Despite computer glitches that caused delays to the initial process, by Saturday night all open spots at the Mehlville School District, as determined by Superintendent Eric Knost, were filled with students from the unaccredited Riverview Gardens School District whose parents had selected Mehlville as a first choice of school.

As of Aug. 1 when it provided numbers to the Cooperating School District, or CSD, Mehlville had 216 open spots spread throughout its grades and schools, with no spots available in kindergarten due to the introduction this fall of tuition-free, all-day kindergarten.

On July 25, Superintendent Eric Knost told the Mehlville Board of Education the district had at least 150 open spots for students.

“That’s why I was reluctant to say 150 in the first place, it’s a moving target,” Knost told the Call Thursday afternoon. “(Open spaces are) evenly spread throughout the district without overloading classes.”

Knost also said, “I refuse to overload classes, so we’re focusing on classes that are already closer to those preferred desirable numbers and we’re adding to them while not compromising educational excellence. I think it’s sound, I think it’s the right thing to do.”

The lottery process run by CSD assigned students to districts, but parents will still have to go through the formal enrollment process for their children at each district. Mehlville plans to conduct an enrollment day for Riverview Gardens parents sometime before school starts Aug. 15.