To the editor:

As a parent of three Mehlville graduates and an active parent during my time with the district, I am disappointed that the school board seems to have opened its pocketbook at our expense.

While I can appreciate and understand the salary market for superintendents in the St. Louis area, the Mehlville school board is the hiring entity in this situation.

How about some common sense when setting the rules?

We enjoyed the relationship with former Superintendent Eric Knost and the desire to find someone for the longer term was understandable — you did that with the appropriate salary — but did you really have to bribe someone $1,000 a month to move to the district?

That is flat-out insulting — you set the rules. Would it have been out of bounds to require a new superintendent to live in the district if that is what you wanted? There are plenty of occupations that require it — would it have been a hindrance?

Maybe, maybe not — if a person was seeking a position to make a difference and grow, would relocating to that area be so unreasonable? As we are entering the cycle of a probable tax increase to properly support our school system, you should have thought out the hiring process a little more soundly.

Yes, the community would like an engaged superintendent here for the long haul, but did we really need to bribe one with additional housing incentives?