South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

South St. Louis County News

St. Louis Call Newspapers

Month-to-month deal OK’d for Mehlville Messenger

Administrators to seek input from parents about newsletter

The Mehlville School District will continue the current system of printing and distributing the district’s newsletter, but on a month-to-month basis.

The Board of Education voted unanimously last week not to renew a one-year contract with the Post-Dispatch/Suburban Journals for the printing and distribution of the Mehlville Messenger.

Instead, the board opted to have the Post-Dispatch/Suburban Journals print and distribute the newsletter on a month-to-month basis.

The board last year approved a one-year contract with the Post-Dispatch/Suburban Journals for the typesetting, printing and distribution of the Messenger. That contract expired with the Messenger’s August 2007 issue. The Journals were awarded the contract after submitting a low bid of $48,936 and had proposed a contract for the 2007-2008 school year in the same amount.

Besides deciding to continue on a month-to-month basis with the Journals, the board’s motion stipulated that Superintendent Terry Noble and administrators will obtain feedback from parents about the Messenger and its current delivery method.

In addition, Noble will speak with Rod Wright of UNICOM•ARC to determine if clarification or more information is needed regarding questions asked about the Messenger in a telephone survey conducted in January by Wright’s firm.

In June, board members tabled the renewal of the contract after discussing the the possibility of delivering the Messenger by direct mail rather than having the newsletter inserted monthly into the Suburban Journals and Post. But mailing the newsletter likely would double the amount the district currently is spending, according to School/Community Relations Director Patrick Wallace.

During a Board of Education meeting July 26, Wallace presented three telephone surveys conducted in recent years that included readership information about local newspapers.

After some preliminary discussion, board Vice President Karl Frank Jr. said, “I’d like to move to suspend the printing and delivery of the Mehlville Messenger indefinitely until we have a better feel for the effectiveness of our delivery method and who’s actually receiving it in the Journal.”

Board member Venki Palamand said, “I’m fine with that. I would second that motion …”

Board member Cindy Christopher said that with the district’s upcoming Missouri School Improvement Program review, halting the distribution of the Messenger would be a bad idea.

“… We’re responsible for communicating with our community. I don’t think that’s a good idea at all,” she said.

Board Secretary Micheal Ocello asked Frank, “Are you suggesting that we don’t mail it either? …”

Frank said if the board decided to mail the Messenger, that would be fine, but with his motion he was suggesting the board doesn’t really have a good grasp on the effectiveness of the current delivery method.

Board President Tom Diehl asked Wallace if the Journal would consider printing and distributing the Messenger on a month-to-month basis.

“I anticipated you might ask me that question,” he said. “I did ask them if they would consider a month-to-month basis. They said they would work with us, but it wouldn’t be the same price because the reason we get the price that we get is because we agreed to a 12-month contract.”

But Wallace said the Journals didn’t provide a price for month to month.

Board members discussed at length their perceptions of the effectiveness of the current delivery method for the Messenger, informal surveys some have conducted regarding the current delivery method and the telephone surveys with readership in-formation about local newspapers.

The UNICOM•ARC survey conducted in January showed that recognition numbers for the Messenger were at an all-time high, but Frank said Wright has told him he wishes he asked more specific questions about the delivery method.

Board member Larry Felton later said, “Well, I guess my take on this is we have an obligation to make data-driven decisions. We have good, sound empirical data that we have paid good money for and we also have the benefit of surveys that other school districts have paid money for. Right or wrong, they paint a picture. Now until we have a better idea of how we’re going to assess readership and improve the process, then I don’t think we disrupt the process.

“Perhaps we abbreviate it with a shorter period of time to give us the flexibility to make that evaluation, but I don’t think we discontinue distributing the Messenger until we have an alternative.”

Ocello said, “I think this is an incredibly important issue for all of us. That’s why there’s been a lot of passion about it … I think we’re at a point where we’re questioning whether or not something’s effective. And what concerns me and I wish Rod was here was whether or not he really believes the questions that were asked about the Messenger give us the answers that we’re looking for.

“But in the meantime, we do have the ability to go month to month. What it seems to me would be maybe a reasonable consideration is to let it be month to month and ask the administration to come back with the assistance of Rod Wright and either clarify that: You know what, what we did with the survey was adequate. It really does tell the answer. We don’t need more of this. Or no, you know what, we need to go out and do a little bit better survey. Zero down on this. Let’s get the right answer. And I think we all feel very strongly that it’s important that people are getting it and they have an opportunity to read it.

“So it seems if we do that, we don’t disrupt the flow. It continues to happen the way it is. We may have to spend another thousand or two-thousand dollars. This is an important enough issue to do that, to spend that money. It’s going to be cheaper than mailing.”

Wallace said, “Yes, sir.”

Ocello continued, “And we don’t hurt anything in the meantime and we give the administration a chance to really find out.”

Noble later said, “… I would recommend to you that we consider just continuing what we’re doing on a month to month and give us the opportunity to talk to Rod Wright, just as Micheal said, and see how valid he feels the survey questions are about the Messenger and go ahead and poll our parents to get some feedback from them. Like I said, it may not tell us what happens to our patrons who aren’t directly attached to the district, but if we get negative from them, we’ll know that should be the confirmation you’re looking for.”

Frank’s motion was amended to include Noble’s recommendation and unanimously approved by the board.

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