Monday, April 15, 2013
Rockwood School District administrators recommended changes in elementary and middle school administrative staffing models at an extra Board of Education meeting held Thursday night at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville.
In addition to a building principal, according to Rockwood School District materials, each Rockwood school was to receive: At least that was the policy prior to Thursday evening's Rockwood Board of Education extra meeting. At the board meeting, Rockwood's Executive Director of Pre-K and Elementary Education Karen Hargadine recommended every elementary building have a building principal and an administrative intern (up to 549 students) and a building principal and assistant principal in elementary buildings exceeding 550 students. The net budget impact of this proposal is $226,645 for 2013-14. Rockwood's Executive Director of Secondary Education Jim Wipke also recommended a change in middle school administrative staffing. In the 2011-12 …
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Future construction projects and bond-related initiatives will be handled differently at Rockwood School District, pledge district officials. Anyone with Internet access can follow along, including the state auditors' staffers.
A five-step approach to responding to Missouri State Auditor's results was announced by Rockwood School District officials Thursday at the Board of Education meeting. Rockwood School District chief financial and legislative affairs officer Tim Rooney walked attendees of the board meeting through a lengthy plan that addresses recent state auditors' findings of the district. "The district fully expects to make significant progress with this action plan as we prepare for the auditors' return in 90 days," said Rooney. District representatives committed to the following five focal points post-audit: At the meeting, Rooney went through adjustments being made to the district's change order form, including that the reason for a proposed change …
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
One Rockwood School District resident asked the question regarding the $38.4 million no-tax rate increase bond issue at Thursday's Board of Education meeting.
The $38.4 million question, in this case, is: Will Rockwood School District officials take Proposition S off the April 2 ballot? No, and here's why. The question was broached by Rockwood parent Nancy Robinson at Thursday evening's Board of Education meeting. She specifically asked if the proposition could be postponed until a fall ballot time period. "I appreciate what the gentleman just said about Proposition S (Eureka High School locker room renovation needs). But I propose the district wait until the fall to put it on the ballot, after we've had chance to have the (state) auditors come back and go, this has been done, that's been done. Make sure our ducks are in a row, and the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed," said Robinson. She …
Sunday, March 10, 2013
VIDEOS: Hear and see firsthand closing remarks from each of the Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates at the forum hosted Tuesday.
League of Women Voters of St. Louis representatives moderated a Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates' forum from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, at Crestview Middle School, 16025 Clayton Rd., in Ellisville. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization whose members encourage informed and active participation in government. This election's candidates are: Janet Strate, Stephen (Steve) Banton, Loralee Mondl, and Jeffrey Morrell. See previous candidate-related article: Meet the Four Candidates Running for Rockwood School Board Each candidate addressed 17 questions, which were pooled and batched by LWV volunteers from 80-plus questions posed by attendees that evening. This week, Patch published two …
Saturday, March 9, 2013
VIDEO: Rockwood School District's Board of Education president Janet Strate delivers her personal take on recent developments about the state audit at the end of Thursday's board meeting. She relayed: "Compromise is not a four-letter word."
Janet Strate, Rockwood School District's Board of Education president, offered the following insights at the end of Thursday's board meeting at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville. Following are verbatim statements: As I complete my third term as a Rockwood board member, there are a few final comments I would like to make and then we will adjourn. First, as I reflect back on the past nine years, I want to thank our employees, parents and citizens for the privilege of serving. I have learned so much from all of you! I would also like to publicly thank my family for putting up with countless meetings, phone calls, and the overall Rockwood drama that has taken over my life for the past nine years. Through all the criticism, there seems to …
Friday, March 8, 2013
PART 2: Here is what Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates had to say at a forum managed by League of Women Voters' volunteers Tuesday evening. Return to Patch for more in this series of articles.
League of Women Voters' (LWV) volunteers hosted and governed a Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates' forum Tuesday night at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville. All four candidates participated. An estimated crowd of 60 to 70 was present. Voters on April 2 will choose among four candidates to fill two open positions on the board. However, with member Steve Smith's resignation from the board on Monday, a third new board member will be added, according to Rockwood's policies. See related article: Resignation Comes from Rockwood Board of Education Director Steve Smith Rules for Tuesday's forum, as delivered by the League Women Voters' Kathleen Farrell, were that candidates could make a two-minute opening statement, take …
Thursday, March 7, 2013
PART 1: Here is what Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates had to say at a forum managed by League of Women Voters' volunteers Tuesday evening. Return to Patch for more in this series of articles.
League of Women Voters' (LWV) volunteers hosted and governed a Rockwood School District Board of Education candidates' forum Tuesday night at Crestview Middle School in Ellisville. All four candidates participated. An estimated crowd of 60 to 70 was present. Voters on April 2 will choose among four candidates to fill two open positions on the board. However, with member Steve Smith's resignation from the board on Monday, a third new board member will be added, according to Rockwood's policies. See related article: Resignation Comes from Rockwood Board of Education Director Steve Smith Rules for Tuesday's forum, as delivered by the League Women Voters' Kathleen Farrell, were that candidates could make a two-minute opening statement, take …
Monday, March 4, 2013
Following last week’s State Auditor report of what was called mismanagement within the Rockwood School District by some residents, a watchdog coalition group says more changes are needed in the district's leadership.
Public trust in the Rockwood School District superintendent and Board of Education continues to plummet—as do the chances of passage for the upcoming April bond issue “Proposition S”—indicates Rockwood Stakeholders for Real Solutions (RS for RS). The watchdog coalition is a non-partisan group of taxpaying Rockwood citizens. RS for RS issued a Monday morning press release, calling for most of the district's leaders to step down. However, Rockwood's Board Director Steve Smith already resigned Sunday, per the breaking news from Patch: Resignation Comes from Rockwood Board of Education Director Steve Smith Update to article at 8:51 a.m.: RS for RS co-founder Eileen Tyrrell tells Patch they called all Rockwood board members and Superintendent …
Rockwood School District's resigning director stated: "...Education and Prop S must be in the forefront of the community dialogue and vision. I have become convinced that there are people who will not allow this to happen if I am still on the board."
In a letter sent to the Rockwood School District Board of Education Sunday, Director Steve Smith resigned from the board, effective today. He also stated: "...As I step aside, I challenge all to now focus on our children." Smith was elected to the district's Board of Education in April 2011. His term would have expired in April 2014. His resignation comes after Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich's presentation Wednesday evening regarding audit findings of the Rockwood School District. Schweich also said the state's auditing team believed Smith represented a conflict of interest pertaining to some of his votes during board meetings regarding work change orders that benefitted his employer, Glenn Construction Company. Smith became the …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
With nearly 22,000 students, Rockwood School District is the largest school district in St. Louis County. News of renewing Superintendent Bruce Borchers' contract comes days before Missouri Auditor's results about Rockwood will be released.
Rockwood School District Board of Education directors voted on Sunday to extend the district's Superintendent Bruce Borchers’ contract through June 30, 2016. The vote was 4-3 for the contract extension, according to a district news release made available Monday afternoon. This board meeting originally would have been held Thursday, but was rescheduled to Sunday, based on inclement weather. Borchers' contract extension comes just days before district residents will learn the discoveries of a Missouri auditoring team, who just finished an audit of the district: Rockwood State Audit Results to be Revealed Wednesday The district's last state audit was conducted in 1994. Board members voting to extend Borchers’ contract, according to the …
Eureka resident
5:26 pm on Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Heck, Why not lay off some administrators, teachers, and some support staff to save some money? That will increase class sizes and creat a really strong educational environment for students to perform really well. Let's make class sizes about 40 and give every building just one administrator to run the circus. That will save millions of dollars and then Wildwood taxpayer/resident will be happy … more ›