The Property Series, 1766-1979, contains various documents relating to land owned by the St. Louis Public Schools. Due to the 1812 Act of Congress granting vacant, unclaimed land for educational purposes, the formation of a board of education coincided with the acquisition of property. The series is divided into three subseries: Board Documents, Property Records, and Vouchers. The Board Documents, 1796-1896, relate to the creation of a board and to early efforts to identify and to generally manage any land set aside for education. The Property Records, 1788-1979, comprise the largest part of the series and relate to specific pieces of property including deeds, leases, abstracts of title, plats, surveys, and correspondence. The Vouchers, 1875-1892, are payment vouchers approved by the Board to pay primarily general taxes, special tax bills, and some fees such as water licenses. The Board Documents Subseries is arranged alphabetically by topic. There is a set of documents collected by the Board of Education dating from 1812 to 1851 within the Board Documents subseries. These documents were turned over to Frederick Mosberger, an agent for the board, by former board president Charles Tucker. Mosberger created an inventory (photocopy, Appendix B) and labeled each document with letters “A” through “Z2” and “1” through “12.” The earliest document on Mosberger’s inventory is a transcript of the proceedings of the Board of Trustees of St. Louis dating 1813 to 1818 concerning town surveys and school matters. There is also correspondence dated 1813 from Clement Penrose, land commissioner, to Gov. William Clark concerning the 1812 Congressional act. There are other letters relating to school lands between Gov. Clark and local and national political figures such as President James Monroe; John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War; General Henry Atkinson; William Carr Lane, mayor; and Joseph Meigs, Commissioner of the General Land Office. The original inventory and the documents are filed according to Mosberger’s system (B1/f.15-19). Other early items in the Board Documents Subseries concern the school board’s efforts to identify and to claim vacant land within St. Louis which include contemporary copies of Spanish land claims, files relating to court cases, and decisions concerning land claims, most notably including Duncan’s Island. A Missouri Supreme Court opinion on taxation, correspondence, and an account book with the City implies that the Board of Education and the City of St. Louis did not have an easy relationship in the 19th century. Later documents concern more general issues relating to school lands such as agreements with realty companies, committee resolutions regarding land decisions, and correspondence concerning the use of schools for meetings or events. The Property Records Subseries, 1821-1979, comprises the bulk of the Property Series and is filed numerically by city block number. Documents not filed by city block number relate to property either located in St. Louis County or for property located in the City of St. Louis for which city blocks numbers could not be determined. These are filed alphabetically by name of the addition/subdivision, township number, or by U.S. Survey number (B2/f.11 thru B3/f.23). The first two folders (B2/f.11-12) contain deeds, leases, and tax bills for which the specific location of the parcels/lots could not be determined. Documents in this subseries include: correspondence; leases; various types of deeds; title abstracts (often with plat); certificates of title (often with plat); committee resolutions relating to lease requests; petitions submitted to the Board’s Leasing Committee to lease lots, which were replaced by renewal request forms in the 1880s; appraisals to determine rent or sale price; plats; and surveys. Documents are filed chronologically within the folders. When several documents such as deeds or leases are present for lots in a single city block, they appear chronologically in separate folders. City block numbers were identified and/or verified using the 1930 Census Map of St. Louis, resulting in a list of city block numbers and their surrounding streets that appears as Appendix C. Another list compiled in 1997, which accompanied the collection, is included as Appendix D and lists schools in alphabetical order by name with corresponding city block numbers. The Vouchers Subseries, 1875-1892, relates almost entirely to tax bills paid by the Board for property owned in St. Louis County and in the City of St. Louis. The bulk of the subseries is filed numerically by city block number. Vouchers for special tax bills, which include improvements such as street widening and sewer systems, comprise the bulk of the subseries and were often attached to several tax bills. There are two folders containing county general tax vouchers (B48/f.25-26) and two folders containing vouchers for unidentified property taxes and other fees (B48/f.1-2). These vouchers represent a sample of the tax bills overseen by the Board of Education for its property holdings for a small amount of time. There are some tax bills filed in the Property Records Subseries, but there are no approved vouchers with those bills. Lists of approved general and special tax bills appear in the indeces of the Official Proceedings of the Board of Education for the time period (in the Missouri Historical Society Library). The Schools Series, 1886-2008, is divided into three subseries: Schools Files, Wilma Hanks Papers, and the Ward Parker Collection. The Schools Files Subseries comprise the bulk of the series and contain a varied collection of items relating to individual schools. It is arranged alphabetically by school name. Several of the schools are no longer in existence while others have changed names. In most cases, items have been filed according to the school name as it appears on the items in the folders. Some schools are not represented in this series, most notably, Sumner High School. The Schools Files Subseries does not contain the official records of the schools. It is partially comprised of donations to the St. Louis Public School Archives and what was collected by the archives staff. The subseries contains a wide variety of items, primarily brochures, commencement programs, and other event programs sponsored by the school. There are also many news clippings, class reunion notices/programs, and school anniversary programs. Please note that there is very little information on sports. The Michael School for Crippled Children proves to be the exception in the Schools Files Subseries. There are approximately two linear feet of files for this school, more than for any other school, spanning from 1920 to 2000. Most of the files appear to have been kept by staff at the school with correspondence from the principal, Claude Stephens, and other teachers along with clippings and literature on handicapped children. The bulk of the documents for the Michael School dates from 1930 to 1942. Notable documents include a letter from Franklin Roosevelt dated March 20 1931; a telegram from Franklin Roosevelt dated October 24, 1934; and a letter from Eleanor Roosevelt’s secretary dated November 2, 1934 (B54/f.31-33). A portion of the contents from a time capsule placed in the Hadley Vocational School cornerstone are in the Hadley files. Many of the newspapers and books placed in the time capsule did not survive. However, there is an inventory of items placed in the time capsule, a few surviving documents, and remarks made at the cornerstone ceremony (B52/f.16-16a). There are scrapbooks, files, and volumes of meeting minutes and cash books for schools’ Parent Teacher Associations (PTA) and Mothers Circles for several schools. The Froebel School PTA records span the years 1912 to 1958 in twelve volumes (Vol. 6-18). The Oak Hill School PTA has six scrapbooks that document the years 1944 to 1965. Several scrapbooks have been taken apart for preservation purposes. Some are housed in folders and the clippings are photocopied. Ten scrapbooks have been placed in flat storage boxes. For an inventory of volumes see Boxes 59-61. The Wilma Hanks Papers Subseries, c.1930-1983, was donated to the St. Louis Public Schools Archives by the Carondolet Historical Society. Wilma Hanks taught in the St. Louis Public Schools from 1943 to 1982. She graduated from Harris Teachers College in June 1942 and began teaching at the Jackson School in 1943. She taught vocal music at Central High School beginning in 1949 until her retirement in 1982. Wilma Hanks collected the documents in a scrapbook in which many of the items were left loose, very few of them pasted into the book. Without any order to follow, the papers have been filed by type of document and then chronologically. The bulk of the items are from the 1950s. Highlights from the papers include Miss Hanks’ teaching certificate, Harris Teachers College diploma, and her Certificate of Service Award from the school district upon her retirement. There are a few personal photos in the papers, including a young girl riding a pony, presumably Miss Hanks. Most of the photos show groups of students in musical performances, most likely Central High School students. There are class photos from both Jackson School and Central High School, including two prints of Central High School graduating ceremonies. The program folder includes a few programs for graduation exercises and many programs for musical performances at Central High School, notably 100th anniversary events for the school in 1953. There are thank you letters from area churches and hospitals thanking Miss Hanks and her school groups for their performances. The Ward Parker Collection Subseries, 1870-1978, was donated to the St. Louis Public Schools Archives over a period of time by Mr. Parker. Ward Parker graduated from Roosevelt High school and the University of Wisconsin. He returned to St. Louis as an educator with the St. Louis Public Schools, coaching at Blewitt High School and serving as principal in four of the district’s high schools. He and his wife and sons were also avid tennis players. The earliest item in the subseries is a program for a tableaux presented by the “young ladies of the High School” (c.1860). Among the items of interest is a letter, with a transcription by Mr. Parker, from Ira Divoll to William Torrey Harris dated February 22, 1870. A souvenir card (1909) from the Roe School contains poems and lists students in the First Class and Second Class. There is an Order of Service program for the Frank Louis Soldan memorial (1908). Three photographs of school buildings show Central High School at two different time periods, circa 1880 and circa 1890, and the tornado damage sustained by the Columbia School in 1927. The Departments & Programs Series, 1911-2008, is arranged in alphabetical order by title of department or program. Much of the material was collected by the St. Louis Public Schools Archivist. This is clear by the number of news stories and newsletters that were printed from web sites. Two departments comprise the bulk of the series: Audiovisual Services and the Office of Public Information. Audiovisual Services, the name given on the latest documents in the files, began as the Educational Museum. There are two versions of Sharon Huffman’s history of the Educational Museum in the files, explaining how the schools began collecting items to enhance classroom learning, collected films, started the FM radio station KSLH, and eventually introduced educational television via KETC, the local PBS TV affiliate. The bulk of the Audiovisual Services files are classroom guides, some with scripts, for KSLH programs from 1958 to 1967. Additionally, there are clippings from national publications about the innovative Educational Museum and the schools’ audiovisual program. The Office of Public Information files contain tax and bond issue campaign plans, literature, advertisements, publicity photos, working files/notes, and media related items for campaigns from 1955-2000 which are arranged chronologically. The earliest item is a scrapbook from the 1955 tax campaign. The bulk of the series documents the schools efforts to raise money in the 1980s and 1990s. The November 1983 bond issue was mandated by the U.S. District Court, Eastern District, in order to raise funds for capital improvements as part of the public schools’ desegregation efforts. Special issues of School & Home relating to the campaigns have been transferred to the Library. Other departments represented are Honors Art, Library Services, and Food and Nutrition. The earliest item in the series is a scrapbook from the Hygiene Department, 1911- 1917. While the St. Louis Teachers Union (AFT Local 420) is not an official department or program of the St. Louis Public Schools, it has been placed in this series due to its integral role in the schools’ administrative history. The files contain clippings and email newsletters from 1973 to 2000. Most materials relate to the strikes in 1973 and 1983, including an annotated scrapbook from the 1973 strike. The Board of Directors Series, 1843-1998, is divided into two subseries: Subject Files, 1843-2009, and Meetings, 1923-1998. The Subject Files are arranged in alphabetical order by topic with documents ranging in date from 1843 to 2009. Topics in the Subject Files subseries vary greatly. The earliest document in this series is a St. Louis County Court order incorporating the Board of President and Directors of the St. Louis Public Schools (B68/f.6). There are several folders of agreements and contracts in which the board entered including the training of WWII veterans, a Public Works Administration (PWA) grant for the construction of buildings, and various agreements for the use of school facilities for sports and community events (B66/f.5-20). In August 1876, voters in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County chose to separate the two entities and govern independently. The President and Board of Directors became responsible for the schools only within the new city limits. There are financial and county court documents relating to property for which the Public Schools held loans that was intersected by the new boundaries set forth by the City/County scheme of separation. In September 1876, authorities executed a court-ordered enumeration of all school age children in St. Louis City and County in order to assist with allocating school funds. The enumeration includes subtotals representing sex and race for the children. (For more details see The Scheme of Separation between St. Louis City and County and the Charter of the City of St. Louis, 1888 / StL 352 Sa24c 1888.) The Board hired Architects Furlong and Brown to design a new Central High School in 1891. The architects sued the Board, claiming the board underpaid the firm for their services. The files on Central High School contain specifications solicited from several firms vying for the job and the ballots used by the board in the selection process. There are also contracts, legal documents, and expense lists for the project (B66/f.28-32). Some of the topics expose the unsavory side of administration. For example, there is a letter dated December 1890 in which funds are solicited in order to offer a reward to find the parties responsible for the untimely accidental death of a teacher, Miss Augusta Tovell (B68/f.6). There are files relating to contested board elections in 1891 and 1937 (B68/f.2-5) and special committee meeting minutes and testimonies relating to accusations of skimming wages (B68/f.40). There are meeting minutes of various board committees from the 1920s, most notably the Committee on Finance (1919-1929). Also represented are the Committee on Instruction, the Committee on Music, and the Joint Committee on Instruction and Finance. Fidelity bonds prove that the Schools bonded some board members and employees. There are also election certificates presented by the Board of Election Commissioners, oaths of office, and letters of appointment for newly elected board members (1911-1944). District financial information is located in files with bonds issued by the Public Schools in 1878 (B66/f.23), in payroll lists (B68/f.41-42), and in financial statements from the Secretary/Treasurer (B69/f.6-9). There are also printed payroll manuals in which the Superintendent made annotations concerning staff reappointment recommendations (B69/f.11). There are only a few files on desegregation spanning from 1961 to 1998 (B68/f.12-18). They include clippings and reports concerning the desegregation program in the 1960s, a report and policy statements for 1995, and a 1998 application for Magnet Schools assistance as a means to achieve integration. The Board of Directors Meetings Subseries, 1923-1998, is arranged chronologically by meeting date. It is comprised primarily of meeting announcements, meeting agenda, and agenda documents (meeting support documents) from January 1982 through December 1998. There are two folders dated 1923 and 1925; the remainder of the subseries dates 1982-1998. However, there is a gap in the files from September to December 1995. Board members received the agenda and agenda documents prior to the meetings in order to read them in advance and to be prepared for discussion and action. The Meetings files from 1982 to November 1994, appear to be office files including not only the meeting packet contents but also notes, correspondence, memos, occasional annotated agenda, and partial transcripts from meeting audiotapes (not included in the collection). Beginning in December 1994 the files contain only the agenda and agenda documents. The board published the activities of its meeting as Official Proceedings and later as Official Report. Not all agenda documents are included in the printed volumes. Therefore, this series represents the most complete record of what topics came before the Board of Education. It is recommended that the printed volumes be examined first to discern topics discussed at the meetings. Then consult the Meetings files for agenda documents that either may not have been printed or, may not have been printed in their entirety. Volumes for the time period matching the files in this collection, June 1982- December 1998, are available at the St. Louis Public Library (Central Branch, call no. 379.7 Vol.#88-105). Topics covered by agenda documents run the gamut of any report, solicitation, or ongoing matter that required the board’s attention. Documents appearing regularly on the agenda include: financial reports from the Treasurer, contracts for various services such as food service, a monthly superintendent’s report, a monthly Board President’s report covering expenses incurred by board members and legislation relating to education, personnel transactions/leave reports, budget transfers, and additional appropriations. Program reports/evaluations, grant applications for aid, and agreements for partner projects with other St. Louis organizations, such as Washington University and the Missouri Historical Society, appear often. Documents are filed according to the order dictated by the agenda. The letters sent by the board president to all board members notifying them of meeting dates and memos sent prior to meeting dates appear before the agenda. Not all committee reports and agenda documents discussed at meetings are present in the files. This is especially true for the 1982 and 1983 files. Starting in October 1983, the board adopted a numbering system to manage the agenda documents and as a result, the files provide a more complete record of the meetings. Some of the agenda documents required action by a vote (resolutions) and some were provided to the board for informational purposes only. Examples of agenda documents in the informational category include the superintendent’s monthly report and the Cabinet Travel Report comprised of expense reports for school administrators. There are also scattered documents relating to appearances made by the public during the open sessions of the boards. The board allowed a limited number of public statements at the beginning of each meeting. These items are not enumerated on the agenda and include: position statements; petitions; and certificates, clippings, and background information relating to people and students recognized by the board at meetings. Since these appearances occurred before the business meeting began, these documents are filed immediately following the agenda. They are not listed separately on the inventory. Other items not listed on the agenda but which may appear in the files include: announcements and communications that often occurred just after the roll call; new business, and topics discussed in executive session. Therefore, documents located within meeting files that are not on the agenda are generally filed as new business, appearing behind the numbered agenda documents in the files. (Note: The board held open business meetings. However, following the open meeting, it often adjourned and reconvened in a closed executive session to privately discuss legal and personnel issues. There are no files relating to executive sessions in the collection.) In February 1984, the board started calling Planning Committee meetings, often scheduled weeks before the regular business meeting, to aid in setting the final agenda for business meetings. The planning meeting files contain much the same documents as business meeting files: notice, agenda, very few agenda items, roll calls/ballots, and occasionally a memo to board members regarding items discussed at the meetings. The president of the board held the authority to call special meetings as the need arose for topics such as, but not limited to, the budget or tax/bond issues. These files generally relate to one or two topics and contain little more than the meeting notice, brief agenda documents, the roll call for quorum, and the roll for votes. Superintendents serving during the date range of the Meetings Subseries include: Robert Wentz (1975–1982); Ronald Stodghill (interim) (1982–1983); Jerome Jones (1983–1990); David J. Mahan (1990–1996); Cleveland Hammonds (1996–2003). Prominent topics recurring during the time period include court-imposed capital improvements stemming from the settlement agreement of the desegregation case (Liddell v. Board of Education) and magnet schools. In 1990, there was discord among the board members and it took several meetings to elect officers. The Specifications Series contains architectural specifications for buildings owned by the Board of Education. Many are for construction of new school buildings, others are for general repairs and alterations/additions to existing buildings. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by school name and dates range from 1897 to 1977. The exact dates of each set of specifications correspond to the day the bids were opened. Specifications are a written document that accompanies the working drawings and sets forth standards for the materials used in the construction of buildings. It also covers all conditions relating to workmanship, estimating, purchasing, and payment. Contractors received sets of drawings and specifications in order to place bids on jobs opened by the Board for outside work. They were expected to return both sets of documents once bids were placed. In later years, the Board charged a deposit when contractors removed the drawings and specifications from the offices. Specifications dating before 1950 are small, printed bound volumes. The sets from the 1950s through the 1970s were spiral bound. For preservation concerns, the plastic binders have been removed. Single and multiple sheet addenda, sometimes titled “Notice to Bidders,” are located throughout the series and are itemized on the folder list. Most of the addenda are small changes and clarifications made to particular sections of the specifications. In a few cases, small drawings are included as part of the addenda. There are six years of specifications relating to general repairs on various schools performed during the summer months (B116/f.1-4) starting from 1899 to 1943. Each volume was chosen as a sample of general maintenance tasks in caring for school property during the time period. The volumes contain lists of schools slated for repairs which included tasks such as general painting and plumbing repairs. Upon opening a project for bid proposals, the Board assigned letting numbers and continued to refer to each proposal as a “letting.” This is the terminology used in the reports submitted to the Board by the Commissioner of School Buildings and by the Building Committee. These reports are printed in the Board of Education’s Official Proceedings and provide more detail on new building projects such as location studies, descriptions of the new premises, and progress of work. The report also provides lists of lettings/bids for work on existing schools and to whom they were awarded, a narrative of work to be accomplished, expenditure charts for operational and repair costs, and recommendations for general summer repair work. When seeking more information on the jobs represented in the Specifications Series, consult the above mentioned Official Proceedings and the Board of Education’s Annual Report. The Annual Reports often contain photos and basic floor plans of new school buildings.