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

‘Stunned’ by Call article on Noble’s pay hike

To the editor:

As a taxpayer in the Mehlville School District, I was stunned by Evan Young’s revealing article concerning the outrageous 24.2-percent raise bestowed on Superintendent Terry Noble by the big-spending progressives on the Board of Education.

The voters of south county should take special note that all seven elected Board members voted unanimously for this insidious insult to the overtaxed residents of the district. 

In these challenging times of recession, high unemployment and uncertainty, it is amazing that the enlightened collectivists on Mehlville Board of Education would risk the ire of the voters as they waste our tax dollars on the COMPASS II “community-engagement process” to lobby us another tax increase.

I ask, can another big raise for the rest of the employees be on the horizon? Didn’t the district inform us recently that the financial picture in the future was not promising? How can they afford to spend more on employee salaries and benefits? Is this responsible governance of our school district?

These questions deserve answers.

It is becoming very clear to most informed citizens that anyone who wins the lottery of life by gaining employment in a governmental entity will be rewarded with much higher pay, benefit and pension packages than we poor unwashed unfortunates who pay the tax bill to perpetuate their princely compensation levels. Mr. Terry Noble is a fine man, but he doesn’t deserve a $44,088 increase in his yearly salary of $181,912 at a time when most people are struggling to make ends meet. I am insulted, inflamed and irritated by the insensitivity of board President Tom Diehl and his merry board of tax-raising elitists for this unnecessary and wasteful spending.

Every member of the school board is responsible for this tyrannical atrocity. They are rewarding their loyal bureaucrats and sending us the bill. Their over-generous transfer of wealth to Mr. Noble is a slap in the face of every Mehlville taxpayer.

Jim Stonebraker

Oakville

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