Golden women Mother and daughter, Daisy Edwards and Myrle Mensey, win 8 Gold medals at Senior Olympics
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CAC Audited JUNE 20 – 26, 2013
Vol. 84 No. 12 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Court rules on student transfers By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Unaccredited districts must pay, says Supreme Court
Last week the Missouri Supreme Court upheld a 1993 state law that gives students living in unaccredited school districts the option to transfer to neighboring districts and requires the failing district to
pay for their tuition and transportation costs. While some parents in unaccredited districts cheered the ruling, several education leaders in the region fear that
the student transfers will bankrupt unaccredited school districts and overcrowd high-performing schools. The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously overturned
a May 2012 ruling by a St. Louis County court, which found the Missouri law unconstitutional and unenforceable. St. Louis County Circuit Judge David Lee Vincent III said
schools could not comply with the mandate because of its severe budgetary consequences. However, the Missouri Supreme Court stated, “The
Hot dog
mandate that has long-existed for Missouri’s school districts is to provide a free public education to all students who attend, even when the students are nonresidents who are permitted under statutory directives to attend an out-of-disSee COURT, A7
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE
Rochelle Brooks cooled off her Papillon dog Midnight with a handful of water on Saturday during the Annie Malone Health and Community Resource Fair held at North Sarah Street and Martin Luther King Drive. The fair was presented in collaboration with the 4th Ward and the Ville Commission. For more photos from the fair, visit stlamerican.com.
Buckeye with a ‘backup plan’ Ezekiel Elliott takes his athletic and academic games to Ohio State By Peter Baugh For The St. Louis American Ezekiel Elliott’s decision to play football at Ohio State University – as opposed to University of Missouri or Notre Dame or a number of other contenders – went down to 6 a.m. on national signing day. But for his parents, which football jersey he will wear was not the most important Ezekiel thing. Elliott “He knows that his main purpose of going to school is to get the degree,” said his mother, Dawn Elliott. “You go to college to go to school, and he just happened to be blessed enough to be a See ELLIOTT, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
‘A father to young fathers’
‘GUN VIOLENCE IS A CRISIS’ Community groups, police respond to recent carnage By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American Children and adults gathered on the steps of St. Louis City Hall last Friday to remember Sandy Hook Elementary victims and to ask legislators to push for more rigorous gun-control laws. The candlelight vigil was part of a national movement, yet it couldn’t have been more timely for St. Louis. On June 10, 17 people were injured in gun violence during seven different incidents all in one night. Four days later, four people were shot and killed in a murder-suicide at a Cherokee
$97K raised for training responsible parents
The city saw a spike in violent crime last week, but overall crime in the city is down from last year at this time.
Street business. “The amount of gun violence is a crisis,” said 21st Ward Alderman Antonio French, who spoke at the canSee VIOLENCE, A6
By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Alderman Antonio French, Jasmine Viel, 14, and Prince Lawrence, 11, participated in a candlelight vigil at St. Louis City Hall last Friday.
The Fathers’ Support Center of St. Louis awarded its 2013 Father of the Year Award to William Nelson, but he didn’t think he deserved any special recognition. “I didn’t know that I could get an award for something that I was already supposed to be doing anyway,” Nelson said. He was honored at the annual “A Toast to Fathers” fundraising dinner and celebration held last Thursday in downtown St. Louis at See FATHERS, A7