Crime Stats Are Facts, Not Opinions

Posted on by David Stokes

My colleague Justin seems to be attempting, in his prior post, to refute hard numbers with personal experiences, which is always a poor idea when making an argument. As for the crime report, I tend to agree with the publisher, in that if Saint Louis city government spent as much time trying to fight crime as it did fighting this report, we would all be better off. From the Post-Dispatch:

But in a tense 90 minutes on the phone, Jenkins would not budge, Fleming said.
"His dismissive conclusion at the end was, ‘Go fight crime.’"

I say this as someone who lived in the city for a long time (1995 to 2002) and moved out for reasons that had nothing to do with crime or safety. I go to the city regularly and always feel safe, except when I am trying to steal crack from drug dealers late at night in dangerous neighborhoods, but — heh — you’re not supposed to feel safe when you do that.

The numbers are the numbers, and I trust the numbers to be more accurate than Justin’s impressions of Compton, Calif., which I am sure he got entirely from rap albums. As for inconsistencies in how cities collect the numbers, the publishers discounted cities that really do a bad job of collection, like Chicago. Furthermore, I would have more sympathy for the "different data methods" argument if St. Louis City Police had not had its own scandal a few years back with underreporting rapes. If the most compelling argument you can make is that other cities underreport crime, too, you don’t have much of an argument. As long as the stats are comparing St. Louis City to Detroit rather than Wayne County, and to Kansas City rather than Jackson County, as I believe they are, than we are talking apples to apples — and the stats are legit, if impolite.

In the City, City of Compton … I mean, StL

Posted on by Justin Hauke

Amidst St. Louis’ celebration of the Cardinals’ World Series victory last year, an independent report compiled by CQ Press ranked St. Louis as the most dangerous city in America, based on FBI statistics.

Apparently we no longer hold that honor. We’re now number two.

These statistics continue to amaze me, because I find it very difficult to believe that St. Louis is more dangerous than, say, Compton, CA; Camden, New Jersey; or Gary, IN (or really, for that matter, Kansas City). And the annual studies have been routinely criticized for their methodologies, which are grossly inconsistent and dependent upon idiosyncratic crime referencing systems used by municipalities. In short, I tend to agree with Michael Tonry, president of the American Society of Criminology, when he states:

[These rankings] do groundless harm to many communities. They also work against a key goal of our society, which is a better understanding of crime-related issues by both scientists and the public.”

Of course, I have been mugged and robbed in St. Louis, so who am I to really say differently?

Also of note, my hometown of Sugar Land, Texas, was ranked the fifth safest city in America.

Because apparently I like extremes.

Charter Schools: Good, But Not a Cure-All

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Charter schools are news at Edspresso, too. The top link this weekend is to a study on charter schools and other forms of parental choice by the National Center for Policy Analysis. The study focuses on how charter schools can help Hispanics who are at risk of dropping out of high school.

I believe parental choice policies can bring down the drop-out rate, but I’m concerned about the emphasis this article (and others like it) place on the cost of dropouts to the state. The implication is that if choice policies kept people in school, those costs would disappear. That’s not necessarily true. Students who, because of various mental or physical problems, are at risk of dropping out, are also more likely than others to need state services when they grow up. Even if we get them to stay in school an extra year or two, they may still be unemployed afterward, or need some kind of support. And although economists have done careful analyses to show that there are benefits from education, it’s hard to say exactly what effect an extra year of schooling would have on a potential dropout.

I think charter schools are a good idea because they expand people’s choices, but we shouldn’t count on them to end the welfare state or erase unemployment. As has been discussed in the last two posts, charter schools aren’t a "magic bullet."

Always Things to Write About on School Choice …

Posted on by Justin Hauke

There is a letter to the editor from the Dean of the School of Education at Maryville University in this morning’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch that disparages St. Louis’ charter school plan (I’ve expressed my own misgivings about the plan here).

The letter argues that charter schools are not the “magic bullet” of school reform and that, on average, they produce no measurable improvement in student success from that of public schools. As evidence, the letter cites the failure of charter schools in Ohio.

But I think that the letter misses the point. There is nothing that says that charter schools are inherently better than public schools (the so-called “magic bullet”). Some charter schools may be failures, it’s true. The factors that make for successful schools (leadership, teacher quality, parental involvement, etc.) are not guaranteed in the charter school model. But charter schools will expand parental choice. And that’s why the St. Louis program is a step in the right direction.

Competition produces better outcomes because it forces accountability to consumers. For example, I love Southwest Airlines and try to fly them exclusively when I travel. But just because I like to fly Southwest doesn’t mean that I think it should be the only airline available to me. The fact that Southwest faces competition ensures that they continue to offer (what I believe to be) superior service. The same thing would be true with charter schools. If people are happy with the public schools, there is nothing preventing them from staying in them. But the added competition from charter schools can only make them perform better.

So are charter schools going to solve the public school problem in St. Louis? Not necessarily.

But do they have the potential to make things better? Absolutely.

And that’s where I think the letter misses the point.

Mixed Metaphors on Education

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

A letter to the Post-Dispatch lists some factors that contribute to quality schools, then adds:

When these factors come together, charter and traditional schools have the potential to be lighthouses of achievement. But charter schools are not a magic bullet. [Emphasis added.]

What I want to comment on is not the funny juxtaposition of these two metaphors, but what each metaphor implies about the writer’s view of public schools.

The lighthouse metaphor suggests a few bright lights, with wide spaces in between. Lighthouses don’t compete with each other. If you have one lighthouse in an area, fine; if you have more, the additional lighthouses waste resources without contributing anything. If you add a new lighthouse next to an old one, the old one doesn’t improve. As this writer states explicitly later in the letter, he sees building charter schools as draining resources from existing schools, to the detriment of the district as a whole.

The letter also argues against new charter schools by pointing out that they aren’t a magic bullet. The implication is that only reforms that are magic bullets should be adopted. But any reform — be it paying teachers more, adopting new curricula, or opening charter schools — requires diverting money, time, and other resources away from a previous use. When you implement a reform, the new recipients of these resources will gain directly from the reform, while the previous ones will suffer. That means that no reform is a magic bullet that will improve everything in the district at once.

Both of these metaphors are misleading. A sailor at sea doesn’t choose between different lighthouses. He just looks to the nearest one. Schools are different. Creating new schools adds to the diversity of the district and gives parents new choices. Instead of lighthouses or magic bullets, think cable TV: adding a sports channel doesn’t harm the people who want to watch the Discovery Channel. It just means that the people who like sports will no longer be stuck watching documentaries about elephants. And although no new channel is a magic bullet that will bring up the quality of all television programming, the variety of channels ensures that each customer will at least have a choice of what to watch, and a better chance of feeling satisfied with his options than if only one or two channels were available.

 

Regional Cooperation Continues in Northwest Missouri

Posted on by David Stokes

As regular readers know (my old joke would have been to insert "both of you" there, but I am pretty sure we are up to three by now), I like to use this blog to point our examples of cooperation between local governments in Missouri. With as many small governments as we have, cooperation is the way in which we will keep quality services and efficiently use tax dollars.

In Northwest Missouri, 15 counties have joined together to create a regional hazardous material response squad. Apparently, though, it has been having financial difficulties because of a reduction in grants from Homeland Security. The St. Joseph News-Press has the full story here. The good news is that some of the problems were worked out in a joint meeting recently, and the team will continue. Every county involved in the program deserves great credit for being a part of it. Apparently, though, there could be even more cooperation:

Complicating the situation is a new team in Chillicothe and the St. Joseph haz-mat team splitting the diminishing federal funds three ways.

Do both Buchanan County and St. Joseph need their own haz-mat teams? Are there that many dangerous spills and leaks in one county?

I also enjoyed this idea:

The board also discussed alleviating some of the financial burden on the smaller counties by not counting prison populations as county citizens.

So they get to count the prison population when it helps, as with political redistricting and federal block grants, but not count it when it hurts? Makes sense to me — and, besides, why would an emergency response team ever have to go to a prison?

All these counties deserve kudos for this program, but as the article makes clear, many of them are unable to afford their contributions. Along with lack of 911 service for parts of rural Missouri, this is an example of the choices people in very low-tax areas, such as rural Missouri, have to make. Frankly, they would not even need to raise tax rates to properly fund these public safety issues on a local basis if their assessments were only accurate. But that is another issue, and I hope this regional haz-mat team continues to serve the residents of this area for a long time.

Everyone Who Wants to Attend Clayton, Raise Your Hand

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on city parents’ fight to enroll their children in the Clayton School District:

St. Louis Public Schools spokeswoman Deborah Sistrunk said a win for the plaintiffs would be catastrophic for city schools.

"What I can say is that it would not take a large number of students exiting the district before it bankrupts the district," Sistrunk said.

It’s easy to see why she’s concerned. Clayton charges $13,500 a year for middle school and high school — more than what many private schools charge. Even elementary school tuition in Clayton is $9,500. And since nobody’s trying to transfer into St. Louis, the district has no way to make up for what it would lose.

And probably a large number of students would like to leave. The Clayton district is hardly modest about how attractive it is to city parents:

 "It’s hard to say what effect this lawsuit would have if the plaintiffs get what they want," Tennill said. "Would it mean that a couple of hundred city students would want to enroll in Clayton? A couple of thousand? We don’t know."

I’m Shocked – Shocked! – to Find That Fantasy Football Is Going On in St. Louis County Government!

Posted on by David Stokes

KSDK – Channel 5 (link via Combest) broadcast a story a few nights ago on Internet usage by government employees. The Post-Dispatch has a follow-up article here. Apparently, one Darin Cline (who I have never met) in County Executive Charlie Dooley’s office set the high mark in using his office computer for non-work related entertainment.

As your intrepid blogger has been playing fantasy football much longer than anybody who reads this (since 1991, way before most people had ever heard of it), and as I furthermore spent six years as an aide in the St. Louis County Council, I am uniquely qualified to comment here. I shall put on my best Captain Renault mask and clearly state that I find the thought of managing one’s fantasy football team while using taxpayer computers and while on taxpayer time to be something I did almost every day between August and December each year a blatant misuse of trust and one that I would never even have considered doing. I assure you all that the management of the Mid-County Mounties, the only three-time champion of the HBFL (Half-Baked Football League) at no time ever changed players, proposed trades, bid on free agents, or did any such things while I was at work. Oh yeah, I also never read a football season preview magazine in my office. Not once right around Labor Day each year. Never.

Although, let’s be honest here — 44 sports web sites in one day is an awful lot:

That same day, [Cline] visited 44 sports related sites including his fantasy football team called the Vegas Midget Pimps.

As a taxpayer, I find this very troubling. Perhaps Cline is the living embodiment of this classic Onion article, which you will note is set right here in The Lou. When I worked for the county, I am certain that I never visited more than 20 sports sites in one day. You have to have some standards.

Are Privatized Government Projects Taxable?

Posted on by David Stokes

Nothing like a strong lead to really reach out and suck you into reading the post, huh? Today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a very interesting article on a lawsuit just across the river involving attempts by St. Clair County, IL, to tax military housing now operated by a private company. As the article states, the lawsuit could have national implications, and the issue could certainly affect Missouri’s two large military bases.

In short, now that the federal government is contracting with a private company to operate the base’s military housing, St. Clair County says the housing is taxable:

  "The structure of this arrangement permits taxation as any other leasehold," Haida said.

The company disagrees, and has filed suit:

"Federal property is exempt from real estate tax, period," said Joseph McDonnell, an attorney representing Scott Air Force Base Properties.

The important thing to remember here is that the property is still owned by the government, rather than the company. So I think it is pretty clear that the housing is not taxable, and the company should win its suit. As this excellent housing privatization program expands, it should be clear to state and local governments that they don’t get to tax the houses now just because a private company manages the federal property. However, some type of payment in lieu of taxes must be made by the federal government (and I think they already do this, in many cases) to the school districts that are educating the children of the servicemembers. With that important caveat, I rest my case.

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