St. Louis Public
Schools
BA 4700
MARKETING MANAGEMENT
L.P. CHEW
History and Overview
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
Incorporated in 1838, with opening of their first
school.
The district has grown to…
56 Elementary Schools
 21 Middle Schools
 11 High Schools
 4 Special Schools

Superintendent and School Board
Members
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Pamela Hughes – Acting Superintendent
Darnetta Clinkscale - President
Ronald Jackson - Vice President
Amy Hilgemann - Secretary
Robert Archibald
William Haas
Vincent Schoemel Jr.
Veronica O’Brien
Major Issues

High Dropout Rate


Currently 7.5%
 Down from 21% in 1997.
 National average is 5.8%.
Reasons the rate has dropped is due to new programs…
 Ninth Grade Initiative
 A program that encourages and supports ninth graders to stay in
school until they graduate
 Truancy courts and truancy centers
 Alternative learning centers
 Flexible high school scheduling
 A night/evening school.
Major Issues

Teachers Union and the District are without a contract.
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Teachers want compensation comparable to their peers in
other area school districts.
School district wants to raise their pay to the average of the
top five districts in the St. Louis area, but also add an extra
hour to the school day and extend the school year from 174
days to 190 days.
Teachers Union (Local 420), by law, cannot strike.
 Those who violate the law are subject to a fine and
termination, as well as possible jail time.
Major Issues
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Administrative Issues
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Interim Superintendent Floyd Crues recently took a medical
leave of absence.
 Stated that his wife was having some medical issues, but it
is believed that he is being pushed out because of
difficulties with the School Board.
The same meeting that resulted in Floyd Crues departure had
a confrontation between Amy Hilgemann and Vince
Schoemel.
 Schoemel is accused of verbally threatening Hilgemann
and Schoemel is currently involved in a lawsuit trying to
have him removed from the school board.
Major Issues

School district is currently unaccredited which
limits the amount of funding provided by the
state.
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All of these issues cast a negative image on the
District.
Revenue and Spending

Sources for each dollar of revenue
State
Local
Federal
2/3 cent tax
Prop. C
$.39
$.33
$.15
$.07
$.06
Revenue and Spending

How each dollar of revenue is spent.
Salaries/Benefits
Purchased
Services
Supplies
Capital Projects
Transfer Payments to
Capital Improvement
Projects
$.746
$.163
$.074
$.003
$.014
Recommendations
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Create an advertising campaign geared toward parents
to explain that they understand the problems facing the
district and that they are working to fix them.
They should also consider a promotional campaign
geared toward students to motivate them to attend
class.

Try to have local area sports teams and movie theaters donate
tickets for the district to distribute to students with
attendance rates of 95% or above that achieve adequate
grades.
 Similar to the Straight A ticket program.
Conclusion
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These recommendations will not solve all of the
districts problems.
The hope is that the advertising campaign will
cast the school district in a better light, while the
promotional campaign geared toward the kids
will motivate them to attend class.