To the editor:

In your Feb. 24 edition, you ran a story on Page 8A headlined “Mehlville ranks high in return on investment.”

After all the negative articles and whining letters to the editor regarding the Mehlville School District, this article should have been front-page news.

As the article states, this study was conducted by the Center for American Progress — a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, not a company hired by the district, not a phone survey conducted by the district — but an organization that according to the article evaluated “nearly all U.S. public school districts with a total enrollment of 250 or more students.”

Quoting from the article: “When stacked against the 523 Missouri school districts studied for the report, the Mehlville School District is tied for the top in two of three requirement categories including “Basic Return on Investment” and “Adjusted Return on Investment.” This is good news for a change.

In reviewing the

website, it defines the Basic Return on Investment as a measure that rates school districts on how much academic achievement a district gets for each dollar spent relative to other districts in their state.

In per-pupil spending, we rank 21st from the bottom out of 370 listed in our state.

These statements alone should quell some of the naysayers who keep repeating that the district needs to live within its means and cut spending where necessary. Doesn’t this report help qualify that the Mehlville School District does spend its money wisely?

Come on folks. Support our school district and our kids.

Paul B. Anderson

Concord