School reforms irk St. Louis parents Mon Mar 15, 9:40 AM ET Chicago Tribune By Stephanie Simon Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times Nine months ago, the school board hired a corporate turnaround company to run the troubled public education system here. The consultants will return to New York in June, their $4.7-million contract up. They will leave behind a school district in chaos and a city enraged. Applying business models developed to save casinos and clothing chains from bankruptcy, the outsiders slashed the district's expenses by 15 percent. They shut 16 schools, laid off more than 1,100 employees and hired...