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Read more on Page 9A about the Mehlville Optimist Clubs Student
of the Month.
Secretary of State Jason Kan-der last week proposed the
strict-est set of restrictions on spe-cial-interest money yet filed
in Missouris Legislature. Under his plan, a lobbyist would be
prohib-ited from providing a gift or meal of any value to a
legislator, public official or staffer. Read more at
www.callnewspapers.com.
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Lindbergh voters will consider$34 million bond issue in
April
Stenger calls for Dooleys second in command to resign
Mehlville board to receive first look at proposed merit-pay
plan
Volume 17, Number 4 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014
callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123
Sixth elementary only logical solutionto address student growth,
board told
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Coaches alter appearances for good causeMehlville High School
athletic coaches Andy Guethle and Jackie Wamser
proved to be people of their word Friday. They both willingly
went before an all-school assembly and allowed their personal
appearances to be altered for the MHS Gives Back food pantry.
Guethle, the boys basketball coach, got his head shaved. Wamser,
the girls basketball coach, got pigtails that she has to wear for a
week. Pictured, from left, are: Wamser, MHS football coach Kent
Heinemann, MHS School Resource Officer Charlie Rodriguez and
Guethle. To read more and view a video, visit
www.callnewspapers.com.
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
Lindbergh Schools voters will consider a $34 million bond issue
to fund the con-struction of a new elementary school and
improvements at Lindbergh High School when they go to the polls
Tuesday, April 8.
The Board of Education voted 6-0 last week to place the bond
issue, called Prop-osition G, on the ballot. Board Treasurer
Kara Gotsch was absent from the Jan. 16 special meeting.
As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts
debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of
assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14
percent is required for passage of the measure.
If approved, bonds totaling $34,035,000(See BOND, Page 4A)
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
Construction of a sixth elementary school is the only logical
solution to address Lindbergh Schools continuing enrollment
surge.
Thats what a member of the District Growth Committee told the
Board of Edu-cation last week when presenting the pan-
els recommendation that a new elemen-tary school be built on the
nearly 10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.
Committee member Joe Marting said, ... This is the right thing
to do. This is the best thing to do. This is the only logical
solution to addressing our continuing enrollment growth ...
(See SOLUTION, Page 6A)
Economic panel inactivesince 2012 in CrestwoodBy KARI
WILLIAMSStaff Reporter
Crestwoods Economic Development Commission, which has been
inactive since 2012, could begin meeting again at the request of
the Board of Aldermen.
Resident Mike Balles told the board last week he found it
disturbing that the commission has not convened since March 2012
and its strategy for develop-ing Crestwood, formulated in November
2005, has not been updated.
This is an 8-year-old document. I think its time that the city
take a look at this, get this commission back together, review the
comments that are in there, look at what has been achieved ...
what
(See INACTIVE, Page 3A)
By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter
County officials dispute that they knew about an employees fraud
a month before his suicide, but 6th District County Councilman
Steve Stenger, D-Affton, contends they did and is calling for the
resignation of the countys second in command, Chief Operating
Officer Garry Earls.
Last September, Department of Health Director of Executive
Administration Edward Mueth killed himself the night before he
was set to meet with Earls and health department Director Dr.
Delores Gunn about Mueths suspected theft from the county.
Questions arose last week over whether officials in the health
department and County Executive Charlie Dooleys office knew about
the fraud a month before and only told police what they knew after
Mueths suicide.
With up to $3.5 million in county funds missing, top county
offi-cials, including Dooley and Earls, knew about the fraud for a
month
(See RESIGN, Page 15A)
Our town ..................... Page 3AOpinions
..................... Page 4ACalendar...................... Page
5ALindbergh news .......... Page 6ASunset Hills news ...... Page
8ASpotlight on youth ...... Page 9ACalendar......................
Page 10AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle
....... Page 12ACounty news ............... Page 15A
Inside the Call
By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter
Responding to concerns that merit pay could discourage
cooperation among Mehl-ville School District teachers, the
Compen-sation Review Committee has submitted a plan that emphasizes
district goals over individual ones when setting teacher pay.
The Board of Education is slated to get its first look at the
plan when it meets at 7 p.m. today Jan. 23 in the Administration
Building, 3120 Lemay Ferry Road.
The board will discuss the proposal and decide whether it wants
to send the plan to the Mehlville National Education Association,
or MNEA, for negotiations, as
required by a memorandum of understand-ing, or MOU, signed by
the board and the MNEA in its last round of negotiations in
2012.
As proposed, the plan ranks district goals above individual
goals for teachers, with no pay increases for teachers if the
district
(See PLAN, Page 7A)
-
SolutionConstruction of new elementary schoolright thing to do,
panel member says(Continued from Page 1A)
To address the districts increasing enrollment, the Board of
Education voted in June to establish the District Growth Committee.
The panel, comprised of district staff, parents and business
representatives, arrived at its recommenda-tion after meeting twice
in October and November.
The committee was chaired by Chief Financial Of cer Charles
Triplett and co-chaired by Brian McKenney, assis-tant
superintendent for human resources, and Karl Guyer, executive
director of planning and development.
Before committee representatives presented the panels
recommendation Jan. 14, Triplett said, The group was very thorough
and conscientious, taking a lot of informa-tion about the district
and our recent efforts to address growth, the current state of the
district, as well as the pos-sibility for handling continued
student growth. They asked great questions and made a lot of really
good comments as well ...
Marting and three other members of the District Growth Committee
Steve Cox, David Reinhardt and David Dooling presented the panels
recommendation to the school board.
Dooling said, ... The District Growth Committee evalu-ated eight
different options to deal with this long-term growth in our
elementary schools, and in doing so had three questions driving our
deliberations: Whats best for the kids? Whats best for the
community? And whats best for the staff that serve our kids?
In short, how do we keep Lindbergh Lindbergh? How do we keep our
elementary schools neighborhood schools where people are connected
to the schools and to each other in the community?
Committee members considered eight options to address enrollment
growth, Dooling said.
... Brie y, these eight options fall into three main cat-
egories: reorganization of existing facilities, using tempo-rary
facilities and new construction, he said. In reality, reorganizing
existing facilities is just a euphemism for cramming more kids into
the same space. Its not good for achievement, its been shown over
and over. Lower academic achievement leads to lower scores.
Obviously, thats not good for the kids. Lower scores lead to lower
ranks. That leads to lower property values. Thats not good for the
community.
And clearly, more and more kids with the same number of teachers
is not good for the staff, either.
As for temporary facilities, Dooling said committee members
couldnt get past safety and security concerns for students who
would use those structures.
Turning to new construction, the majority of the ele-mentary
schools sites dont have enough space to build further out. Plus,
increasing the size of our elementary schools really puts in danger
the neighborhood feel, that ability for people to be connected to
the schools, for the students and parents and the community to be
connected to the school and each other.
That brings us to our nal option that we considered: opening a
sixth elementary school on the Dressel proper-ty. This option met
all of our criteria. Its best for the kids. Its best for the
community and its best for our staff ...
Marting, who recently retired as pastor of Southminster
Presbyterian Church, told the board he has lived in the community
for 31 years. He said while all four of his children are Lindbergh
graduates, I currently have no children and no grandchildren
enrolled in the district.
During these past 31 years, my experience for the most part
participating in many municipal, ecclesiastical and educational
meetings and committees and task forces, my observation is that the
question most often asked was this: Whats the least we can do? What
can we get by with? Whats the quick x?
But in recent years, Ive observed a paradigm shift a paradigm
shift, which in my opinion, was initiated by the
Lindbergh Board of Education, Marting said. And now the question
most often asked ... is this: Whats the very best we can do for our
children? Whats the very best we can do for our community? And the
results of this para-digm shift are amazing ...
He cited a number of district accomplishments, includ-ing
Lindbergh Schools being ranked No. 1 in academic achievement among
all K-12 districts in Missouri for the fourth consecutive year and
being recognized by U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek
magazines.
... These accolades and recognitions have helped one of our
municipalities, the city of Crestwood, to be recently named the
very best place in Missouri to raise kids, Mart-ing said. ... This
commitment to excellence in education by asking the question: Whats
best for our kids? Whats best for our community? has appreciably
bene ted the entire community. Lindberghs become a destination
district for young families. Weve experienced increased property
values, and our quality of life has been enhanced.
Lindbergh Schools has become a bright, shining light in our
community, a source of pride for all of us of all ages, from our
young citizens ... to retired folk like myself, and therefore, its
with great humility and yet with a burning passion for excellence
in education that we, the men and women of the District Growth
Committee, strongly recommend the creation of an additional
elemen-tary school on the current Dressel campus. This is the right
thing to do. This is the best thing to do. This is the only logical
solution to addressing our continuing enroll-ment growth.
Marting concluded, Together, lets continue to unfurl the banner
of excellence in education with the creation of an additional
elementary school our rst elementary school in 50 years, our rst in
over half a century. Its whats best for our kids. Its whats best
for our commu-nity. Its the least we can do, and on behalf of our
com-mittee, I thank you for your consideration of our
recom-mendation tonight.
Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, January 23, 2014
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set of restrictions on special-interest money yet fi led in
Missouris Legislature. View a video and learn more about Mehlville
High School athletic coaches altering their appearances for a good
cause
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Call Publishing, Thursday, January 23, 2014 - Page 4A
9977 Lin Ferry Drive, St. Louis, MO 63123(314) 843-0102 843-0508
(fax)
Published on Thursdays by Call Publishing Inc.Statement of
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By Mike Anthony
Community owes thanksto school board members
Serving on a board of education can be a thankless job.
School board members are volun-teers who receive no pay for the
many hours they devote to their duties.
More often then not, school board members are given grief by
parents, employees and the press.
The role school board members play in our community is an
impor-tant one, as their decisions impact the education of our
children. Like we said, not everyone is always going to agree with
those decisions, but school board members deserve recognition for
their dedicated service and vital contributions to the
community.
Fittingly, Gov. Jay Nixon has de-clared Jan. 26 through Feb. 1
as School Board Recognition Week.
The goal of School Board Recogni-tion Week, which is sponsored
by the Missouri School Boards Association, is to build awareness
and under-standing of the important function an elected board of
education plays in communities and schools.
At the Jan. 14 meeting of the Lind-bergh Schools Board of
Education, Superintendent Jim Simpson de-scribed school board
members as hard-working, noting the amount of time they devote to
their volunteer job is astonishing.
... They have to study. They get a lot of materials. Its like
getting a masters degree to be on the school board, Simpson said.
It takes a year just to get the acronyms down. But once you get
into your stride, its extremely helpful to have experienced school
board members, and we have a very experienced board.
And they do this just for the good of the children. They get no
com-pensation at all for this ... Youre on the board for one reason
whats good for children. Thats been the Lindbergh boards motto and
were very proud of them, the superinten-dent added.
For their service, we thank Lind-bergh Schools Board of
Education President Kathleen Kienstra, Vice President Don Bee,
Secretary Karen Schuster, Treasurer Kara Gotsch and members Vicki
Englund, Kate Holloway and Mark Rudoff.
For their contributions, we thank Mehlville Board of Education
Presi-dent Mark Stoner, Vice President Lori Trakas, Secretary Rich
Franz and mem-bers Elaine Powers, Kathleen Eardley, Ron Fedorchak
and Larry Felton.
We encourage the Lindbergh and Mehlville communities to thank
their respective board members for their efforts to provide the
best education possible for students.
Letters policyThe Call welcomes letters to the editor.Typed
letters of 200 words or less are given priority. Letters must
be marked exclusively for the Call.Visit
www.callnewspapers.com/Site.Aboutus.html for our com-
plete letters policy.
Web exclusiveThe Call is updating its website on a daily
basis. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to read web-exclusive
stories.
To track down your web-exclusive com-munity news, simply use
your smartphone and scan the QR code to the right.
County residents should start a revolution to halt city-county
merger
Executive Editor: Mike Anthony [email protected]
To the editor:I have read articles regarding the possible merger
between the
city of St. Louis and the county.There have been several groups
formed to oppose this possible
merger. I am highly in full agreement.For all county residents,
it is very important to solve this prob-
lem before it gets on a statewide ballot. Do you honestly think
that the other residents of Missouri care whether we merge with the
city of St. Louis? It is highly possible that if this goes to a
state-wide vote, we will become part of the city of St. Louis.
The solution to this problem is fairly simple.We need, by all
means, before the Legislature places this on the
ballot, a countywide vote to make us a separate county, such as
Jefferson, Franklin or Dent. If we become a separate county away
from the city of St. Louis, then there is no way we can be merged
with the city.
County residents, this is going to happen unless we do
some-thing. Start a revolution to stop any attempt to merge.
Susan TelkerOakville
BondBond issue also would fundcritical needs at high
school(Continued from Page 1A)would be issued by the district. A
total of $23.9 million of the bond proceeds would fund the
construction of a 650-student ele-mentary school on the nearly
10-acre Dres-sel School site at 10255 Musick Road.
The district closed on the $1.94 million purchase of the
property in July 2011.
District officials also propose to use $3 million of the bond
proceeds to fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School,
including doubling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science
classrooms from exist-ing classrooms, converting a record-storage
room into two new classrooms, moderniz-ing the library and
replacing the wood floor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.
As proposed, the building projects would have $3 million in
contingency.
Proceeds from the bond issue also would be used to retire
roughly $3.5 million of debt incurred when the district purchased
the Dressel site and property adjacent to Long Elementary School.
To fund the pur-chases, the Board of Education approved the
issuance of certificates of participation, or COPs, totaling nearly
$3.5 million. The district currently spends $300,000 per year in
operational funds to pay that debt.
If Prop G is approved by voters, the COPs would be retired with
the remaining debt rolled into the bond issue and paid by the
debt-service fund, Chief Financial Officer Charles Triplett told
the board.
... Now if we put that into this bond issue, then we could pay
it off with bonds, and right now to pay off those two
cer-tificates, were using about $300,000 per year of operations
revenue to do that, he explained. So that money then would
become available for us to help on the other side of growth,
which is the person-nel, the supply side, not the building
brick-and-mortar side ...
Approval of Prop G would cost the owner of a home valued at
$100,000 an additional $39.90 per year, Triplett said. The owner of
a home valued at $300,000 would pay an additional $119.70 per
year.
The boards action came after represen-tatives of the District
Growth Committee presented the panels report to the school board
Jan. 14. The committee recommend-ed a sixth elementary school be
construct-ed on the Dressel School site to address the districts
aggressive enrollment growth.
Superintendent Jim Simpson praised the District Growth
Committees report.
... We were very pleased with the growth committees report. We
thought they did an outstanding job. They really drilled down to
the essential components of what was needed to handle the growth
..., he said Jan. 16. We give them a ton of appre-ciation for their
hard work. So we support every aspect of their report ...
The only way to handle the enrollment surge is more classrooms,
Simpson said.
... So their recommendation for a sixth elementary (school) is
right on target, he said. The district will have to have a sixth
elementary as soon as possible or we will have over-capacity
buildings and large class sizes, one thing our community has never
really accepted ...
From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential
enrollment increased by 569 students. Lindberghs official
enroll-ment for the current school year is 6,115 students, which
exceeded the districts projections by 50 students.
For the next five years, the district is pre-pared to address
the enrollment growth
at Lindbergh High School and the dis-tricts two middle schools
Sperreng and Truman. But the growth is creating a prob-lem at the
districts elementary schools.
Four elementary schools Sappington, Concord, Long and Crestwood
are de-signed for 500 students each. But three have exceeded their
capacity Sappington with 621 students, Concord with 577 students
and Long with 551 students. Crestwood is nearing capacity with 482
students, while Kennerly, designed for 450 students, exceeds
capacity with 462 students.
From 2013 to 2018, district officials proj-ect residential
enrollment will increase by 464 students, not including an
estimated 120 additional students from new subdivi-sions being
constructed.
Until a new school is constructed, Simp-son said, Were going to
be under stress. The stress is already pretty heavy in some
buildings.
Before the vote was taken to place Prop G on the ballot, board
member Vicki Eng-lund said, ... There have been a lot of other
school districts in our community that have gotten to this stage of
the game, have found the needs for their district and have created
such a huge list of items that it was very dif-ficult for the
public to kind of see the point. You know, it was more of, Well, we
need a little of this. We need a little of that. Oh, by the way, we
forget to tell you about this.
And it was just this kind of behemoth of a list of items that
the school district needs, and as a result, many times, if not all
of them, those propositions failed. I mean, what Lindbergh has
always done, and what this proposal does, is it says exactly what
our needs are. It says why we need them, and theres nothing that I
can see thats extra or frivolous. Its not a huge laundry list of
items ...
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Read more at www.callnewspapers.com about the Memories Car Clubs
car cruises that start Friday.
Lindbergh news .......... Page 2AElection 2014 .............
Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4AMehlville news
........... Page 5ALetters to the editor .... Page 6AObituaries
................... Page 7AElection 2014 ............. Page
8ACalendar...................... Page 10AClassifieds
................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A
Inside the Call
With Knost leaving Mehlville, board weighs its options
Residents lend a helping hand in BelizeCrestwood residents Jim
and Patricia Bubash display a copy of the Sun-
Crest Call in front of a house they recently built in Belize
City, Belize, along with Hand and Hand Ministries. The house was
completed in four days with the help of 12 other volunteers.
Parent volunteers say voter approvalof Prop G vital to
Lindberghs success
Five of eight Lindbergh board candidatesfully support districts
Prop G bond issue
Mehlville candidates offer varying views on merit pay
Eric Knost
Volume 17, Number 14 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, April 3, 2014
callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123
A write-in candidate, Mark Furrer, is challenging Sunset Hills
Mayor Bill Nolan in the Tuesday, April 8, election. Visit
www.callnewspapers.com for a story about this race and a story
about the Ward 1 aldermanic race in which former Alderman Douglas
McGuire is challeng-ing incumbent Rich Gau.
Web exclusive
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
Five of the candidates seeking election to the Lindbergh Schools
Board of Education next Tuesday say they fully support the
dis-tricts Proposition G bond issue that will be on the same
ballot.
During a recent forum, candidate Christo-
pher Clegg said he opposes Prop G, while two other candidates
Cori Akins and Al Faulstich said they will abide by the decision
voters make on the bond issue.
Current board President Kathleen Kien-stra, Vice President Don
Bee, board mem-ber Vicki Lorenz Englund, candidate Gary
(See FULLY, Page 2A)
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
The co-chairs of a committee promoting Lindbergh Schools
Proposition G bond issue believe passage of the measure is vital to
the districts continued academic success.
Voters will consider the $34 million bond issue to fund the
construction of a new elementary school and improvements at
Lindbergh High School when they go to the polls Tuesday, April
8.
Parents Jennifer Abercrombie and Dave Reinhardt, co-chairs of
the Yes for Prop G committee, both served on the District Growth
Committee that recommended the construction of a sixth elementary
school to address Lindberghs aggressive enroll-ment growth.
(See VITAL, Page 3A)
Hearing on QT postponed until MayStaff Report
A public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, on Quik-Trips
proposal to construct a convenience store with gas pumps at the
Missouri Department of Transportations east commuter lot at
Kennerly and Weber Hill roads has been postponed until May.
The Sunset Hills Planning and Zoning Commission now will conduct
a public hearing on QuikTrips proposal when it meets Wednesday, May
7, according to Mayor Bill Nolan.
Nolan told the Call that the developer requested the public
hear-ing be postponed until a required traffic study is
completed.
(See POSTPONED, Page 8A)
By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter
The Mehlville Board of Education is pondering its next steps
after a surprise announcement last week by Superintendent Eric
Knost that he will leave this summer to head the Rockwood School
District.
Knost first arrived in Mehlville 12 years ago as principal of
Oakville High School. When he took
the position of superintendent nearly three years ago, he called
it the opportunity of a lifetime.
I just cant stress enough that I love the Mehlville School
District, I love this community, Ive loved all 12 years that Ive
been here. It was never a case of, This is better than that, Knost
told the Call. I think it comes down to it being a new
challenge.
I do think change is inevitable in peoples lives
sometimes we ask for the change, sometimes the change is
unexpected, he added. So I just really view it as a new challenge
that became very exciting to me and there seemed to be some logical
fit with my history, my eight years that I spent in Rockwood.
Knost, 49, began his career as a band teacher in the Windsor
School District in 1988 and then spent
(See OPTIONS, Page 5A)
By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter
The five candidates running for three open seats on the
Mehlville Board of Education agreed more than they disagreed at
their candidate forum, conducted last week in advance of Tuesdays
election.
At the forum which took place before Superinten-dent Eric Knosts
announcement that he is leaving Mehlville this summer to head the
Rockwood School District the school board candidates agreed on the
importance of character education, technology and the fine arts,
teacher compensation, school security
and that they welcome transfer students from unac-credited
school districts to Mehlville.
One of the topics on which the candidates dissented was merit
pay. In February, the board unanimously approved a framework for a
merit-pay plan that places district goals above individual ones
when pay-ing teachers and sent it to contract negotiations teams
for the district and the Mehlville National Education Association,
or MNEA.
Venki Palamand, who was elected to the school board in 2007 and
defeated by Vice President Lori
(See VIEWS, Page 8A)
-
Lindbergh voters will weighProposition G next Tuesday(Continued
from Page 1A)Ujka and candidate Daniel Sampson said they fully
support Prop G.
Akins, Bee, Englund, Faulstich and Kien-stra are vying for three
three-year seats on the school board, while Clegg, Sampson and Ujka
are seeking a seat that carries a two-year term.
To address the districts rapidly increasing enrollment, a
district committee recom-mended the construction of a sixth
elemen-tary school on the site of Dressel School.
The school board voted in January to place on the ballot the $34
million bond issue that would fund the new elementary school and
improvements at Lindbergh High School.
As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts
debt-service tax rate by 21 cents to 68.3 cents per $100 of
assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14
percent is required to pass the measure.
At the districts recent forum, the candi-dates were asked if
they would vote yes on Prop G and if not, what they would propose
to address the enrollment growth.
Kienstra said, ... I think Prop G is very important to the
district, and yes, abso-lutely, I will vote yes. Im in full support
of Prop G ...
Englund said, Like Kathy, Im in sup-port of Proposition G ...
There have been other school districts in our area who have had
propositions when they have reached a point where they need to go
to the voters and again ask the community for their input,
thoughts and votes. Weve seen it. Weve seen other communities
ask for too much.
Weve seen those propositions fail ...The boards vote to place
Prop G on the
ballot was not a decision made lightly, and the board is asking
taxpayers just for what is needed, she added.
Ujka said, As far as Proposition G, Im 100 percent for it no
reservations ...
Clegg said, Personally, Im not going to vote for Prop G. Im
going to vote no ...
It would be more nancially sound to renovate Dressel instead of
razing it for a new elementary school, he added.
Sampson said, For Prop G, I will be vot-ing yes. I dont believe
there is an alterna-tive at this point that we can make to protect
our students and teachers and keep our edu-cation what it is ... On
Election Day, Ill be promoting Prop G at the polls and myself
second. I believe its that important ...
Akins said, Well, rst of all, Im fully in support of giving our
children all the re-sources they need, and saying that, with Prop
G, obviously, it will be decided April 8. The taxpayers are going
to make the decision and I have full con dence no matter what
hap-pens, our district will do the most that we can with the
resources that we have ...
Faulstich said, Im not going to say. Yeah, right now, Im, shall
we say, a fence-sitter on whether (Im) pro or against Prop G. I can
see the need, and I havent been a part of the committee that
researched it on what to do. I just have to take their word for it.
But Ill tell you, I will support what-ever the voters decide to
do.
Bee said, ... Yes, I am de nitely sup-porting Prop G. I think it
is necessary ...
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Call Publishing, Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Page 3A VitalYes vote
on Proposition Ga no-brainer, co-chair says(Continued from Page
1A)
As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts
debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of
assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14
percent is required for passage of the measure.
From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential
enrollment increased by 569 students, and from 2013 to 2018,
dis-trict of cials project residential enrollment will increase by
464 students.
... Theres projected growth, but we could ll a new elementary
school (with students) as we stand today, just as things are,
Abercrombie said. Four of our ve (elementary) buildings are already
well over capacity. Sappington (Elementary) is already going to
move classrooms into storage rooms in the basement with no windows
...
For the current school year, Lindberghs of cial enrollment is
6,115 students, which exceeded the districts projections by 50
students.
I think what is critical for voters to know is that the
information backing us is solid ..., Abercrombie said. The
enrollment and growth were seeing right now just doesnt happen at
the beginning of the school year. Concord, for example, has already
enrolled over 20 students just since January ...
If voters approve Prop G, bonds totaling $34,035,000 would be
issued by the district.
Of the bond proceeds, $23.9 million would fund the construction
of a 650-student elementary school on the nearly 10-acre Dressel
School site at 10255 Musick Road.
The district closed on the $1.94 million purchase of the
property in July 2011.
For the past four years, Lindbergh has been ranked No. 1 in
academic achieve-ment among Missouri K-12 districts.
Passage of Prop G would allow the dis-trict to continue to
provide students with the proper learning environment and small
class sizes to maintain and enhance that academic achievement, the
co-chairs said.
... Numerous studies show that children are in a much better
learning environment when the classroom sizes are small, and
Lindberghs been able to maintain that as such right now,
Abercrombie said. And I think thats one of the reasons why the
elementary schools are ranked so highly within the state ...
Reinhardt said, I cant emphasize to you ... how much research we
did on guring out the right, realistic solution for address-ing
student growth in Lindbergh ... We looked at all possible
solutions, all options to address this rapid growth. We nalized it
down to eight options after about 30 to 45 days, and then we went
ahead and had unanimous support for the solution of building a new
elementary school on the Dressel location.
We de nitely did our homework. We de nitely looked at the facts,
looked at the gures, looked at how this would affect the Lindbergh
community and we decided to come up with the solution of putting
this on the ballot to build a new elementary school ...
Of the enrollment growth, he added, Its
a fantastic problem to have. Who doesnt want more great families
coming to the Lindbergh School District? ... Its a won-derful
problem to have. Nevertheless, we need to accommodate all these
great kids that are coming to our district, and were doing that by
building a new state-of-the-art, technologically advanced
elementary school that will house 650 kids ...
Besides funding the construction of a new elementary school,
proceeds from the bond issue would fund some critical needs at
Lindbergh High School, including dou-bling the size of the
cafeteria, creating two science classrooms from existing
class-rooms, converting a record-storage room into two new
classrooms, modernizing the library and replacing the wood oor and
bleachers in Gymnasium 3.
The consequences if Prop G failed would be dire, the two
said.
... Obviously, classroom sizes would eventually have to
increase. There would be no getting around that, Abercrombie said.
In addition to that, we would lose library space, we would lose
classrooms such as art and music. But as well, even our gymnasiums
would potentially be divided because its really unlikely that you
would put trailers in for elementary school stu-dents because of
security and safety ...
That is one of the impacts. But I think another impact that
people need to recog-nize is the fact that Lindbergh Schools is the
industry of our area. People arent moving here for jobs. Theyre
moving here because of the school (district) ... If the Lindbergh
School District begins to falter in its stand-ings, I think you
will see an impact in our real estate, as well ..., she added.
Abercrombie and Reinhardt noted that the 21-cent tax-rate
increase is another example of Lindberghs longstanding phi-losophy
of taking only whats needed.
... It is set literally right at the funds we need to have,
Abercrombie said. Were not asking for anything more than what we
currently need ... Theyre asking for exactly what they need. Theyve
done a lot of research into the plan.
And having said that, I think its also affordable for each
household, she added, noting that Prop G would cost the owner of a
$200,000 home roughly $6.65 per month $79.80 per year.
Reinhardt said, One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin,
said, An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. I
cannot think of a better way to spend a few extra dollars a month,
investing in my communitys childrens futures Its just a no-brainer
to me. I feel so strongly about education and about kids futures
that I think this is de nitely the right thing to do.
The two noted that Lindberghs current tax rate is the third
lowest of the countys 22 public school districts.
Even if we get this increase, it will still place us at the fth
lowest out of all the St. Louis County school districts,
Aber-crombie said.
The response to Prop G from residents and parents has been
overwhelmingly pos-itive, according to the co-chairs.
... We do see widespread support. Never-theless, we encourage
all the yes voters to get out there on Tuesday ..., Reinhardt
said.
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Call Publishing, Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Page 4A
By Mike Anthony
Lindbergh Schools votersshould approve bond issue
Lindbergh Schools voters will con-sider Proposition G, a $34
million bond issue, when they go to the polls Tuesday.
The Call urges voters to approve the measure, as we believe its
necessary to address the districts aggressive enrollment growth.
Without the pas-sage of Prop G, we believe the aca-demic success
Lindbergh has enjoyed being ranked No. 1 in academic achievement in
the state for four con-secutive years will be jeopardized.
As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts
debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of
assessed valua-tion from 47.3 cents. A four-sev-enths majority
57.14 percent is required for passage of the measure.
If approved, proceeds from the bond issue would fund the
construction of a 650-student elementary school on the nearly
10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.
District officials also propose to use $3 million of the bond
proceeds to fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School,
including doubling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science
classrooms from existing classrooms, converting a record-stor-age
room into two new classrooms, modernizing the library and
replac-ing the wood floor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.
With a turnover in housing stock and the districts academic
success, Lindberghs enrollment surge is re-lentless. From 2007-2008
to 2012-2013, the districts residential enroll-ment increased by
569 students.
Of the districts five elementary schools, four currently exceed
their capacity. From 2013 to 2018, district officials project
residential enroll-ment will increase by 464 students, not
including an estimated 120 addi-tional students from new
subdivi-sions being constructed.
The District Growth Committee, which was comprised of parents,
community members and staff, stud-ied the issue at length and
recom-mended the construction of a sixth elementary school on the
Dressel site.
The Board of Education and Super-intendent Jim Simpson agree
with the committees recommendation.
Currently, the district has enough students to fill a sixth
elementary school. As it stands, even if Prop G is approved, the
new elementary school would not open until the 2017-2018 school
year.
Given all the facts, we believe Prop G is the only logical
solution to ad-dress Lindberghs growth, and urge voters to approve
it next Tuesday.
Letters policyThe Call welcomes letters to the editor.Typed
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To the editor:Over the years, I have helped with the
campaigns of many of Crestwoods elected officials, some more
than once.
The standard I use to help decide whether to support those who
run for a second time is simple: Once elected, how do their votes
reflect the principles and campaign promises on which they sold
themselves as candidates? There are only two people I helped who,
once elected, failed to meet this standard: Roy Robinson and Gregg
Roby.
It came as little surprise to me then when I discovered that, as
of this writing, Roy Robinson is one of Gregg Robys biggest
campaign contributors. But what is more troubling is that during
the mayoral debate,
Mr. Roby, who claims to support com-plete transparency in
government, had two opportunities to fully disclose the names of
his campaign contributors, and refused to do so. Is this blatant
lack of transparency and political doublespeak a preview of what we
can expect if he becomes mayor?
When we cast our votes for mayor on April 8, Crestwood voters
will be filling a leadership position with a three-year term.
It is a job that requires far more effort, skill and commitment
than simply punch-ing a clock at City Hall. We need to be confident
that the person who occupies the mayors seat is guided by firmly
held convictions which inform his decisions, regardless of
political consequence.
Mayor Schlink is battle-tested and well-pre-pared for future
challenges. He has respond-ed to criticism with composure and
honesty, led the city with dignity while overseeing contentious
redevelopment discussions, and continues to actively work day and
night on our behalf on multiple fronts, helping to secure
Crestwoods future. Mayor Schlink is a principled public servant,
not a politician.
The choice is clear: The most qualified candidate for mayor of
Crestwood is Jeff Schlink, and I hope you will join me in voting
for Mr. Schlink on April 8.
Martha DuchildCrestwood
Editors note: Mrs. Duchilds husband, Paul, serves as a Ward 3
alderman.
Choice is clear: Schlink most-qualified candidate to lead
Crestwood
To the editor:After attending the recent Crestwood mayoral
candidate forum,
I was so taken back with Mayor Jeff Schlinks repeated claims of
providing leadership during his term that I felt compelled to write
this letter.
In the past three years, our city has regressed, primarily
because there has been no vision, no plan and certainly no
leadership. Lead-ership requires taking a stand and making
controversial or unpopu-lar decisions when needed. Yet on critical
votes, the mayor refused to cast a tie-breaker. I can appreciate
his reluctance in delicate mat-ters, but the job requires him to
act in just these types of situations.
Three years ago, he asked for our votes and we, the residents of
Crestwood, complied. It seems reasonable that we should expect the
same from him when called upon. He can try to justify his inaction
any way he wishes, but the fact remains that he failed to fulfill
one of the fundamental obligations of the job, leadership.
Leadership also requires consensus-building, yet Crestwood
con-
tinues to suffer from a board that will not work together. The
mayor bears the responsibility to work with all members of the
board.
Not long ago, one alderman admonished Mr. Schlink for his poor
communication. We cannot expect to have consensus with-out open
communication and, clearly, this has been an ongoing problem with
this administration.
Leaders build teams that utilize the strengths of every team
mem-ber, all focused on a common goal. Make no mistake, we all make
up the team in Crestwood. However, under Mr. Schlinks leader-ship
the board is split, citizens are discouraged, business owners are
frustrated and employee morale has never been lower. Ours is a team
in disarray.
Mr. Schlink believes he has had some accomplishments in the last
three years, but to claim that he has exhibited leadership is,
frankly, an insult.
Tom BremehrCrestwood
Crestwood regressing because of lack of leadership, resident
says
Newspaper makes endorsements for contested election racesVoters
will make some critical choices
next Tuesday when they go to the polls to elect members of the
Lindbergh and Mehlville boards of education.
Sunset Hills voters also will have a choice, as Mayor Bill Nolan
and two al-dermen are being challenged by write-in candidates, and
a former alderman is chal-lenging Aldermen Rich Gau in Ward 1.
Four seats three three-year seats and one two-year seat are up
for election in Lindbergh.
Five candidates Cori Akins, board Vice President Don Bee, board
member Vicki Lorenz Englund, Al Faulstich and board President
Kathleen Kienstra are seeking three three-year seats on the
board.
Three candidates Christopher Clegg,
Daniel Sampson and Gary Ujka are seeking the two-year seat on
the board.
For the three three-year seats, we believe voters have an easy
decision since Bee, Englund and Kienstra have a proven track record
of excellent service to students and the community and have
exercised sound fiscal stewardship during their time on the board.
We urge voters to re-elect the three.
For the two-year seat, we believe voters have a more difficult
decision, as both Ujka and Sampson would make excellent board
members. But given Ujkas longtime expe-rience as an educator, we
believe he should be elected to the board next Tuesday.
With Superintendent Eric Knosts selec-tion as the new
superintendent of the Rockwood School District, effective July 1,
what the Mehlville Board of Education needs is experienced board
members.
Five candidates current board Secre-tary Rich Franz, former
board member Venki Palamand and newcomers Randy L. Howard, Jean
Pretto and Samantha Stormer are seeking three seats. All five
should be applauded for their desire to serve the community.
This newspaper endorsed Palamand last year when he ran
unsuccesfully for a third term, writing, Wed be hard-pressed to
think of a bigger advocate for students and teachers than
Palamand.
(See CONTESTED, Page 6A)
Editorial
9977 Lin Ferry Drive, St. Louis, MO 63123(314) 843-0102 843-0508
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[email protected]
More letters to the editor are featured on Page 6A
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Name this tune and wina free classified ad. Details
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Read more on Page 3A about this Queen of All Saints championship
soccer team.
The Oakville High School football team will begin the 2014
season as a Class 5 school instead of Class 6 as a result of a
recent decision by the Missouri State High School Activities
Association that also changed class assignments for several other
schools. To read more, vis-it www.callnewspapers.com.
Web exclusiveMehlville news ........... Page 2AOur town
..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page
4ACrestwood news ......... Page 5ALindbergh news .......... Page
6AMehlville news ........... Page 7ACalendar......................
Page 8ASunset Hills news ....... Page 10AClassifieds
................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A
Inside the Call
Mehlville board bids farewell to departing members
Volume 17, Number 16 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, April 17,
2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123
Lindbergh officials look to fast-track construction of new
school
Furrer calls write-in victoryfor mayoral post stunning
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
With voter approval of Proposition G last week, Lind-bergh
Schools officials look to fast-track the construction of a new
elementary school, according to Superintendent Jim Simpson.
Lindbergh voters gave the green light to Prop G for Growth in
the April 8 election. The $34 million bond issue, designed to
address the districts aggressive enroll-ment growth, received 6,599
yes votes 65.46 percent and 3,482 no votes 34.54 percent. A
four-sevenths majority 57.14 percent was required for passage.
Sixty-five-plus percent is as good as it gets, especially for a
tax increase, and a strong endorsement by our com-munity, Simpson
told the Call. More than six out of 10 people walked into the polls
and supported our direction.
The bond issue will increase the districts debt-service tax(See
LINDBERGH, Page 6A)
A promise is a promiseA promise is a promise at Margaret Buerkle
Middle School, so administrators and teachers got
up close and personal with a goat last week. If students reached
their fundraising goal for Heifer International, Buerkle
administrators and teachers agreed to kiss a goat. Students
exceeded their fundraising goal, and Buerkle staffers kept their
promise, including Assistant Principal Michelle Wood, above. Read
more on Page 9A.
Roby will take oath of officeas Crestwood mayor TuesdayBy GLORIA
LLOYDStaff Reporter
Just like in neighboring Sunset Hills, voters in Crestwood
decided last week they want new leadership, ousting current Mayor
Jeff Schlink in favor of former Alderman Gregg Roby.
In a race that turned on support for or against a redevelopment
proposal for the mall, Roby defeated Schlink by 246 votes, earning
1,719 votes, or 53.65 percent, compared to 1,473 votes, or 45.97
percent, cast for Schlink.
Roby will be sworn in at the next Board of Aldermen meeting,
Tuesday, April 22. He promised during his campaign that he would
serve as a full-time mayor, and he told the Call he plans to be at
City
(See OATH, Page 5A)
Gregg Roby
By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor
No one was more surprised about the outcome of last weeks
election in Sunset Hills than Mark Furrer, who called his write-in
victory over incumbent Mayor Bill Nolan stunning.
Furrer launched his write-in campaign for mayor roughly two
weeks before the April 8 election, sparked by his opposition to a
pro-posed QuikTrip development off Interstate 270.
... Its a stunning, stunning situation ..., Furrer told the
Call. This wasnt so much a win for me, it was more of a no to
Nolan. It was just an astounding defeat for him, not so much a
great victory for me because I mean, I gave people a choice, and by
God, they took it ...
For the mayoral race, Nolan received 955 votes 46.02 percent
while 1,120 write-in votes 53.98 percent were cast, according
(See STUNNING, Page 10A)
By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter
The Mehlville Board of Education bid an emotional farewell to
three of its members last week, focusing on the accomplishments of
the board over the past three years.
Board President Mark Stoner and board member Elaine Powers
decided not to run for re-election, and board Secretary Rich Franz
did not win re-election, placing fourth in the five-way race for
the three open seats on the board.
The three were elected in 2011, five months after voters
rejected Proposition C, an 88-cent tax-rate in-
crease, and the board has not seen much turnover since that
time. In 2012, Kathleen Eardley was elected to replace former board
member Tom Diehl, who de-cided not to run for re-election, and last
year Vice President Lori Trakas defeated longtime board mem-ber
Venki Palamand, who was re-elected last week.
In an at times emotional farewell to Stoner, Franz and Powers at
a dual board meeting April 10 the last one for departing board
members and the first for new mem-bers Superintendent Eric Knost
and the board noted how appropriate it was that the board that
oversaw so many capstone projects in the district, including
the
(See FAREWELL, Page 2A)
Mark Furrer
-
Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, April 17, 2014
LindberghBond issue also will addressimprovements at high
school(Continued from Page 1A)rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per
$100 of assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A to-tal of $23.9
million of the bond proceeds will fund the construction of a
650-student elementary school on the nearly 10-acre Dressel School
site at 10255 Musick Road.
Given the districts enrollment surge, time is of the essence in
constructing the new elementary school, according to Simpson.
From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential
enrollment increased by 569 students. Lindberghs of cial
enroll-ment for the current school year is 6,115 students, which
exceeded the districts projections by 50 students.
Four of the districts existing elementary schools already exceed
capacity, and from 2013 to 2018, district of cials project
residential enrollment will increase by 464 students, not including
an estimated 120 additional students from new subdivisions being
constructed.
All weve got to do is nd a way to handle the growth until the
building is built, the superintendent said. Theres a challenge
there because the growth is happening strongly, and so well have
crowded classrooms almost immediately.
Sappington Elementary will soon be-come our second-largest
school in this district, surpassing the middle schools ... We have
been very, very creative for next year and we are creating
classrooms that were never intended to be classrooms in Sappington
...
Classrooms are being created by splitting large kindergarten
classrooms into two, using closet space and making a classroom in a
lower-level room that has no windows, according to Simpson.
... The year after that, there will be none of that left to do
so well only be left with the library, gym and hallways, he said.
So at some point in time, the growth for that school is going to be
one in which we have to think they really cant take any more in
this school.
District of cials propose to open the new elementary school for
the 2017-2018 school year, but that wont be an easy task.
Were hoping to open in August of 17, and that is pretty much a
record build-ing so I put that little cautionary note, Simpson
said. But weve been meeting every day since it (Prop G) passed with
our architects and engineers and our people ... Our architects
(Ittner Architects) are going to put this on the front burner for
them and design the building ...
Our biggest thing is codes. Codes can hang you up for six months
in the blink of an eye, and so were going to be working with the
code people, trying to get them to understand the urgency. This
isnt one of those projects that can sit on a desk for months. Were
willing to meet any code. We just need to know what it is ...
Because of the pressure were under with the growth, were going to
try to do it in 36 months ..., he added.
Construction of a new elementary school will only increase
Lindberghs desirability as a destination district, Simpson
said.
... Because when you take the No. 1 student achievement in the
state and you put that right beside a modern, attractive,
state-of-the-art educational facility, you drive that equation even
stronger, he said. So the future is very bright for our school
district ... I hear every day almost about the houses ying off the
market in record time, being bid much higher than asking price ...
Its exciting, the fact that all these young families are moving in
droves into our school district and seeking quality education
...
I know that people sense that its a form of a dynamic, vibrant
renewal of a com-munity. Its a new generation taking root, and
saying, I want this to be our home. I want to shop at the local
stores. I want to go to the churches. But I came here for the
education.
Young families across St. Louis County are seeking the best
education for their children and thats drawing them to Lindbergh
Schools.
... Theyll migrate to communities with high-quality education
for their children, quality families especially. Those who value
education strongly, they will migrate to districts, and theyre
migrating to us, Simpson said. They can choose many school
districts, but they are actually not choosing the one theyre coming
out of. So in a way, theyre saying, I live in a school district,
but I have done my research and I am choosing a different one
...
That migration is an economic engine for our local businesses
because these young families have children, and theyre spending
paycheck to paycheck, and theyre in their spending years, he
contin-ued. Because they have young children, theyre homebodies a
lot. Theyre not free and single and heading out 10, 20 miles away
to have fun.
They are staying close to the house and theyre shopping close to
the house. That means Lindbergh Schools plays the role of a strong
economic engine not only in the housing market, but also for all
the independently owned stores and retail (establishments). This is
a wind at their back ...
Critical needs at LHSA total of $3 million of the bond issue
proceeds also will fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High
School, including dou-bling the size of the cafeteria, creating two
science classrooms from existing class-rooms, converting a
record-storage room into two new classrooms, modernizing the
library and replacing the wood oor and bleachers in Gymnasium
3.
The building projects will have $3 mil-lion in contingency.
In addition, proceeds from the bond issue will be used to retire
roughly $3.5 million of debt incurred when the district purchased
the Dressel site and property adjacent to Long Elementary
School.
To fund the purchases, the Board of Edu-cation approved the
issuance of certi cates of participation, or COPs, totaling nearly
$3.5 million.
The COPs will be retired with the remain-ing debt rolled into
the bond issue and paid by the debt-service fund. The district
cur-rently spends roughly $300,000 per year in operational revenue
for that debt.
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