Superintendent Says Local School District Control is Needed

Local control, specifically the ability to control the number of transfer students from unaccredited school districts, was the main message trumpeted at Monday’s informational meeting hosted by Dr. Charles Penberthy, superintendent of the Brentwood School District.
 
Penberthy to discuss the implications of the decision by the Missouri Supreme Court that potentially could allow thousands of students from the unaccredited St. Louis City Public Schools to stream into Brentwood and other St. Louis County accredited school districts. The court case has since been sent to a lower court for further evaluation.
 
About 80 people attended the meeting at the . Most were parents who wanted to better understand the court case and its potential effect on local schools.
 
They included Tony and Jan Greiner, who have a second-grader at .
 
“I understand this could dramatically impact our district as a whole,” said Jan Greiner before the meeting began. “I am interested in class size and quality. We want to find out exactly what this means.”
 
“I’m concerned about class size,” said Ken Kroll, whose son is in .

So far, 37 potential students have shown interest in transferring into Brentwood, Penberthy said, but that number could grow once more families learn about Turner v. Clayton.

Patricia Ketterer, a long-time Brentwood resident and grandmother of two attending Brentwood schools, was concerned about taking care of additional students and its impact on teachers.

“Will we have the same quality of teachers?” she asked.
 
Penberthy addressed these and other concerns with a PowerPoint presentation, which is available on the district’s website. While the content was informational, its delivery was emotional at times as Penberthy explained his take on the looming legal situation as "Charlie's thoughts."

If the lower court sides with the plaintiff (Jane Turner), the resulting entry of transferring students “could have a devastating effect” on Brentwood schools, Penberthy said. Consequently, he would recommend that the district no longer participate in the school desegregation program that's run by the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation (VICC).

He frequently referred to the district’s limited facilities, small classrooms and low student-to-teacher ratio during his hour-long presentation.
 
To accommodate more students, and to take the least expensive route, Penberthy said trailers would be necessary to house classrooms for overflow students.

“And where would we put those trailers? I guess on the parking lots,” he said, but space is limited. The football field is a possibility too, he said, which evoked an audible response from the audience.

This is not only a Brentwood or county concern, but also a statewide issue, Penberthy said. He urged those in attendance to contact their legislators for the “Turner Fix,” which would grant local control to school districts, enabling them to set their own parameters for acceptance of students transferring from unaccredited school districts. 

Handouts with the names and addresses of local representatives were distributed, as well as a call-to-action for attendees to contact their friends and relatives in other school districts to, in turn, contact their state representatives. “Every public school has a stake in this ruling,” he said.
 
“I am in total agreement with Dr. Penberthy,” said Angela Erby, a Brentwood parent, after the meeting was over. “I don’t have an issues with the (transfer) students coming to our schools, but I think we should be able to cap the number of them.”

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