West Newsmagazine 5-1-24

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10 I NEWS I May 1, 2024 WEST NEWSMAGAZINE @WESTNEWSMAG WESTNEWSMAGAZINE.COM Substitute under scrutiny after removing Parkway teacher’s pride, BLM signs By SHWETHA SUNDARRAJAN On Friday, April 12, administrators at Parkway Central High were alerted of a substitute teacher who took down Black Lives Matter (BLM) and pride signs in a teacher’s classroom and tore them up. The substitute teacher, now identified as Jason Bryant Jennings, told West Newsmagazine that he destroyed the posters on Friday, April 5. He subsequently posted about the incident on X, on Monday, April 8, when he was subbing at Parkway Central again. “Yeah, so BLM is obviously a corrupt Marxist organization that should not be promoted to kids,” Jennings said. “Teachers should not be – and not just teachers, but adults in general – should not be promoting pride or anything of that nature to students, to youth.” Jennings is a Republican candidate running for state representative in District 100, which encompasses the city of Ballwin and portions of Winchester. According to Jennings’ campaign website, he believes that “schools should be accountable for what they’re teaching.” Days after posting about the destroyed posters, Parkway Central administrators caught wind of Jennings’ actions and subsequently escorted him off campus. In an email to Parkway Central High parents, students and staff, Principal Dr. Tim McCarthy said that in addition to damaging the classroom, there were reports Jennings also solicited votes from students. “Based on my initial investigation and after consulting with human resources, I addressed the incident with the individual and escorted him out of the building,” McCarthy wrote. “Kelly Education employs the substitute who has worked part-time in some Parkway schools since 2022.” However, Jennings denies soliciting votes from students, adding that Parkway Central isn’t located in the district he’s campaigning in. “So those kids at Parkway Central, they don’t even live in (District 100), and they’re not even old enough to vote,” Jennings said. “There’s no reason why I would do that, I would have nothing to gain by doing that.” A spokesperson from Kelly Education Services told West Newsmagazine that Jennings is suspended from all future assignments pending the completion of the investigation. “We do not tolerate any employee behavior that violates our policies or the policies of our school partners,” the statement read. “Our substitute educators undergo rigorous screenings and background checks before they are eligible for any assignment. During onboarding, our substitute educators receive role-specific training and are required to confirm that they understand and agree to follow Kelly Education and district policies. We are working with the school administration as we investigate the matter, and the substitute teacher has been suspended from all future assignments pending its completion. We will take appropriate action based on the findings of the investigation.” According to Parkway’s staff conduct handbook, employees are prohibited from engaging in political campaigning, including promoting, advocating for or opposing specific issues. This includes and is not limited to the posting of political materials or petitions (unless part of an academic exercise) and the distribution of campaign materials to students in any manner that would indicate that an employee is furthering a personal political view on candidates for public office or issues of public policy. Woods Mill Center development fails to get P&Z recommendation By DAN FOX (Photo by Laura Brown) After a one-month continuation, a proposed redevelopment for Woods Mill Center returned to the Town & Country Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) on April 17. Under review were requests to rezone the commercial site at 14302 South Outer 40 Road to a Planned Non-Residential Development District (PNRD) and to approve the site plan, which includes residential homes and a restaurant. The developers, the McBride Berra Land Company LLC, made several adjustments to the proposal since it originally came before the commission on March 20. The proposed number of homes for the 11.58-acre site was reduced to 72, down from 80. Greenspace was increased to 48%, 40 additional trees have been added, lot width was increased and now 10 feet would separate each house, as opposed to the 6 feet previously proposed. Also, four lots that would be closest to existing homes to the south would be restricted to two stories, so as not to impact the privacy of those residents. As the adjustments were presented, Jeannie Aumiller, McBride general counsel and senior vice president of real estate, also pointed out several other kinds of uses that could also fit the site, while highlighting the challenges or potential impacts of those uses on nearby residents. Despite the adjustments, the density of the proposal was still of concern to the commission members. Commission member Fred Meyland- Smith said he understands the limitations and challenges of the site, but said the cur- Woods Mill Center, looking southeast. rent proposal is “inconsistent with the character” of the community and that the houses are too closely packed together. “They are like wooden soldiers, shoulder to shoulder to shoulder, and I can’t conceive of any other neighborhood in Town & Country that would have dozens of homes shoulder to shoulder in lockstep with one another, eight feet from the sidewalk,” Meyland-Smith said. Commission member Granville White said the development didn’t meet “the brand of Town & Country,” while Commission member Dennis Bolazina raised the issue of on-site guest parking again and questioned the benefits to the city coming from the project. Opinions among the commission were not uniform, however. Mayor Charles Rehm said a benefit to the city would be the added greenspace on the site. “The greenspace that’s there now is basically weeds, coming through cracks in the asphalt,” Rehm said. While he said he wishes the density could be lowered, commission member Gary Omell said he was in favor of the concept, adding that he’s concerned about what the alternatives could be for Woods Mill Center. “I ask myself, ‘What is the alternative?’” Omell said. “We’ve said a lot of things negative, but this property has sat there for a long time looking really shabby.” Omell did, however, state concerns about guest parking and some of the proposed elevations, saying he would like to see more brick and stone materials used. While the room was packed with residents, all that spoke were in favor of the 72-home development. Kathy Bridges, who lives adjacent to the site, praised the developers for their willingness to appease resident concerns and the concessions made in the site plan. Sharon Rothmel thanked the commission members for their previous feedback, saying the developer has improved the plans since the March 20 meeting, and urged the commission to recommend approval of the proposal. “It’s good for both the city and nearby residents,” Rothmel said. “It’s good for the city for many reasons … it will remove a deteriorated, defunct shopping center that’s fallen into disrepair.” Commission Chairman Rob Cima recognised that uses for the site, like more commercial development or an office building, are not viable, and he noted there are things to like about the current proposal. Cima said he can see why the residents are in support of it, being an owner-occupied, primarily residential use. Cima also acknowledged that nearby residents are possibly fatigued from seeing repeated proposed uses for Woods Mill Center. “I have to imagine at least part of the reason you’re in support of this, is because what else are we going to have to look at next year and the year after and the year after,” Cima said. However, Cima said he thinks there will be other options in the future that would appeal to residents and the city, and that he’s not willing to recommend approval simply out of fear that a better option might not come along. The motion to recommend approval of the rezoning to a PNRD and the motion to recommend approval of the site plan both failed 6-3. The matter next goes before the Board of Aldermen for its review at a future meeting, where it would need a supermajority (two-thirds) of voting members to pass.
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