Jefferson City parents, teachers upset by overcrowding at East Elementary

Angry parents and teachers scolded Jefferson City school board members Monday night for not doing enough about overcrowding at East Elementary School.

The emotional tone of the board meeting was reminiscent of another board meeting a few months ago where dozens of Moreau Heights Elementary School parents said bullying and discipline was out of control.

The board heard from one teacher who went from a classroom to a closet, and another teacher is now teaching special needs in an electrical circuit breaker room.

The teacher that brought this to the board’s attention actually invited them to see for themselves, and not one board member or administrator showed up to observe these conditions.

The board seemed to be out of touch to parents.

At one point, a high school student addressed the board and politely told them that high school teachers openly talk about the board and have no respect for the elected body.

At the center of it all is overcrowding and providing an equal environment to learn in.

“When they get to middle school, they are not going to be ready, and when they get to middle school and they aren’t ready they’re going to get put out, and when they get put out, they’re going to be put on the streets and they’re going to be like those kids you see on the news in St. Louis,” said an East Elementary second grade teacher.

More than a dozen other teachers and parents asked the board to take action.

East school has only two 5th grades, both have 28 and 29 students, down from 30 before Christmas break.

They’re the largest classes in the district. East also has the highest number of minority students.

East Elementary teacher Delora Scaggs showed ABC 17 letters and emails dating back to August as she wrote school officials, but she got nowhere.

“That’s why I felt unheard. Nobody wanted to hear me. I was respectfully declined a meeting to discuss the issue with the school board once I had waited six weeks. I was very disappointed. I don’t feel it, I believe I know because in my letter my husband encouraged them to come to East School to see how our kids were learning and they would feel compelled to do something. No one came, not a single one,” said Scaggs.

Parents pleaded for another 5th grade teacher and some mobile buildings to get them through the rest of the year. It’s unknown what the district plans to do there. They did move forward with renovations at East this summer.