dozen arrived afternoon. They slept overnight on the carpeted floor and in armchairs in Mayor Francis Slay's office, while he was out of town. Many wore bright yellow T-shirts reading "Please Don't Slay Our Schools."

State education officials are determining whether to drop accreditation for St. Louis, the largest school district in the state. That would allow a new, appointed board to oversee the schools. The St. Louis-elected school board would have no power in a district with academic, financial and leadership problems.

The protesting students said district leadership has changed many times in recent years, and they questioned how yet another set of people in charge could improve things.

"I think to fix a problem, you need to know what you're trying to fix," said Miya Taylor, 18, a senior at the Gateway Institute of Technology.

Students had ten demands to give the mayor, many of which related to decisions that must be made at the state level.

If the district loses accreditation, some seniors have heard they will lose scholarships to the colleges and universities they plan to attend. Taylor said they fear current juniors could be denied entrance to quality four-year colleges when they apply.

The mayor's chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, said the mayor planned to meet with students Thursday to assure them that should not be the case.

He said the city provided security, as well as bagels and orange juice, for the students. He said the mayor would ask them to return to school after their meeting. Students said they had been told they could be arrested, if they refuse to leave.

Jim Morris, a spokesman for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, said by telephone that the department's position is that loss of accreditation should not affect students' scholarships or future school acceptances. However, he noted the department cannot control decisions individual institutions make.

When the students arrived, Slay was in Jefferson City, asking the Missouri Legislature for the power to open charter schools that would be would be run independently of his office, but be accountable to him for their performance.

Missouri charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run, can operate only in Kansas City and St. Louis and only with a sponsor. Typically, the sponsor is a college or university.

Slay cited the failure of the public school district and the success of a charter school initiative in Indianapolis, as justification for his request.

Instead of more charter schools, Taylor asked for more time for Superintendent Diana Bourisaw, who began this summer, to turn things around.

St. Louis School Board member Donna Jones, among those at the sit-in, said the mayor's office was the site for the protest because Slay previously backed a slate of candidates for the School Board trying "to destroy" the public schools in an effort to bring in more "private and charter schools."

If the roughly 32,000-student district becomes unaccredited, the new appointed board would take over the district, which has struggled academically and financially for years. The St. Louis-elected School Board would remain in place but have no power.

If the district keeps its current provisional accreditation status, the new board would simply advise the district.

The state Board of Education is holding a meeting March 22 to consider the accreditation status of the school district.

---

On the Net:

St. Louis Schools: http://www.slps.org

State Board of Education: http://www.dese.mo.gov/stateboard