Once again, the big spenders on the Mehlville Board of Education have outdone themselves in finding new and creative ways to waste our tax dollars.

On Jan. 15, board members unanimously voted to hire 2008 college graduate Robin Anderson for $40,000 a year to fill the newly created position of communications coordinator. Ms. Anderson appears to have no job experience except several short internships.

In this time of economic challenges, it is puzzling why Communications Director Emily McFarland chose a novice for such a lucrative position when many experienced journalists and public-relations professionals are desperately seeking employment. Earlier this month, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch laid off 14 experienced journalists from their newsroom.

Of course, this is the Mehlville School District parallel universe, where all fiscal reality is thrown to the wind.

Last November, voters approved Proposition T, which was supposed to bail out the district from a deficit incurred by a 6-percent pay raise for all employees granted for the 2007-2008 school year that the board had no money to fund. Of the $5.6 million raised by rescheduling the district’s debt, $3.2 million went to the deficit for previous raises, $1.6 million went to pay for more raises for teachers while only $800,000 went to student needs like textbooks.

The large amounts of our hard-earned tax dollars that the board and administration have already wasted on public-relations firms and in-house PR positions is astounding. If Mehlville officials spent more time and money on student achievement rather than teachers’ raises and the endless expansion of the district’s propaganda machine, perhaps Mehlville’s average academic standing would be vastly improved.

The hiring of a novice for a princely compensation package that includes a $40,000 annual salary, health benefits and a pension borders on the absurd.

The board should reverse this decision and hire a new teacher or purchase some needed textbooks instead of wasting more money on another unnecessary PR position.

This incident is more proof that the Board of Education has completely abdicated their fiduciary duties to the taxpayers and have no respect for the sacrifices we must make to finance their fiscal folly.

Jim Stonebraker

Oakville

Editor’s note: Mr. Stonebraker served six years on the Lemay Fire Protection District Board of Directors. He is a former president of the Lemay Township Republican Organization.