Serving on a local board of education is the highest form of community service.

That’s why we believe school board members should be commended for their service, and it’s only fitting this week has been designated as School Board Recognition Week by Gov. Jay Nixon.

Those serving on school boards are unpaid volunteers who work countless hours for the benefit of both the school district and the entire community.

Such service often can be a thankless job, so we applaud members of the Lindbergh Schools and the Mehlville School District boards of education for stepping up and serving their respective communities.

That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone always will agree with the decisions school board members make nor will the board members themselves always agree on every issue, but that’s the way democracy works in this great country of ours.

With the recent closing of candidate filing for the April 3 school board elections, it’s evident the Lindbergh board will lose two longtime members whose service to the district and the community has been impeccable — Mark Rudoff and Ken Fey.

Rudoff was first elected to the Lindbergh school board in April 1999 and has served four, three-year terms.

He was unopposed in the April 2011 election to serve the last year of former board member Janine Fabick’s term. Fabick resigned in 2010 after moving out of the district.

Rudoff has had an incredible tenure as a member of the Lindbergh board, including serving three, one-year terms as president. His contributions to the betterment of the community have been impressive and will have a lasting impact on the quality of life in Lindbergh. He will be sorely missed on the board.

The same also can be said of Fey, first elected in 2003, who decided not to seek a fourth three-year term. Fey also has had a remarkable tenure on the Lindbergh board, including serving three, one-year terms as board president.

Fey proved his leadership skills were second to none when he served as board president during one of the most tumultuous times in the district’s recent history.

We thank Rudoff and Fey — as well as all the members of the Lindbergh and Mehlville boards of education — for their dedicated service to improving the quality of education in south county.