It's actually split between the two districts. Parkway West High, South Middle, Claymont Elementary, and Henry Elementary are all in Ballwin. Looking at the census data, the Rockwood half of Ballwin appears to be a bit wealthier than the Parkway half. I wonder if this divide will cause tension down the road. If Parkway schools begin to under perform Rockwood schools, the wealth and age divide in Ballwin could become more dramatic.
STLEnginerd wrote:^Thats an incredibly frustrating statement. If you think the city will be able to recover in 20 years without the county I think you are being incredibly optimistic. I'd agree that the city has some positive momentum but it could easily be reversed and the city will be lamenting not incorporating the county again.
The point of consolidation isn't an urban vs. suburban argument. It's not a black vs. white argument, or a republican vs. democrat argument. It is a St. Louis vs. Chicago, Indianapolis, Nashville, Minneapolis, Memphis, Kansas City, Etc. Etc..... If you look back in 20 years and say we the city is finally outgrowing the county where do you think either will be relative to them. It's called Better Together and despite what either side looses the region will be.
Yeah, that 20 year scenario is definitely wishful thinking on my part. I actually support re-entry, though I'm skeptical of uni-gov. I'm just very pessimistic about it actually happening. Better Together has thus far completely failed to make a strong case for any kind of merger. Stltoday commenters drive me as crazy as anyone, but they do have a point when they ask "what's in it for me?" No one can give a solid answer beyond hand waving about supposed increased efficiency. Any disruption of the status quo requires clear and compelling benefits, otherwise voters are going to default to saying "no".
I was living in Indiana a few years ago when Mitch Daniels was pushing a ballot initiative to eliminate the township layer of local government. Indiana is the only state in the country in which all cities and villages are also part of one or more townships. Daniels made what I thought was a very sensible case for getting rid of redundant government offices and saving taxpayer money. I voted against Daniels for governor that year, but still voted for this proposal because I though it made a lot of sense. Yet, it stilled failed to pass, even with the support of a very popular governor. I see the City-County merger as a very similar issue with less obvious benefits. County residents are going to be skeptical and generally feel that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
As for St. Louis vs. Chicago/Nashville/KC. I just disagree on that issue. I think St Louis City vs. St Louis County vs. St Charles County is much more important. St. Louis is quite a bit larger than Nashville. It's quite a bit larger than KC. It's quite a bit larger than hipster darling boomtowns Austin and Portland. It will probably never be as large as Chicago. I don't think size is that important to making it a great, livable, diverse, interesting, and urban place. There's already plenty of jobs in the region. There's already plenty of people in the region. It's just organized poorly and struggles to keep homegrown talent. The best, fastest, and most realistic way to make the city better is to attract the jobs, businesses and people already present in the region back into the city. While it's nice to read an article about a San Francisco entrepreneur bringing his start-up to St. Louis, I don't think that's what's transforming the city. Most of the people I know living in Soulard and hanging out on Cherokee moved there from St. Louis County not SoMa.
Now this same suburban to urban migration can happen if the city is part of the county, and I support that. However, to pretend that St. Louis city is not competing with the rest of the region and that jobs moving from downtown to Overland is somehow okay because it's "good for the region" is counterproductive, especially when the Ballwins of the world seem to not give a sh*t about the city or the region.
