Rockwood Parent Says St. Louis Post-Dispatch Coverage of District Overlooks Achievements

It has been disconcerting to follow St. Louis Post-Dispatch coverage of the "drama" in our Rockwood School District (RSD) over the past two years. Primarily, because the "drama" the Post cites has been generated, magnified and propagated by a tiny group of individuals (Rockwood Stakeholders for Real Solutions - RS for RS) who seem to have captured the attention of some within our local media.

There are many in the RSD community who strongly object to their, and the Post's characterization of the management and performance of our school district board and personnel. 

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch recent coverage of our RSD, I did not see any quotes from, or interviews with, those in our community who are outside the echo chamber of this small “taxpayers group.”  If you take the time to speak with others in our RSD community who are not part of the RS for RS group, you will find the real story within RSD relates to its amazing achievements while working with limited resources. A few examples are:  RSD is ranked as one of the top school districts in the state and country*, it is financially sound and fiscally prudent—one of only four school districts in the state with an S&P AAA Bond Rating, it has received numerous state and national awards for having schools of excellence and distinction, and RSD is run very efficiently in terms of teacher-to-student spending ratios, administrative staff-to-student ratios and overall cost efficiency measures relative to state and St. Louis County comparisons.

In fact, RSD ranks 16th in St. Louis County in terms of our spending per pupil:  Clayton spends $18,372 per pupil, Rockwood spends $9,364 per pupil, below the state average of $9,487!

And yet, none of these achievements are noted in the Post's coverage of the “drama” in our RSD. If the Post is going to criticize the mistakes and missteps of the volunteers who comprise our school board and denigrate our RSD administration, then basic decency and fairness demands that the Post also give the district credit for positive results as well.

I urge the RSD community to vote for Prop S and to provide their support for our school board, school administration, teachers, staff and parent volunteers. They have earned it...and they deserve it.

 *(Missouri Dept of Education, U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek)

Sincerely,

Chester Strobel
Chesterfield