To the editor:

I agree with the assertion made by Mehlville Board of Education member Rich Franz in the June 28 edition of the Call regarding teachers spending their own money for classroom supplies.

Taxpayers in Mehlville deserve to know the truth, and the truth is the minimum amount spent by teachers for classroom supplies is in the hundreds of dollars annually.

I served as treasurer and as president of a parent organization while my children were in elementary school. Each year, the parent organization provided a small stipend of $150 and later $200 for each teacher for classroom supplies.

Every year, all teachers submitted receipts, and most years all teachers claimed the entire stipend, which didn’t cover the entire cost for most teachers. While we’re on the subject, during my tenure on said parent organization, approximately $85,000 was raised and returned to the school community in the form of classroom projectors, DVD players, a sound system for the gymnasium — so that parents and grandparents could actually hear the music programs — and playground equipment that the district did not supply or could not afford to supply when the equipment failed or became obsolete.

Yes, Mehlville taxpayers, that equates to taxes you didn’t pay.

My concern is that words and actions imply there is at least one, and perhaps other members of the Mehlville Board of Education, so completely out of touch with the true cost of educating a child.

One is reminded daily of the current economic difficulties, but one fact is frequently overlooked, and that is those least affected by recent economic debacles are those with the most education.

We can educate the kids now or support them later — our choice.

Bruce Griffin

Concord