Kwame hired as project manager on soccer stadium
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited DECEMBER 19 – 25, 2019
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘It’s possible, if it’s a priority’ Missouri mulls $400M plan to boost teacher pay in public schools
Wenona Woolfolk, a 4th grade teacher at Dunbar Elementary School in the East St. Louis School District 189, works with students Ronald Artis, Caleigh Young and Ma’Kenzey Reid.
By Ryan Delaney Of St. Louis Public Radio Missouri’s education department has come up with a scheme to pay public school teachers more. Yet it would take nearly $400 million to lift Missouri from the bottom of state rankings for teacher compensation to the middle of the pack. “It’s just important to emphasize this just kind of catches us up,” said Paul Katnik, an assistant education commissioner at the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
See TEACHER PAY, A7
Vol. 91 No. 39
Tale of two St. Louis police shootings Man killed by police on December 12 had received settlement for police assault in 2014 By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Five days after a 27-year-old white man in the Grove neighborhood was shot in the knee by police officers on Thursday, December 12, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department released video from the police car’s camera of the incident. However, video has not been released in the shooting death of a 24-year-old African-American man, Cortez Bufford, which occurred the same day as the Grove incident. During a “pedestrian check,” Bufford allegedly pointed a gun at police officers and was shot and killed in the Carondelet neighborhood. “St. Louis police shot two people in less than 24 hours,” wrote activist Elizabeth Vega in a Facebook post. “The disparity in the response is glaring!” Vega’s reaction reflected many others in the community.
Photo by Wiley Price
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First Amendment Clinic finishes first semester WashU Law opens doors to public seeking to defend freedom of speech By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Photo by Wiley Price
labor hours go to minorities, 7 percent go to women, 23 percent to city residents and 20 percent to apprentices. In 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) officials, which is overseeing design and construction, told The St. Louis
At the outset of the fall semester that is now concluding, the School of Law at Washington University in St. Louis launched a new First Amendment Clinic aimed at allowing students to gain experience by providing legal assistance to organizations, students, journalists and citizens. “The clinic has two major goals: to defend and advance freedom of speech, press and assembly by providing pro bono legal services to individuals and organizations in matters Lisa raising First Amendment issues; Hoppenjans and to educate law students to become leaders on First Amendment issues through real-world practice experience,” said Lisa Hoppenjans, assistant professor of practice and director of the clinic. The clinic, which is funded by a grant from the Stanton Foundation, included six students in the fall semester and will have eight in the spring. The
See NGA, A7
See CLINIC, A6
Double-Dutching for health Carmen Hill, the school nurse at Gateway MST Elementary School, turned the rope for Gateway students Daegen Diaye, a 5th grader, and Cormya Ivory, a 4th grader, at the BJC Double Dutch Showcase held December 7 at Wohl Recreation Center. Missouri Foundation for Health funds this Healthy Schools Healthy Communities initiative.
City’s inclusion goals set for NGA $1.75B project could employ more than 1,000 workers By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American More than 1,000 workers could be employed daily in 2022 during peak construction of the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency’s new $1.75 billion facility project, which broke ground on
November 26. This is a tremendous opportunity to implement the City of St. Louis’ law for employing local residents, minorities, women and apprentices, according to advocates and union leaders. The city’s inclusion goals require that a minimum of 25 percent of the contract’s