My purpose in writing is to express my position regarding a matter recently under consideration by the Mehlville R-IX Board of Education.
The issue that has been a topic of debate among some is whether or not the Board of Education should conduct an “open-mic” public forum as a means of communicating with the patrons of the district. I believe this has become an item for discussion as a reaction by a few to our current COMPASS — Charting the Oakville-Mehlville Path to Advance Successful Schools — public-engagement process.
I am highly supportive of COMPASS as a means of engaging our public and I believe the end result will be that patrons will provide direction and guidance to the Mehlville Board of Education through the form of a comprehensive recommendation to the board. I commend co-chairs Dan Fowler and Jim Schibig as well as the members of the COMPASS Facilitating Team for their outstanding service to this worthy project.
It is my opinion that the COMPASS format of public engagement provides the opportunity for community input as patrons continue the study of a variety of issues facing the district and offer suggestions that will help to formulate a future strategic plan of action.
The criticism of this format is that participants at the COMPASS meetings are unable to publicly comment on issues or concerns beyond the scope of the planned agenda. As superintendent of Mehlville R-IX Schools, I feel compelled to speak out on the matter.
Nothing I say in this letter will be news to the members of the school board. In fact, I feel confident that my position mirrors that of the board, although I don’t presume to speak for it in this instance.
As superintendent, I am a strong proponent of open and honest two-way communications with our public at every opportunity. In doing so, we must be careful not to establish a platform for political agendas to be expressed that are unrelated to district issues. Also, any public forum with our district must respect the rules of confidentiality to protect the rights of everyone.
Furthermore, we must be careful not to jeopardize the work of COMPASS that is operating from a proven format for public engagement.
As a means of compromise, I support the recommendation first offered by board Secretary Micheal Ocello to conduct an “open-mic” public forum before the Thursday, Aug. 23, regular board meeting. The guidelines to be followed will be:
Individuals will be provided no more than five minutes to speak. The board will follow with a time limit of five minutes to respond.
Only issues relevant to the district will be permitted for comment.
As always, no discussions of confidential matters or those that reveal identifiable individuals will be permitted.
The tentative plan is to conduct the public forum at 6 p.m. Aug. 23 before the board meeting at the former St. John’s Elementary School at Will Avenue and Lemay Ferry Road.
Besides the “open-mic” public forum, I support the “Saturday Morning Café” format for public engagement. This design will offer our patrons the opportunity to meet with the superintendent and two board members in an informal setting. Board members will be present on a rotating basis. A local restaurant will serve as the location.
I like this method of communicating because it meets the goal of two-way communication without creating a captive audience for those who are seeking a political platform to promote non-district issues.
In closing, I believe all three formats — COMPASS, the “open-mic” forum and the Saturday Morning Café — in combination provide the key ingredients of open, honest and two-way communication. The Mehlville R-IX School District welcomes at every opportunity the privilege to hear from the owners and key stakeholders of our district. Our desire is to partner with you for the benefit of our children.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or suggestions. I may be reached by calling (314) 467-5002 or by e-mail at noblet@mehlville.k12.mo.us.
Terry Noble serves as superintendent of the Mehlville School District.
