To the editor:

If Proposition R is on your ballot on Nov. 3, it is in your best interest to vote “yes.”

The Mehlville School District has historically provided one of the best educations available.

As recently as 2014, Oakville Senior High School was ranked the 88th best high school in the country and the best in the state by Newsweek.

It was sandwiched between John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Ill., and Los Alamitos High School just outside of Los Angeles, Calif. Those communities cost significantly more to live in than Oakville.

Great Schools rated the district 10/10 perennially up until this year. Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report both no longer recognize the district in their national rankings. Great Schools now rates the district a 7/10.

This confirms the dire situation presented in the recent State of the District speech by Superintendent Chris Gaines.

This district has supported the community by consistently delivering one of the best educations available to children in the country and elevated property values as a result.

Vote “no” on Proposition R on Nov. 3 and you not only hurt the future of the children in your community, but your own interests as well.

Colin Milligan

Danbury, Conn.

Editor’s note: Mr. Milligan, a 2002 graduate of Oakville High School, is the son of Call Publisher Deborah Baker and Call General Manager Bill Milligan.