‘Consulting Firm Aiding the City May See Its Reputation Tarnished’

Nothing works without a plan [New York, “Consulting Firm Aiding City May See Its Reputation Tarnished,” December 7, 2006]. No plan works without the political will to see it through. When Alvarez & Marsal began work in the St. Louis Public Schools, the system was in a state of chaos. I was an elected member on the school board at the time and our reform board had to deal with some stark fiscal and operational realities. A&M was brought in to salvage an untenable situation. They discovered a $75 million deficit at year-end and a short-term cash shortfall of $99 million — out of a total budget of $450 million.

A&M righted the financial house and enabled the St. Louis public schools to survive. They got the district’s finances in order, implemented wide-ranging reforms in curriculum, and redirected spending from administration to classrooms. Following these financial successes, teachers were given very significant raises, and St. Louis public school teachers are now the highest compensated in the state. Certified teachers were hired to replace substitutes; maintenance, construction, and other functions were contracted with professional firms, saving tens of millions while improving services. These successes were impressive, but, most importantly, A&M left a five-year operating plan that provided a step-by-step path to continued success — a plan which regrettably has not been followed by the current school board.

I and my colleagues spent countless hours as nonpaid board members and I am extremely proud of the things we accomplished. But nothing works without a plan.

The current school board — which took office as a result of an election with an 11% turnout and dominated by special “educational interests” — has fired the new superintendent, the chief financial officer, and the chief operating officer. This board is now publicly committed to rehiring former employees and has publicly abandoned the A&M plan. No one should be surprised that they are headed back to bankruptcy where we found them over three years ago. Again, no plan works without the political will to see it through.

Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein are wise to understand and take responsibility for the difficult and politically unpopular choices required to improve the school system in New York City. The educational progress in cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago is occurring because those states have moved to separate the jobs and patronage of education from the policy of educating children.

I would not be at all surprised to see a state takeover of the St. Louis public schools in the very near future and the implementation of a five-year plan that looks very similar to the plan we had in place when A &M completed its assignment.

VINCENT SCHOEMEHL
Mayor of St. Louis 1981-1993
St. Louis, Mo.