Superintendent Eric Knost will host a Mehlville School District town-hall meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at Canaan Baptist Church, 5409 Baumgartner Road.

Knost, who became Mehlville superintendent in July 2011, hosted his first town-hall meeting that fall.

He said he planned to conduct the town-hall meetings on a regular basis throughout the school year and offer residents a forum to speak, especially if they’re uncomfortable going to a Board of Education meeting and signing up to speak during a period for public comment.

The town-hall meetings have no set agenda, but are driven by questions, comments, concerns and suggestions from residents who attend.

A wide range of topics has been discussed at previous town-hall meetings, including technology, facility upgrades, school safety, district finances and tuition-free, full-day kindergarten — to name a few.

Given all the events of the current school year, we’re sure there will be no shortage of topics to be discussed during next week’s town-hall meeting. As we’ve noted before, though these events are billed as town-hall meetings, we believe a more appropriate title would be “A Conversation With the Superintendent.”

We urge residents to attend next week’s town-hall meeting and resume the conversation with Knost, who has proved to be one of the most accessible superintendents in the history of the Mehlville School District.

Knost has communicated with residents through letters to the editor, invited residents to call him at (314) 467-5001 and has offered to meet one on one with residents, including district critics.

Under Knost’s leadership, we believe Mehlville has made great strides in improving academic achievement, programs and the district’s facilities — particularly the new tennis court complex at Bernard Middle School and Mehlville’s first auditorium, nearly finished on the Mehlville Senior High School campus.

We’ve found the superintendent’s town-hall meetings to be enlightening and urge residents to attend.

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Another town-hall meeting Oakville residents may want to attend next week is being sponsored by Rep. Marsha Haefner, R-Oakville.

Haefner’s meeting to discuss current issues in the community will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the Oakville Senior High School Gymnasium, 5557 Milburn Road.