Bayless Preschool to Scale Back But Likely Survive

Rumors that the district might axe the preschool program drew a concerned crowd to Wednesday's meeting.

Despite rumors circulating through the district this week, the Bayless School Board said they would likely keep the district's preschool program for next school year, though with fewer students and a different pay scale. However the issue has been tabled until more information about the costs of the program could be gathered. Concerned parents and teachers crowded Wednesday evening's school board meeting after discussions in one of the district's budget reduction committees led some to worry that the board was on the verge of axing the program. "Cutting the preschool would be a huge disservice to the community," said Crisi Ly, one of Bayless's preschool teachers. Four Bayless mothers also addressed the board, throwing their support behind …

• Photos (2)
• Documents (1)

Know Your Candidates

Know to Vote! April 3 Local Election Guide

Find out what will be on your ballot on Tuesday.

Tuesday is election day, and voters will once again be going to the polls to make democracy happen. Polling places will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Find your polling place by entering your address here. Here's Patch's guide to the races with links to our coverage of the candidates. TWO TAX INCREASES ON THE BALLOT Prop A: The Affton Fire Protection District has a $0.26 tax increase on the ballot to pay for adding an ambulance to their fleet and hiring six new EMTs to staff it. The district says its current single ambulance has been increasingly overtaxed by the new senior centers moving into the area. Prop B: Bayless School District is asking district residents to support a $0.92 cent tax increase to dig them out of their dire …

• Photos (1)

Whiz Kid

Two Bayless Students Receive SSD Award

The Rosemary Zander Award honors positive attitude and determination.

Last Wednesday two Bayless High School students were recognized by the Bayless School Board for having earned the Special School District's Rosemary Zander Award. William Brahan and Ra'Shawn Wright came with their families and thanked their teachers as the board honored them. According to the Special School District website, the Rosemary Zander Award, founded in 1988, recognizes accomplishments by SSD students that demonstrate positive attitudes and an unwavering will to succeed. The award is named for an SSD teacher who died in a car accident in 1988. SSD's website describes Zander: In her 20 years with SSD, Rosemary Zander came to know hundreds of young people. And although her students came to her classroom with a wide range of …

• Photos (2)

'B for Bayless’ Tax Levy Campaign Revs Up Online

A new website aims to rally voter support for the Bayless School District tax increase.

With the April 3 election just a few weeks away, supporters of Bayless’s Proprosition B are taking their campaign to the web. B for Bayless is a new website aiming to get out information about the need for the 92 cent tax increase the school board put on the ballot in January. The site contains pages laying out the case for the levy and the dire consequences the district predicts should the measure not pass. B for Bayless also has a Facebook page that has been posting information, such as tax rate and assessed valuation comparisons with other school districts. The page now has over 140 likes and is serving as a board for debate and cheering on of Prop B. “I would like to say that I did not approve of the tax increase when I first learned …

• Videos (1)

Bayless Shifts 6th Grade to Create Middle School

The change comes at a minimal cost to the district.

Current Bayless Intermediate 5th graders can expect to move across the street a year early, thanks to shift approved by the Bayless School Board Wednesday. The board voted unanimously to move the 6th grade into the Bayless Jr. High School building, effectively turning it into a middle school. The change will take effect with the 2012-2013 school year. “Middle school is a concept,” said Bayless Jr. High President Paul Sharp, who presented the middle school proposal to the board. Sharp said that while junior highs are more like small high schools, middle schools focus on a more full-bodied approach to student development at a crucial period of adolescence. Bayless Jr. High was already using this approach, he said, and it would make sense to …

• Photos (1)

Ballot Set for April School Board Elections

Several new faces are stepping forward to run for local school boards.

Races for the April 3 local elections are under way. Filing closed Tuesday for the Affton, Bayless and Lindbergh school boards. In the Affton School District, the incumbants Doug Beck and Larry Knox have filed for their 3-year seats. No other candidates filed for the two 3-year positions, so they will retain their spots unopposed. There was also a 2-year term opened when Mike Alexander resigned from the board. The seat is currently occupied by Patricia Zahn, who was appointed to fill the seat until the election in July. Two candidates will vie for the 2-year term: At the Bayless School District, three candidates have filed for two 3-year terms. School board member Ed Tritschler chose not to file for relection. In the Lindbergh School …

• Photos (1)

Bayless School Board to Consider New Tax Levy

A meeting to determine the size of the levy needed is set for Jan. 7.

The Bayless School Board has set a meeting to consider the size and nature of a tax levy they are asking district residents to support on the ballot this coming year. The open meeting will be held Jan. 7 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.  School board president Jeff Preisack said the board might vote at that meeting to put the levy on the ballot. “This is big stuff,” Preisack said Wednesday, encouraging a board member to skip another meeting to attend. Despite past clashes, both the administration and the Bayless teachers’ union stress that the passage of a levy is critically important to the revenue-strapped district. Between cuts in state funding and falling property valuations, the district sees dire consequences and cuts in its future if its …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Bayless Tax Rate Jumps to Keep Up with Lower Assessment

Residential property taxes in the district are going up by 14 percent.

With property assessments dropping, the Bayless school district has raised its tax rate for next year to the tune of 14 percent on residential property. The Bayless school board approved the tax rate during a brief hearing and meeting last Wednesday. The tax rate submitted to the state auditor would raise property taxes $129 for the owner of a $150,000 home—from $935 in 2011 to $1,064 in 2012. The new residential tax rate of 3.7323 per $100 of assessed value is a 13.75 percent increase from the previous year’s 3.2812 tax rate. This tax rate is a combined rate of 3.2083 for school operating funds and 0.5240 to fund paying off the district’s debt. The debt service levy jumped 19 cents from last year—about 34 percent. This newest assessment …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)
• Documents (2)

Bayless Budget Struggling Despite Deep Cuts

CFO says without improved revenue, deficits could affect classrooms.

At a meeting Wednesday, the Bayless School Board passed the district’s 2011-2012 budget, leaving the schools with an operating deficit of more than $100,000 despite cutting expenses by more than $1 million throughout the last two years. The budget projects total revenues of $14,259,208 and plans for total expenditures of $15,258,580. This leaves a total deficit of $999,372. However, the district has been spending down the last of its Proposition O funds collected from a bond issue in 2008, and these capital projects account for much of this total deficit. The district’s operational budget deficit is $111,796. This leaves the schools with a projected operating balance of $2,668,609 at the end of next school year. District Chief Financial …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Bayless Teachers Union, Administration Reach Agreement in Negotiations

After a breakdown last month, both sides seem satisfied with the compromise.

The difference between the two meetings is stark. Last month, Bayless teachers picketed outside the school and packed into the multipurpose room, where the school board meeting was held, to deliver angry speeches. Wednesday, the school board meeting was empty of teachers, except for Bayless Education Association (BEA) President Gina McCullough, who announced that the union negotiating team was happy with the compromise offered by the administration earlier that day. Negotiations had broken down last month on a single point: the addition of a 186th working day on the school calendar without, teachers said, adequate compensation for their time. The BEA asked the administration to either revisit the 2011-2012 calendar or let teachers do one …

• Photos (1)