To the editor:

Recently, while researching school board candidates, I came across Internet posts about current Mehlville Board of Education members, and the accusations were simply outrageous.

They refer to current school board Secretary Rich Franz as a walrus and Darth Vader. They accuse him of tyranny and ignorance and not caring about the kids, and suggested that this is a dark time for the Mehlville School District.

In the last three years, the current school board has been one of the most productive ever. They built Mehlville’s first-ever auditorium; approved tuition-free, all-day kindergarten; approved a five-year facilities plan; built new tennis courts; increased school security and added new security hardware; expanded the number of Advanced Placement classes; expanded technology and increased computer classes; increased teachers’ compensation and moved forward on a merit-pay plan for the future; held the line on tax increases; and improved the district’s reserve fund to more than $22 million.

All this was accomplished while restoring public confidence that had been destroyed by the spend-crazy group that had preceded them. By the way, Rich Franz voted for every one of these measures.

If you want to learn about the activity of the school board, there are a number of ways to do it. One way is to simply do a search on the Call’s website. You can search for school board activity or enter a school board member’s name and you will see past articles and vote results. Another way is by visiting the school district’s website. Mehlville posts videos of all the school board meetings.

Lindbergh Schools’ website has all of the school board agendas posted. It is also important to attend candidate forums that are held each election cycle by both the school districts and other groups.

Beware of those who use innuendo and misquotes to demean those who disagree with them. An informed voter makes informed choices.

Jim Murphy

Oakville

Editor’s note: Mr. Murphy is the father of Mehlville Board of Education member Kathleen Eardley.