I would love to do a study on the lifetime achievement of Rockwood School District.
The district covers far west St. Louis County, Missouri, and touts itself as one of the best school districts in the nation. Based on standardized scores, they have every right.
But Rockwood has some problems, too, and some of those problems have or will become societal problems.
Rockwood, it seems, prefers dealing with the highly intelligent, well-behaved children of very rich Wildwood folks. To cater to these students, Rockwood’s administration buries the kids who don’t fit the mold.
I know of one case in particular. A boy with serious school-related issues has been passed along from grade to grade despite receiving nothing but Fs on his report cards for several years. The administration of his middle school has worked hard to get him out of the school. In the process, and in an apparent attempt to save money, the adminstration failed to inform his parents of programs and opportunities already paid for by his father’s outrageous property tax bill that might have helped him. Only when the boy, still receiving failing grades in all subjects, was preparing for his high school placement did his parents learn the district intentionally failed to follow through on inititiatives demanded by the boy’s Individual Education Plan.
Now, this wealthy district wants voters to approve a major bond issue. The money will be used for such education-critical items as astroturfing the high schools' football fields, remodelling cafeterias, and generally engrandizing the administration of the district.
The people who live in this district are already among the most heavily taxed property owners in the state of Missouri. Rockwood is already one of the best equipped districts in the country. Spending millions upon millions of dollars on football fields and theatre seats is sheer waste. Moreover, the district will not disclose the use of the funds on its web site–only because I know people who work within the district did I learn of this planned waste.
I hope the property owners of St. Louis County soundly reject Rockwood’s efforts to make the administrators look cool. That’s all this is.