The fallout continues in the wake of reports that U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) improperly billed taxpayers for political travel on her private plane and failed to pay more than $300,000 in property taxes on the same aircraft – as new reports show that the impact of McCaskill’s unethical behavior reaches far beyond her own political fortunes, directly helping fuel the local fiscal crisis that has resulted in lost jobs for Missouri teachers and firefighters.
As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports today:
The Rockwood School District may receive about $176,000 from what U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., pays St. Louis County to settle overdue personal property taxes on her airplane, county tax records indicate… The Monarch Fire Protection District could receive about $43,000, the tax records indicate.
And as CBS St. Louis reported last night, McCaskill’s “tax bill tells the tale. The Rockwood School District and the Monarch Fire Protection District lost the most money over four years – $120,000 would have gone to Rockwood, $32,000 to Monarch.”
As the Post-Dispatch reported yesterday, “in the Rockwood district, six middle school teachers, 10 counselors and four drivers education teachers will not have their jobs next school year.” And another Post-Dispatch article just days ago noted that “the city will lay off 30 firefighters.”
Meanwhile, in a radio interview this morning with NewsTalk 97.1’s Jamie Allman, McCaskill once again refused to say whether she would finally come clean and release the tax returns for the Delaware-based shell company she used to bill taxpayers for travel on her private plane. McCaskill also declined to tell Missourians whether everything else she has done passes legal muster, adding to growing nationwide speculation that “there may yet be more of this embarrassing story to come.”
Notably, the Springfield News-Leader editorial board weighed in this morning stating that they are “outraged,” that McCaskill’s ethical oversight “verges on ineptitude,” and that she has “lost the moral high ground.”
“If there is a silver lining to Senator McCaskill’s growing ethics scandal, it’s that a local school district and fire department will finally get the funds they are entitled to from her. It’s just a shame McCaskill failed to pay her fair share until the media forced the issue, because as these dozens of layoffs show, local schools and firefighters are facing very dire fiscal straits,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Chris Bond. “It’s also very troubling that, even as her list of ethical problems continues to grow, McCaskill still refuses to come clean and simply open up the books of her shell companies. What else is Claire McCaskill hiding?”
Background Information:
Rockwood School District Was Forced To Lay Off Teachers And Counselors
The Rockwood School District Plans To Cut $5.3 Million From Next Year’s Budget Through Staff Reductions And Salary Freezes. “Webster Groves School District officials have offered teachers incentives to retire early – a $5,000 stipend for two years or 50 percent of health care premiums for three years. Rockwood School District officials plan to cut $5.3 million from next year’s budget, partly through staff reductions and salary freezes for administrators and support staff. Six middle school teachers, 10 counselors, four driver’s education teachers and three parking attendants at high schools will not have their jobs next year. Rockwood officials would be cutting even deeper, but they plan to raise revenue by increasing kindergarten tuition as well as high school parking fees and admission to sporting events.” (“Ladue School Cuts OK’d Board Eliminates 28 Teaching Posts As Some In Crowd Of 300 Question Actions,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, 3/15/11)
In December Of 2010, The “Rockwood School District Announced . . . That The School Board Recently Endorsed Salary Freezes For Non-Union Employees, Various Fee Increases For Students And Layoffs Of Staff At Area Middle School And High Schools. The proposed salary freezes only would affect staff and administrators who are not covered by existing contracts. Layoffs could be seen, however, at any of the district’s high schools and junior high schools, including Crestview Middle School and Marquette High School.” (Chase Castle, “Layoffs, Increased Fees Possible In Rockwood School District,” Chesterfield [MO] Patch, 10/23/10)
· Rockwood Superintendent: “These Are Difficult Economic Times . . . . The Salary Freeze And Staffing Cuts Will Be A Hard Hit For Our Rockwood Community.” “‘These are difficult economic times, and our schools are feeling the effects,’ Rockwood Superintendent Bruce Borchers said in a district release. ‘The salary freeze and staffing cuts will be a hard hit for our Rockwood community.’” (Chase Castle, “Layoffs, Increased Fees Possible In Rockwood School District,” Chesterfield [MO] Patch, 10/23/10)
The Rockwood School District Also Planned To Raise Revenue By Increasing Kindergarten Tuition. “Rockwood officials would be cutting even deeper, but they plan to raise revenue by increasing kindergarten tuition as well as high school parking fees and admission to sporting events.” (Marlon A. Walker, “Howell District Will Make Deep Cuts As Many As 95 Employees May Lose Their Jobs As Stimulus Funding Dries Up,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2/18/11)
In March Of 2011, The Rockwood District Laid Off Six Middle School Teachers, Ten Counselors, And Four Drivers Education Teachers. “In Missouri, schools also are being forced to lay off teachers, though the state’s fiscal crisis is not as deep as the one in Illinois. . . . And in the Rockwood district, six middle school teachers, 10 counselors and four drivers education teachers will not have their jobs next school year.” (Elizabethe Holland, “Illinois Teachers Feeling The Pinch Of Layoffs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/24/11)
A St. Louis Based Fire Department Was Also Forced To Cut Staff
March 2011: Last Week, The City Of St. Louis Announced They Were Laying Off 30 Firefighters. “After nine months of stalemate in labor negotiations, the city will lay off 30 firefighters, the office of Mayor Francis Slay said late Monday, one of the few Fire Department layoffs in city history. In addition, said chief of staff Jeff Rainford, the city will cut 24 more positions through attrition, bringing the cuts to nearly 10 percent of the department’s 600 firefighters.” (David Hunn, “St. Louis To Lay Off 30 Firefighters,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/15/11)
President Of The International Association Of Fire Fighters, Local 73, Said The Lost Jobs Would “Completely Destroy Morale . . . . [And] Harm The Citizens. There Will Be Fewer Firefighters To Respond To Fires.” “Firefighters said they had heard the rumors but were surprised to hear the decision. Chris Molitor, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 73, said the news would be tough to take. ‘First, it’s going to completely destroy morale,’ he said. ‘Number two, it’s going to harm the citizens. There will be fewer firefighters to respond to fires.’” (David Hunn, “St. Louis To Lay Off 30 Firefighters,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 3/15/11)
