Parents, teachers recommend district reopen Blackhurst elementary

By Kalen Ponche

Parents, teachers and community members said they’d like to see the St. Charles school district reopen a closed elementary school as a way to cope with growing enrollment , according to results from a survey.

Some district elementary schools have reached capacity because of an increase in the number of kindergarten students. Superintendent Randy Charles expects to see the growth continue and said he wants to have a plan in place to put into action for the 2011-12 school year.

Charles presented nine possible ways to cope with the growth at parent meetings in February and asked everyone to respond to an online survey. About 730 parents, 160 teachers or staff, and 40 community members responded.
Members of the Board of Education are expected to discuss survey results at their meeting set for 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

All three groups rejected most of the nine options presented, but agreed that reopening Blackhurst Elementary School was the best choice. In 2007, the school board decided to reorganize the whole district because they anticipated a drop in enrollment. Blackhurst and Benton Elementary Schools were closed and the children were sent to other elementary schools.

Fifth grade students were moved from the elementary schools to Jefferson Middle School along with sixth grade students; seventh and eighth graders attend Hardin.

More than 60 percent of each group said that reopening Blackhurst Elementary School as a regular school was a “good” or “very good” idea. Some parents who responded to the survey said they thought the district should not have  closed the school in the first place. Others didn’t want to see their children uprooted for a second time.

“Allow some choice to students on the boundaries, even if no bus service,” one parent commented on the survey.

But for this option to work, the elementary boundaries would have to be redrawn said Charles.

School Board Election Results

Three incumbent school board members retained their seats on area boards of education and two others were ousted by voters in this year’s election with just 10.5 percent of registered voters casting ballots. For the full election results visit the Election Authority’s website.

In the Fort Zumwalt School District incumbents Carol Russell and Scott Grasser retained their seats on the board for another three-year term, each taking about 39 percent of the vote.  Candidate Will Klein had 20.9 percent of the vote in that race. For the two-year term, incumbent Barbara Story beat Renee Porter with 59.8 percent of the vote. Porter had 39.64 percent of the vote.

Francis Howell School District candidates Cynthia Bice and Amy McEvoy won seats on the board and will replace Terry Black and Sandy Sanders, who did not run for reelection. Bice, who was backed by the Francis Howell Education Association, took 30.25 percent of the vote. McEvoy had 26.45 percent of the vote, beating Gary Miller, the other candidate backed by FHEA who had 20.74 percent of votes. Other candidates included Daniel Wright, who took 13.9 percent, and Todd Mizell, who had 8.2 percent of the votes.

In the Wentzville School District incumbent Dale Schaper took 23.3 percent of the vote and will serve a second 3-year term. Longtime district volunteer Pat Hacker took 20.48 percent of the vote, beating incumbent Joe McDonald, who had 16.48 percent. McDonald has served two terms on the board. Other candidates included Peg Scholl, retired district teacher, who took 19.74 percent, Michelle Caracci, parent, 10.85 percent, and Paul Werner, 8.69 percent.

Orchard Farm School District candidate Carrie Doza took 35.23 percent of the vote, winning one of two open seats. Donald “Joe” Bushdieker edged out incumbent Jane Baum with 472 votes to Baum’s 469. Bushdieker is retired after spending 40 years in the construction industry. Baum is the athletic development director for Lindenwood University.

Warrenton School Board incumbent Jan Sutherland retained her seat for another three-year term taking 39.21 percent of the vote. Candidate Scott Costello won the other seat taking 35.04 percent of the vote. The third candidate, Clifford Tucker, won 20.35 percent of the vote.  Sutherland is also running in the Republican primary for the 99th District House of Representatives seat.

Fort Zumwalt superintendent wins awards

Bernard DuBray, superintendent of the Fort Zumwalt School District was recently awarded the St. Charles County Amateur Sports Hall of Fame Outstanding Achievement award.

Elbert Henzler, vice president of the Amateur Sports Hall of Fame said DuBray was selected because of his support of athletics in the Fort Zumwalt School District and the St. Charles Gateway Athletic Conference.

In addition, DuBray was selected by the St. Louis Chapter of Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Association to be one of the 2010 Southeast Salutes recipients. The Alumni Association selected three outstanding St. Louis-area alumni for their continued passion and commitment to the Southeast. DuBray graduated from Southeast with a Bachelor’s degree in Education in 1969. He’ll be honored Oct. 8, 2010

St. Charles School Board considers $2 million in cuts

By Kalen Ponche

Next school year, high school students will pay more for parking permits, middle school students won’t have access to activity buses and all students will likely walk farther to their bus stop under a series of proposed cuts to the St. Charles School District’s budget.

St. Charles School Board met Monday to discuss budget cuts for the 2010-11 school year. The $2 million in  proposed reductions include:

- Cuts to transportation= $411,000 reduction. The district has already cut four high school buses this year and plans to cut ten more between the middle and elementary schools next year. With more children on each bus, the trips will be more cost-effective, but it may mean children have to walk to the end of their subdivision to get picked up so the bus can get to school on time, said District Superintendent Randy Charles.

The district would also end the practice of clustering all of the students who are learning English at one school, which would cut transportation costs. Activity buses, which take children home who stay after school for tutoring or clubs, would also be eliminated from the middle schools starting next year. 

Schools consider cutting transportation

Orchard Farm School District won’t be providing transportation to students who live less than one mile from the new Discovery Elementary School, which will open in the fall for kindergarten through second grade. 

Parents of students who might be affected are angry and want to see sidewalks put in on the streets around the school. District administrators say that most parents will likely end up dropping their children off at the school, rather than have them walk.  

As the state legislature discusses possibly cutting funding for transportation, it’s possible that more area school districts will consider having students who live less than 3.25 miles from the school walk. St. Charles Superintendent Randy Charles said as the district moves forward, less transportation is a possibility school boards will consider. 

Education Roundup

*** Change isn’t easy. Parents, teachers and community members will get their first chance tonight to hear St. Charles School District’s plans to cope with an expected increase in the number of students who are enrolled. The district rescheduled the meetings that were canceled due to snow. The five meetings now are set for 6:30 p.m. on the following dates: February 17 – Coverdell Elementary, February 18 – Monroe Elementary, February 24 – Lincoln Elementary, February 23 – Null Elementary, February 25 – Harris Elementary

 *** National Future Farmers of America week starts next Monday and the students at Warrenton High School are preparing for a week of fun. Check out the student’s essays on why they enjoy FFA and a feature on sophomore Lorna Dreyer, who started a jewelry business for her FFA project.

 *** Teachers will tell you, one rowdy student in a class can disrupt the entire learning process. Many school districts across Missouri have adopted a system for teaching and correcting behavior that strives to teach students the rules then reward them with positive feedback. In their third year using the program, Warren County elementary schools say it’s worked for them. Read more in our story in today’s paper.

*** The Wright City School District is looking for public feedback on a series of proposed budget cuts. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. Feb. 23. Read more here.

*** Also, our classroom notes section of this blog has been updated, as it is every Wednesday. Check it out. If you know of great things happening in your local schools, give us a call at (636) 946-6111 ext. 240, or send an e-mail to kponche@yourjournal.com

St. Charles meetings about expansion postponed

Good morning. Schools across the St. Louis region canceled school today, including St. Charles School District. The superintendent has also postponed the second meeting originally scheduled for tonight to discuss how school officials should cope with an uptick in enrollment.

The district hasn’t rescheduled the meeting yet, but three additional meetings are planned during the next two weeks. All meetings will start at 6:30 p.m.: Feb. 17 at Coverdell Elementary, Feb. 18 at Monroe Elementary and Feb. 23 at Null Elementary. Read our earlier story on the enrollment issues here: http://tiny.cc/ddSWM

For now, you can respond to a survey posted on the district’s website, which asks patrons what they think of nine options.

The options are:

1. Reopen Blackhurst as an elementary school. This would increase the number of elementary schools from five to six, and would change attendance boundaries

2. Reopen Blackhurst as a “School of Choice”. This school would have a specific focus (such as math and science). Parents/students from throughout the District could apply for acceptance.

3. Open an Early Childhood Center that would also include Kindergarten.