Great Letter to The Call Newspapers

Letter writer trusts his dog more than Mehlville School District leaders

December 01, 2010 - To the editor:

Time for a new school board and a refund from UNICOM•ARC.

President Tom Diehl and the Mehlville school board are so out of touch with the community they need to resign. But before they leave, get a refund for the telephone-interview survey taken in July that said 51.3 percent of the respondents were in favor of a 94-cent tax rate increase.

The results I saw were 63 percent "no'' and only 37 percent in favor of an 88-cent increase. So what happened?

Other school districts like Kirkwood, Hazelwood, Lindbergh and Pattonville all had their tax increases or bond issues approved, possibly because their communities have faith in what the school board says and does.

I didn't vote for it because of a basic mistrust of the school board. I didn't believe it was for the kids, but was going to the pockets of administrators and staff.

I, too, believe that our children are our future, but I trust my dog more than the Mehlville School District leaders.

A recent article in Forbes magazine stated "among'' America's fastest-growing class of millionaires is teachers, who will receive near their full salaries every year after retirement. A perfect example is the Mehlville School District superintendent who will receive over $1 million every six years in retirement. I could make do on that.

Mr. Noble graciously accepted a one-year, 6-percent salary increase. I read that Lindbergh Schools superintendent did not take his contracted salary increase, but donated it back to the district because it was for the kids. Being in the private sector, my wife and I have accepted a zero-percent increase the past two years.

Rick Olsen