Schools
Children's Education Alliance Will Not Sue Mehlville Re: School Transfers
Mehlville School District Superintendent Eric Knost issues a statement on the decision.
CEAM and the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri announced they would on behalf of students who wished to attend Mehlville and Kirkwood schools if they were turned away. In letters sent to both districts the organizations urged each to let in students and reminded the districts of the legal ramifications of refusing school transfers even if the reason was to preserve classroom size. See: ACLU: It’s Unconstitutional for Mehlville to Limit Transfer…
Since that time, CEAM said Mehlville has complied.
"As of late this afternoon, all five families named in a potential lawsuit against the Mehlville School District (MSD) have been placed in a school district in which they are satisfied," CEAM posted in a statement on its website. "As such the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri will not file a lawsuit at this time."
The organization also gave a "virtual hand-clap" to the district for it's cooperation.
"Since MSD was served copies of the lawsuit on Aug. 6, along with a letter outlining expectations that needed to be met in order to avoid legal action against the district, MSD, Kirkwood School District, the Cooperating School Districts of Saint Louis and CEAM have worked tirelessly to develop a solution that would be in the best interest of all children involved in the suit and the children in the affected school districts," the statement reads.
That prompted a statement from the district. In it Dr. Eric D. Knost
Superintendent of the Mehlville School District said the district never needed a reminder of its obligation.
"Prior to any threats of litigation against us, we were already working tirelessly to accommodate transfer requests to the best of our ability without compromising educational excellence for all children involved," he said in the statement. "We carefully and appropriately identified our means to accommodate transfer students and we stayed true to that effort throughout the weeks leading up to our first day of school.
"Our efforts included an ongoing commitment to fill our identified openings even as we received notices from families who ultimately decided not to attend our schools."
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Knost went on to say student are the district's number one priority.
"We stay focused on doing the right things for all kids at all times," he said. "This commitment has never been compromised and the threats of litigation against us had no bearing on the outcome."
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