For the Mehlville School Board

This is a letter I received sent from a parent in our district.

Dear Fellow Parent/Resident of the Mehlville School District:

I am writing this letter because our school Board elections are less than two weeks away. On Tuesday April 8th voters in the area will be voting to fill 3 open spots on the Mehlville school board. I have personally spoken to each of the “new” candidates running and I also attended the Board Candidate Forum so I could personally educate myself on each of the candidates. I believe that it is crucial to elect the right Board of Education members because as was recently reported in the newspaper our superintendent disclosed that the budget projections for our district look pretty dismal for the year 2010-11 and our district reserves will dip below what is acceptable and required by the state which means we will be viewed as a “distressed” school district. I can’t tell you what that will do to our property values. The next Board will have the difficult task of navigating us through these tough times.

(SEE ATTACHED LETTER SENT TO STAFF ABOUT THE BUDGET-Note: this was forwarded to me and most of it was already discussed in the newspaper but I thought it explains what is happening very well.)

The following is my take on the candidates that are running. Again, it is only my opinion based on the information that I have gathered about each candidate via conversations and by listening to how they answered questions at the Forum. I have listed the web sites of those that I knew had them, some only have blogs.

Karl Frank Jr. – Karl is running for a second term to the Mehlville Board. I am sure Karl cares for kids because he has kids in the district. However, it has become public knowledge and was reported in the newspaper last year, that shortly after Mr. Frank was elected he was in bankruptcy. I personally believe that a candidate who ran his last campaign on accountability needs to be someone who is personally accountable as well. If you cannot handle your own personal/business finances you have no business making decisions about an almost $100 million dollar budget. It is why other Board members last year didn’t feel it was a good idea for him to be Board President. I know for a fact, that some of the more experienced Board members have challenged many of the decisions that were made over the last year knowing that it would not be good for the district financially. So again, I appreciate Mr. Frank’s willingness to serve on the Board, because it is a thankless job, I just think that his personal life disqualifies him. Mr. Frank asked the participants at the Forum “if we thought the district was better off since he came on board?” In light of the recent financial info that has come out about the district I would have to say NO.

Chris Brown, David Bertelsen and Linda Mooy are the 3 Republicans running. Their main message at the forum was that they wanted to improve academic excellence but all said that they would NEVER vote for a tax increase for the district no matter what the amount. None of them has really been involved in the district until they were running for the Board so I did not feel that they were fully aware of the issues that face our school district. Furthermore, only Chris Brown has kids in the district. I believe that their motives are political and that they answered certain questions the same way. I would be the first to tell you that I have not agreed with every decision made by our district of late, but I think that our district is heading into some tough times financially and we will have to eventually pass an operations tax levy (we have not done so in 20 years) It will be detrimental to have people on the Board who will work against any tax initiative.

Deb Langland- www.Langland2008.com Deb has one child that has graduated from the district and one still at Oakville Sr. Every step of the way, Deb has volunteered at her kids’ schools and served on several committees throughout her child’s education like Long Range Planning, Citizens Advisory Committee and currently serves as Vice President for the Oakville/Mehlville Foundation which sponsors the Walk-Run every year that raises money for teacher’s grants and tutoring. Serving on committees like these allows individuals to see the big picture about the challenges that our school district faces. I believe we will need Board members with experience to get the job done. Also, if you check out her web site, it is plain to see that she is a person of vision who is willing to roll up her sleeves and work for kids. She also brings over 20 years of excellent business experience. She will make good decisions for kids and for taxpayers.

Marea Kluth- Hoppe – www.MareaForMehlville.com Marea has one daughter that graduated from the district. She is also a former Mehlville Board member. During her time on the Board the budget was balanced each year without dipping into reserves to accomplish this. She served on several committees throughout her child’s education, Mother’s Club, PTO, Band Parents, Long Range Planning, COMPASS and is the current president of the Oakville Mehlville Foundation which sponsors the Walk-Run that raises money for teacher’s grants and tutoring. One look at Marea’s web site and you will realize that this woman has the experience and the willingness to volunteer. We need Board members that have the time to serve and be in the community to get an accurate pulse of the issues that need to be addressed to maintain academic excellence in our schools. Marea brings experience. I have heard it said that history is sometimes our best teacher. Marea knows our district’s history. It’s highs and lows. What has worked and what has failed. She will make good decisions for kids and for taxpayers.

Drew Frauenhoffer- www.electdrewf.com Drew is a graduate of the District and has young children in the District. I believe that he has done a good job of educating himself on the challenges facing our district. He owns his own Human Resources consulting business and I believe he has a good business sense. I believe he will ultimately ask the right questions and I believe he will make good decisions for kids.

Erin Weber- www.erin4Mehlville.com Erin is a graduate of Oakville and has 3 kids in the district. Her emphasis is on healthy and safe schools. I like that Erin has kids in the district.

I encourage you to check out these candidates’ websites and find out more about them. Please feel free to forward this info along to your friends and family. It is so important as a community that we are informed about the individuals who will be making decisions for our school district during this most crucial time. Most importantly, please vote on Tuesday April 8th!!