The Francis Howell School District announced today that it will NOT accept transfer students from Normandy School District. The following statement was issued by CEAM:
June 20, 2014, St. Louis – The roughly 450 students from the Normandy School District who attended Francis Howell School District last school year as part of the student transfers under section 167.131 of the Outstanding Schools Act have been dealt another in a series of blows.
Earlier this week the Missouri State Board of Education voted on their plan to handle the student transfers out of Normandy as they put in place the new Normandy Schools Collaborative to replace the lapsed Normandy School District. The plan called for a region-wide tuition of approximately $7,200 for each transfer student. Francis Howell School Board has voted to not accept students under this arrangement leaving hundreds more students with no alternative for a quality education.
All of this could have been avoided if adults were placing the needs of children ahead of their own interests. The State Board’s plan circumvents the spirit of 167.131 by creating a scenario that effectively takes away any choice Normandy parents had for placing their children in higher performing schools. Francis Howell School District merely co-signed on this deal that isolates families and maintains the status quo.
Governor Nixon had the chance to deal with the transfer situation when both houses and both parties of the Missouri legislature were able to craft a solution in Senate Bill 493 during the session that just concluded. Instead the Governor promised to veto the bill and turned his back on Normandy families trying to create a brighter future for their children.
CEAM continues to pledge support of these and all Missouri families who want the right to choose the education that best meets the needs of their own children.
Parents who want to take action are encouraged to call the Governor’s office at 573-751-3222 and the Missouri State Board of Education at 573-751-4212 to make them understand the profound consequences of these decisions to the families who are affected.
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