To the editor:

This Mehlville respects “no” votes.

I say “this Mehlville” because this Mehlville is different.

We have a completely new and revamped administration — a new board and a new superintendent. It is no longer business as usual at the Mehlville School District.

Please remember, not only did the community vote “no” on Proposition A, they voted “yes” on a new board. The people of the Mehlville community need to take the time to get to know their new board and our interim superintendent, Dr. Jerry Chambers.

It is a new day of openness and transparency — a day in which we confront our problems head on as opposed to hiding them.

When the teachers have an issue, we address it. When our parents have an issue, we address it. When our taxpayers have an issue, we address it.

Our most recent test scores have demonstrated to me that we have the best teaching staff in St. Louis County.

As I said at a recent board meeting, for every dollar we spend, our staff gives our community a buck twenty-five in return.

Our staff runs a five-hour marathon with crutches, and I could not be prouder of them.

Keep in mind, this school district educates every child that comes through our doors. It does not matter if your child is white, black, poor, rich, blind, deaf, autistic, foreign or a National Merit semifinalist. You send us your child, and we will give them the best education our resources will allow. That is our charge.

So yes, we do respect the “no” vote and we are proving it every day with our actions.

It is time for those “no” votes to start respecting us. This Mehlville School District is leading by example, not “polarization.”

Karl Frank Jr.

vice president

Mehlville Board of Education