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Read more on Page 9A about the Mehlville Optimist Clubs Student of the Month.

Secretary of State Jason Kan-der last week proposed the strict-est set of restrictions on spe-cial-interest money yet filed in Missouris Legislature. Under his plan, a lobbyist would be prohib-ited from providing a gift or meal of any value to a legislator, public official or staffer. Read more at www.callnewspapers.com.

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Lindbergh voters will consider$34 million bond issue in April

Stenger calls for Dooleys second in command to resign

Mehlville board to receive first look at proposed merit-pay plan

Volume 17, Number 4 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

Sixth elementary only logical solutionto address student growth, board told

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Coaches alter appearances for good causeMehlville High School athletic coaches Andy Guethle and Jackie Wamser

proved to be people of their word Friday. They both willingly went before an all-school assembly and allowed their personal appearances to be altered for the MHS Gives Back food pantry. Guethle, the boys basketball coach, got his head shaved. Wamser, the girls basketball coach, got pigtails that she has to wear for a week. Pictured, from left, are: Wamser, MHS football coach Kent Heinemann, MHS School Resource Officer Charlie Rodriguez and Guethle. To read more and view a video, visit www.callnewspapers.com.

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

Lindbergh Schools voters will consider a $34 million bond issue to fund the con-struction of a new elementary school and improvements at Lindbergh High School when they go to the polls Tuesday, April 8.

The Board of Education voted 6-0 last week to place the bond issue, called Prop-osition G, on the ballot. Board Treasurer

Kara Gotsch was absent from the Jan. 16 special meeting.

As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14 percent is required for passage of the measure.

If approved, bonds totaling $34,035,000(See BOND, Page 4A)

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

Construction of a sixth elementary school is the only logical solution to address Lindbergh Schools continuing enrollment surge.

Thats what a member of the District Growth Committee told the Board of Edu-cation last week when presenting the pan-

els recommendation that a new elemen-tary school be built on the nearly 10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.

Committee member Joe Marting said, ... This is the right thing to do. This is the best thing to do. This is the only logical solution to addressing our continuing enrollment growth ...

(See SOLUTION, Page 6A)

Economic panel inactivesince 2012 in CrestwoodBy KARI WILLIAMSStaff Reporter

Crestwoods Economic Development Commission, which has been inactive since 2012, could begin meeting again at the request of the Board of Aldermen.

Resident Mike Balles told the board last week he found it disturbing that the commission has not convened since March 2012 and its strategy for develop-ing Crestwood, formulated in November 2005, has not been updated.

This is an 8-year-old document. I think its time that the city take a look at this, get this commission back together, review the comments that are in there, look at what has been achieved ... what

(See INACTIVE, Page 3A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

County officials dispute that they knew about an employees fraud a month before his suicide, but 6th District County Councilman Steve Stenger, D-Affton, contends they did and is calling for the resignation of the countys second in command, Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls.

Last September, Department of Health Director of Executive Administration Edward Mueth killed himself the night before he

was set to meet with Earls and health department Director Dr. Delores Gunn about Mueths suspected theft from the county.

Questions arose last week over whether officials in the health department and County Executive Charlie Dooleys office knew about the fraud a month before and only told police what they knew after Mueths suicide.

With up to $3.5 million in county funds missing, top county offi-cials, including Dooley and Earls, knew about the fraud for a month

(See RESIGN, Page 15A)

Our town ..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4ACalendar...................... Page 5ALindbergh news .......... Page 6ASunset Hills news ...... Page 8ASpotlight on youth ...... Page 9ACalendar...................... Page 10AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12ACounty news ............... Page 15A

Inside the Call

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

Responding to concerns that merit pay could discourage cooperation among Mehl-ville School District teachers, the Compen-sation Review Committee has submitted a plan that emphasizes district goals over individual ones when setting teacher pay.

The Board of Education is slated to get its first look at the plan when it meets at 7 p.m. today Jan. 23 in the Administration Building, 3120 Lemay Ferry Road.

The board will discuss the proposal and decide whether it wants to send the plan to the Mehlville National Education Association, or MNEA, for negotiations, as

required by a memorandum of understand-ing, or MOU, signed by the board and the MNEA in its last round of negotiations in 2012.

As proposed, the plan ranks district goals above individual goals for teachers, with no pay increases for teachers if the district

(See PLAN, Page 7A)

SolutionConstruction of new elementary schoolright thing to do, panel member says(Continued from Page 1A)

To address the districts increasing enrollment, the Board of Education voted in June to establish the District Growth Committee. The panel, comprised of district staff, parents and business representatives, arrived at its recommenda-tion after meeting twice in October and November.

The committee was chaired by Chief Financial Of cer Charles Triplett and co-chaired by Brian McKenney, assis-tant superintendent for human resources, and Karl Guyer, executive director of planning and development.

Before committee representatives presented the panels recommendation Jan. 14, Triplett said, The group was very thorough and conscientious, taking a lot of informa-tion about the district and our recent efforts to address growth, the current state of the district, as well as the pos-sibility for handling continued student growth. They asked great questions and made a lot of really good comments as well ...

Marting and three other members of the District Growth Committee Steve Cox, David Reinhardt and David Dooling presented the panels recommendation to the school board.

Dooling said, ... The District Growth Committee evalu-ated eight different options to deal with this long-term growth in our elementary schools, and in doing so had three questions driving our deliberations: Whats best for the kids? Whats best for the community? And whats best for the staff that serve our kids?

In short, how do we keep Lindbergh Lindbergh? How do we keep our elementary schools neighborhood schools where people are connected to the schools and to each other in the community?

Committee members considered eight options to address enrollment growth, Dooling said.

... Brie y, these eight options fall into three main cat-

egories: reorganization of existing facilities, using tempo-rary facilities and new construction, he said. In reality, reorganizing existing facilities is just a euphemism for cramming more kids into the same space. Its not good for achievement, its been shown over and over. Lower academic achievement leads to lower scores. Obviously, thats not good for the kids. Lower scores lead to lower ranks. That leads to lower property values. Thats not good for the community.

And clearly, more and more kids with the same number of teachers is not good for the staff, either.

As for temporary facilities, Dooling said committee members couldnt get past safety and security concerns for students who would use those structures.

Turning to new construction, the majority of the ele-mentary schools sites dont have enough space to build further out. Plus, increasing the size of our elementary schools really puts in danger the neighborhood feel, that ability for people to be connected to the schools, for the students and parents and the community to be connected to the school and each other.

That brings us to our nal option that we considered: opening a sixth elementary school on the Dressel proper-ty. This option met all of our criteria. Its best for the kids. Its best for the community and its best for our staff ...

Marting, who recently retired as pastor of Southminster Presbyterian Church, told the board he has lived in the community for 31 years. He said while all four of his children are Lindbergh graduates, I currently have no children and no grandchildren enrolled in the district.

During these past 31 years, my experience for the most part participating in many municipal, ecclesiastical and educational meetings and committees and task forces, my observation is that the question most often asked was this: Whats the least we can do? What can we get by with? Whats the quick x?

But in recent years, Ive observed a paradigm shift a paradigm shift, which in my opinion, was initiated by the

Lindbergh Board of Education, Marting said. And now the question most often asked ... is this: Whats the very best we can do for our children? Whats the very best we can do for our community? And the results of this para-digm shift are amazing ...

He cited a number of district accomplishments, includ-ing Lindbergh Schools being ranked No. 1 in academic achievement among all K-12 districts in Missouri for the fourth consecutive year and being recognized by U.S. News and World Report and Newsweek magazines.

... These accolades and recognitions have helped one of our municipalities, the city of Crestwood, to be recently named the very best place in Missouri to raise kids, Mart-ing said. ... This commitment to excellence in education by asking the question: Whats best for our kids? Whats best for our community? has appreciably bene ted the entire community. Lindberghs become a destination district for young families. Weve experienced increased property values, and our quality of life has been enhanced.

Lindbergh Schools has become a bright, shining light in our community, a source of pride for all of us of all ages, from our young citizens ... to retired folk like myself, and therefore, its with great humility and yet with a burning passion for excellence in education that we, the men and women of the District Growth Committee, strongly recommend the creation of an additional elemen-tary school on the current Dressel campus. This is the right thing to do. This is the best thing to do. This is the only logical solution to addressing our continuing enroll-ment growth.

Marting concluded, Together, lets continue to unfurl the banner of excellence in education with the creation of an additional elementary school our rst elementary school in 50 years, our rst in over half a century. Its whats best for our kids. Its whats best for our commu-nity. Its the least we can do, and on behalf of our com-mittee, I thank you for your consideration of our recom-mendation tonight.

Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, January 23, 2014

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www.callnewspapers.com

DONT MISS WEB EXCLUSIVES

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By Mike Anthony

Community owes thanksto school board members

Serving on a board of education can be a thankless job.

School board members are volun-teers who receive no pay for the many hours they devote to their duties.

More often then not, school board members are given grief by parents, employees and the press.

The role school board members play in our community is an impor-tant one, as their decisions impact the education of our children. Like we said, not everyone is always going to agree with those decisions, but school board members deserve recognition for their dedicated service and vital contributions to the community.

Fittingly, Gov. Jay Nixon has de-clared Jan. 26 through Feb. 1 as School Board Recognition Week.

The goal of School Board Recogni-tion Week, which is sponsored by the Missouri School Boards Association, is to build awareness and under-standing of the important function an elected board of education plays in communities and schools.

At the Jan. 14 meeting of the Lind-bergh Schools Board of Education, Superintendent Jim Simpson de-scribed school board members as hard-working, noting the amount of time they devote to their volunteer job is astonishing.

... They have to study. They get a lot of materials. Its like getting a masters degree to be on the school board, Simpson said. It takes a year just to get the acronyms down. But once you get into your stride, its extremely helpful to have experienced school board members, and we have a very experienced board.

And they do this just for the good of the children. They get no com-pensation at all for this ... Youre on the board for one reason whats good for children. Thats been the Lindbergh boards motto and were very proud of them, the superinten-dent added.

For their service, we thank Lind-bergh Schools Board of Education President Kathleen Kienstra, Vice President Don Bee, Secretary Karen Schuster, Treasurer Kara Gotsch and members Vicki Englund, Kate Holloway and Mark Rudoff.

For their contributions, we thank Mehlville Board of Education Presi-dent Mark Stoner, Vice President Lori Trakas, Secretary Rich Franz and mem-bers Elaine Powers, Kathleen Eardley, Ron Fedorchak and Larry Felton.

We encourage the Lindbergh and Mehlville communities to thank their respective board members for their efforts to provide the best education possible for students.

Letters policyThe Call welcomes letters to the editor.Typed letters of 200 words or less are given priority. Letters must

be marked exclusively for the Call.Visit www.callnewspapers.com/Site.Aboutus.html for our com-

plete letters policy.

Web exclusiveThe Call is updating its website on a daily

basis. Visit www.callnewspapers.com to read web-exclusive stories.

To track down your web-exclusive com-munity news, simply use your smartphone and scan the QR code to the right.

County residents should start a revolution to halt city-county merger

Executive Editor: Mike Anthony news1@callnewspapers.com

To the editor:I have read articles regarding the possible merger between the

city of St. Louis and the county.There have been several groups formed to oppose this possible

merger. I am highly in full agreement.For all county residents, it is very important to solve this prob-

lem before it gets on a statewide ballot. Do you honestly think that the other residents of Missouri care whether we merge with the city of St. Louis? It is highly possible that if this goes to a state-wide vote, we will become part of the city of St. Louis.

The solution to this problem is fairly simple.We need, by all means, before the Legislature places this on the

ballot, a countywide vote to make us a separate county, such as Jefferson, Franklin or Dent. If we become a separate county away from the city of St. Louis, then there is no way we can be merged with the city.

County residents, this is going to happen unless we do some-thing. Start a revolution to stop any attempt to merge.

Susan TelkerOakville

BondBond issue also would fundcritical needs at high school(Continued from Page 1A)would be issued by the district. A total of $23.9 million of the bond proceeds would fund the construction of a 650-student ele-mentary school on the nearly 10-acre Dres-sel School site at 10255 Musick Road.

The district closed on the $1.94 million purchase of the property in July 2011.

District officials also propose to use $3 million of the bond proceeds to fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School, including doubling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science classrooms from exist-ing classrooms, converting a record-storage room into two new classrooms, moderniz-ing the library and replacing the wood floor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.

As proposed, the building projects would have $3 million in contingency.

Proceeds from the bond issue also would be used to retire roughly $3.5 million of debt incurred when the district purchased the Dressel site and property adjacent to Long Elementary School. To fund the pur-chases, the Board of Education approved the issuance of certificates of participation, or COPs, totaling nearly $3.5 million. The district currently spends $300,000 per year in operational funds to pay that debt.

If Prop G is approved by voters, the COPs would be retired with the remaining debt rolled into the bond issue and paid by the debt-service fund, Chief Financial Officer Charles Triplett told the board.

... Now if we put that into this bond issue, then we could pay it off with bonds, and right now to pay off those two cer-tificates, were using about $300,000 per year of operations revenue to do that, he explained. So that money then would

become available for us to help on the other side of growth, which is the person-nel, the supply side, not the building brick-and-mortar side ...

Approval of Prop G would cost the owner of a home valued at $100,000 an additional $39.90 per year, Triplett said. The owner of a home valued at $300,000 would pay an additional $119.70 per year.

The boards action came after represen-tatives of the District Growth Committee presented the panels report to the school board Jan. 14. The committee recommend-ed a sixth elementary school be construct-ed on the Dressel School site to address the districts aggressive enrollment growth.

Superintendent Jim Simpson praised the District Growth Committees report.

... We were very pleased with the growth committees report. We thought they did an outstanding job. They really drilled down to the essential components of what was needed to handle the growth ..., he said Jan. 16. We give them a ton of appre-ciation for their hard work. So we support every aspect of their report ...

The only way to handle the enrollment surge is more classrooms, Simpson said.

... So their recommendation for a sixth elementary (school) is right on target, he said. The district will have to have a sixth elementary as soon as possible or we will have over-capacity buildings and large class sizes, one thing our community has never really accepted ...

From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential enrollment increased by 569 students. Lindberghs official enroll-ment for the current school year is 6,115 students, which exceeded the districts projections by 50 students.

For the next five years, the district is pre-pared to address the enrollment growth

at Lindbergh High School and the dis-tricts two middle schools Sperreng and Truman. But the growth is creating a prob-lem at the districts elementary schools.

Four elementary schools Sappington, Concord, Long and Crestwood are de-signed for 500 students each. But three have exceeded their capacity Sappington with 621 students, Concord with 577 students and Long with 551 students. Crestwood is nearing capacity with 482 students, while Kennerly, designed for 450 students, exceeds capacity with 462 students.

From 2013 to 2018, district officials proj-ect residential enrollment will increase by 464 students, not including an estimated 120 additional students from new subdivi-sions being constructed.

Until a new school is constructed, Simp-son said, Were going to be under stress. The stress is already pretty heavy in some buildings.

Before the vote was taken to place Prop G on the ballot, board member Vicki Eng-lund said, ... There have been a lot of other school districts in our community that have gotten to this stage of the game, have found the needs for their district and have created such a huge list of items that it was very dif-ficult for the public to kind of see the point. You know, it was more of, Well, we need a little of this. We need a little of that. Oh, by the way, we forget to tell you about this.

And it was just this kind of behemoth of a list of items that the school district needs, and as a result, many times, if not all of them, those propositions failed. I mean, what Lindbergh has always done, and what this proposal does, is it says exactly what our needs are. It says why we need them, and theres nothing that I can see thats extra or frivolous. Its not a huge laundry list of items ...

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Read more at www.callnewspapers.com about the Memories Car Clubs car cruises that start Friday.

Lindbergh news .......... Page 2AElection 2014 ............. Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4AMehlville news ........... Page 5ALetters to the editor .... Page 6AObituaries ................... Page 7AElection 2014 ............. Page 8ACalendar...................... Page 10AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A

Inside the Call

With Knost leaving Mehlville, board weighs its options

Residents lend a helping hand in BelizeCrestwood residents Jim and Patricia Bubash display a copy of the Sun-

Crest Call in front of a house they recently built in Belize City, Belize, along with Hand and Hand Ministries. The house was completed in four days with the help of 12 other volunteers.

Parent volunteers say voter approvalof Prop G vital to Lindberghs success

Five of eight Lindbergh board candidatesfully support districts Prop G bond issue

Mehlville candidates offer varying views on merit pay

Eric Knost

Volume 17, Number 14 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, April 3, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

A write-in candidate, Mark Furrer, is challenging Sunset Hills Mayor Bill Nolan in the Tuesday, April 8, election. Visit www.callnewspapers.com for a story about this race and a story about the Ward 1 aldermanic race in which former Alderman Douglas McGuire is challeng-ing incumbent Rich Gau.

Web exclusive

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

Five of the candidates seeking election to the Lindbergh Schools Board of Education next Tuesday say they fully support the dis-tricts Proposition G bond issue that will be on the same ballot.

During a recent forum, candidate Christo-

pher Clegg said he opposes Prop G, while two other candidates Cori Akins and Al Faulstich said they will abide by the decision voters make on the bond issue.

Current board President Kathleen Kien-stra, Vice President Don Bee, board mem-ber Vicki Lorenz Englund, candidate Gary

(See FULLY, Page 2A)

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

The co-chairs of a committee promoting Lindbergh Schools Proposition G bond issue believe passage of the measure is vital to the districts continued academic success.

Voters will consider the $34 million bond issue to fund the construction of a new elementary school and improvements at

Lindbergh High School when they go to the polls Tuesday, April 8.

Parents Jennifer Abercrombie and Dave Reinhardt, co-chairs of the Yes for Prop G committee, both served on the District Growth Committee that recommended the construction of a sixth elementary school to address Lindberghs aggressive enroll-ment growth.

(See VITAL, Page 3A)

Hearing on QT postponed until MayStaff Report

A public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, on Quik-Trips proposal to construct a convenience store with gas pumps at the Missouri Department of Transportations east commuter lot at Kennerly and Weber Hill roads has been postponed until May.

The Sunset Hills Planning and Zoning Commission now will conduct a public hearing on QuikTrips proposal when it meets Wednesday, May 7, according to Mayor Bill Nolan.

Nolan told the Call that the developer requested the public hear-ing be postponed until a required traffic study is completed.

(See POSTPONED, Page 8A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

The Mehlville Board of Education is pondering its next steps after a surprise announcement last week by Superintendent Eric Knost that he will leave this summer to head the Rockwood School District.

Knost first arrived in Mehlville 12 years ago as principal of Oakville High School. When he took

the position of superintendent nearly three years ago, he called it the opportunity of a lifetime.

I just cant stress enough that I love the Mehlville School District, I love this community, Ive loved all 12 years that Ive been here. It was never a case of, This is better than that, Knost told the Call. I think it comes down to it being a new challenge.

I do think change is inevitable in peoples lives

sometimes we ask for the change, sometimes the change is unexpected, he added. So I just really view it as a new challenge that became very exciting to me and there seemed to be some logical fit with my history, my eight years that I spent in Rockwood.

Knost, 49, began his career as a band teacher in the Windsor School District in 1988 and then spent

(See OPTIONS, Page 5A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

The five candidates running for three open seats on the Mehlville Board of Education agreed more than they disagreed at their candidate forum, conducted last week in advance of Tuesdays election.

At the forum which took place before Superinten-dent Eric Knosts announcement that he is leaving Mehlville this summer to head the Rockwood School District the school board candidates agreed on the importance of character education, technology and the fine arts, teacher compensation, school security

and that they welcome transfer students from unac-credited school districts to Mehlville.

One of the topics on which the candidates dissented was merit pay. In February, the board unanimously approved a framework for a merit-pay plan that places district goals above individual ones when pay-ing teachers and sent it to contract negotiations teams for the district and the Mehlville National Education Association, or MNEA.

Venki Palamand, who was elected to the school board in 2007 and defeated by Vice President Lori

(See VIEWS, Page 8A)

Lindbergh voters will weighProposition G next Tuesday(Continued from Page 1A)Ujka and candidate Daniel Sampson said they fully support Prop G.

Akins, Bee, Englund, Faulstich and Kien-stra are vying for three three-year seats on the school board, while Clegg, Sampson and Ujka are seeking a seat that carries a two-year term.

To address the districts rapidly increasing enrollment, a district committee recom-mended the construction of a sixth elemen-tary school on the site of Dressel School.

The school board voted in January to place on the ballot the $34 million bond issue that would fund the new elementary school and improvements at Lindbergh High School.

As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts debt-service tax rate by 21 cents to 68.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14 percent is required to pass the measure.

At the districts recent forum, the candi-dates were asked if they would vote yes on Prop G and if not, what they would propose to address the enrollment growth.

Kienstra said, ... I think Prop G is very important to the district, and yes, abso-lutely, I will vote yes. Im in full support of Prop G ...

Englund said, Like Kathy, Im in sup-port of Proposition G ... There have been other school districts in our area who have had propositions when they have reached a point where they need to go to the voters and again ask the community for their input,

thoughts and votes. Weve seen it. Weve seen other communities ask for too much.

Weve seen those propositions fail ...The boards vote to place Prop G on the

ballot was not a decision made lightly, and the board is asking taxpayers just for what is needed, she added.

Ujka said, As far as Proposition G, Im 100 percent for it no reservations ...

Clegg said, Personally, Im not going to vote for Prop G. Im going to vote no ...

It would be more nancially sound to renovate Dressel instead of razing it for a new elementary school, he added.

Sampson said, For Prop G, I will be vot-ing yes. I dont believe there is an alterna-tive at this point that we can make to protect our students and teachers and keep our edu-cation what it is ... On Election Day, Ill be promoting Prop G at the polls and myself second. I believe its that important ...

Akins said, Well, rst of all, Im fully in support of giving our children all the re-sources they need, and saying that, with Prop G, obviously, it will be decided April 8. The taxpayers are going to make the decision and I have full con dence no matter what hap-pens, our district will do the most that we can with the resources that we have ...

Faulstich said, Im not going to say. Yeah, right now, Im, shall we say, a fence-sitter on whether (Im) pro or against Prop G. I can see the need, and I havent been a part of the committee that researched it on what to do. I just have to take their word for it. But Ill tell you, I will support what-ever the voters decide to do.

Bee said, ... Yes, I am de nitely sup-porting Prop G. I think it is necessary ...

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Call Publishing, Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Page 3A VitalYes vote on Proposition Ga no-brainer, co-chair says(Continued from Page 1A)

As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A four-sevenths majority 57.14 percent is required for passage of the measure.

From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential enrollment increased by 569 students, and from 2013 to 2018, dis-trict of cials project residential enrollment will increase by 464 students.

... Theres projected growth, but we could ll a new elementary school (with students) as we stand today, just as things are, Abercrombie said. Four of our ve (elementary) buildings are already well over capacity. Sappington (Elementary) is already going to move classrooms into storage rooms in the basement with no windows ...

For the current school year, Lindberghs of cial enrollment is 6,115 students, which exceeded the districts projections by 50 students.

I think what is critical for voters to know is that the information backing us is solid ..., Abercrombie said. The enrollment and growth were seeing right now just doesnt happen at the beginning of the school year. Concord, for example, has already enrolled over 20 students just since January ...

If voters approve Prop G, bonds totaling $34,035,000 would be issued by the district.

Of the bond proceeds, $23.9 million would fund the construction of a 650-student elementary school on the nearly 10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.

The district closed on the $1.94 million purchase of the property in July 2011.

For the past four years, Lindbergh has been ranked No. 1 in academic achieve-ment among Missouri K-12 districts.

Passage of Prop G would allow the dis-trict to continue to provide students with the proper learning environment and small class sizes to maintain and enhance that academic achievement, the co-chairs said.

... Numerous studies show that children are in a much better learning environment when the classroom sizes are small, and Lindberghs been able to maintain that as such right now, Abercrombie said. And I think thats one of the reasons why the elementary schools are ranked so highly within the state ...

Reinhardt said, I cant emphasize to you ... how much research we did on guring out the right, realistic solution for address-ing student growth in Lindbergh ... We looked at all possible solutions, all options to address this rapid growth. We nalized it down to eight options after about 30 to 45 days, and then we went ahead and had unanimous support for the solution of building a new elementary school on the Dressel location.

We de nitely did our homework. We de nitely looked at the facts, looked at the gures, looked at how this would affect the Lindbergh community and we decided to come up with the solution of putting this on the ballot to build a new elementary school ...

Of the enrollment growth, he added, Its

a fantastic problem to have. Who doesnt want more great families coming to the Lindbergh School District? ... Its a won-derful problem to have. Nevertheless, we need to accommodate all these great kids that are coming to our district, and were doing that by building a new state-of-the-art, technologically advanced elementary school that will house 650 kids ...

Besides funding the construction of a new elementary school, proceeds from the bond issue would fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School, including dou-bling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science classrooms from existing class-rooms, converting a record-storage room into two new classrooms, modernizing the library and replacing the wood oor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.

The consequences if Prop G failed would be dire, the two said.

... Obviously, classroom sizes would eventually have to increase. There would be no getting around that, Abercrombie said. In addition to that, we would lose library space, we would lose classrooms such as art and music. But as well, even our gymnasiums would potentially be divided because its really unlikely that you would put trailers in for elementary school stu-dents because of security and safety ...

That is one of the impacts. But I think another impact that people need to recog-nize is the fact that Lindbergh Schools is the industry of our area. People arent moving here for jobs. Theyre moving here because of the school (district) ... If the Lindbergh School District begins to falter in its stand-ings, I think you will see an impact in our real estate, as well ..., she added.

Abercrombie and Reinhardt noted that the 21-cent tax-rate increase is another example of Lindberghs longstanding phi-losophy of taking only whats needed.

... It is set literally right at the funds we need to have, Abercrombie said. Were not asking for anything more than what we currently need ... Theyre asking for exactly what they need. Theyve done a lot of research into the plan.

And having said that, I think its also affordable for each household, she added, noting that Prop G would cost the owner of a $200,000 home roughly $6.65 per month $79.80 per year.

Reinhardt said, One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said, An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest. I cannot think of a better way to spend a few extra dollars a month, investing in my communitys childrens futures Its just a no-brainer to me. I feel so strongly about education and about kids futures that I think this is de nitely the right thing to do.

The two noted that Lindberghs current tax rate is the third lowest of the countys 22 public school districts.

Even if we get this increase, it will still place us at the fth lowest out of all the St. Louis County school districts, Aber-crombie said.

The response to Prop G from residents and parents has been overwhelmingly pos-itive, according to the co-chairs.

... We do see widespread support. Never-theless, we encourage all the yes voters to get out there on Tuesday ..., Reinhardt said.

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Call Publishing, Thursday, April 3, 2014 - Page 4A

By Mike Anthony

Lindbergh Schools votersshould approve bond issue

Lindbergh Schools voters will con-sider Proposition G, a $34 million bond issue, when they go to the polls Tuesday.

The Call urges voters to approve the measure, as we believe its necessary to address the districts aggressive enrollment growth. Without the pas-sage of Prop G, we believe the aca-demic success Lindbergh has enjoyed being ranked No. 1 in academic achievement in the state for four con-secutive years will be jeopardized.

As proposed, Prop G for Growth would increase the districts debt-service tax rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of assessed valua-tion from 47.3 cents. A four-sev-enths majority 57.14 percent is required for passage of the measure.

If approved, proceeds from the bond issue would fund the construction of a 650-student elementary school on the nearly 10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.

District officials also propose to use $3 million of the bond proceeds to fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School, including doubling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science classrooms from existing classrooms, converting a record-stor-age room into two new classrooms, modernizing the library and replac-ing the wood floor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.

With a turnover in housing stock and the districts academic success, Lindberghs enrollment surge is re-lentless. From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the districts residential enroll-ment increased by 569 students.

Of the districts five elementary schools, four currently exceed their capacity. From 2013 to 2018, district officials project residential enroll-ment will increase by 464 students, not including an estimated 120 addi-tional students from new subdivi-sions being constructed.

The District Growth Committee, which was comprised of parents, community members and staff, stud-ied the issue at length and recom-mended the construction of a sixth elementary school on the Dressel site.

The Board of Education and Super-intendent Jim Simpson agree with the committees recommendation.

Currently, the district has enough students to fill a sixth elementary school. As it stands, even if Prop G is approved, the new elementary school would not open until the 2017-2018 school year.

Given all the facts, we believe Prop G is the only logical solution to ad-dress Lindberghs growth, and urge voters to approve it next Tuesday.

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To the editor:Over the years, I have helped with the

campaigns of many of Crestwoods elected officials, some more than once.

The standard I use to help decide whether to support those who run for a second time is simple: Once elected, how do their votes reflect the principles and campaign promises on which they sold themselves as candidates? There are only two people I helped who, once elected, failed to meet this standard: Roy Robinson and Gregg Roby.

It came as little surprise to me then when I discovered that, as of this writing, Roy Robinson is one of Gregg Robys biggest campaign contributors. But what is more troubling is that during the mayoral debate,

Mr. Roby, who claims to support com-plete transparency in government, had two opportunities to fully disclose the names of his campaign contributors, and refused to do so. Is this blatant lack of transparency and political doublespeak a preview of what we can expect if he becomes mayor?

When we cast our votes for mayor on April 8, Crestwood voters will be filling a leadership position with a three-year term.

It is a job that requires far more effort, skill and commitment than simply punch-ing a clock at City Hall. We need to be confident that the person who occupies the mayors seat is guided by firmly held convictions which inform his decisions, regardless of political consequence.

Mayor Schlink is battle-tested and well-pre-pared for future challenges. He has respond-ed to criticism with composure and honesty, led the city with dignity while overseeing contentious redevelopment discussions, and continues to actively work day and night on our behalf on multiple fronts, helping to secure Crestwoods future. Mayor Schlink is a principled public servant, not a politician.

The choice is clear: The most qualified candidate for mayor of Crestwood is Jeff Schlink, and I hope you will join me in voting for Mr. Schlink on April 8.

Martha DuchildCrestwood

Editors note: Mrs. Duchilds husband, Paul, serves as a Ward 3 alderman.

Choice is clear: Schlink most-qualified candidate to lead Crestwood

To the editor:After attending the recent Crestwood mayoral candidate forum,

I was so taken back with Mayor Jeff Schlinks repeated claims of providing leadership during his term that I felt compelled to write this letter.

In the past three years, our city has regressed, primarily because there has been no vision, no plan and certainly no leadership. Lead-ership requires taking a stand and making controversial or unpopu-lar decisions when needed. Yet on critical votes, the mayor refused to cast a tie-breaker. I can appreciate his reluctance in delicate mat-ters, but the job requires him to act in just these types of situations.

Three years ago, he asked for our votes and we, the residents of Crestwood, complied. It seems reasonable that we should expect the same from him when called upon. He can try to justify his inaction any way he wishes, but the fact remains that he failed to fulfill one of the fundamental obligations of the job, leadership.

Leadership also requires consensus-building, yet Crestwood con-

tinues to suffer from a board that will not work together. The mayor bears the responsibility to work with all members of the board.

Not long ago, one alderman admonished Mr. Schlink for his poor communication. We cannot expect to have consensus with-out open communication and, clearly, this has been an ongoing problem with this administration.

Leaders build teams that utilize the strengths of every team mem-ber, all focused on a common goal. Make no mistake, we all make up the team in Crestwood. However, under Mr. Schlinks leader-ship the board is split, citizens are discouraged, business owners are frustrated and employee morale has never been lower. Ours is a team in disarray.

Mr. Schlink believes he has had some accomplishments in the last three years, but to claim that he has exhibited leadership is, frankly, an insult.

Tom BremehrCrestwood

Crestwood regressing because of lack of leadership, resident says

Newspaper makes endorsements for contested election racesVoters will make some critical choices

next Tuesday when they go to the polls to elect members of the Lindbergh and Mehlville boards of education.

Sunset Hills voters also will have a choice, as Mayor Bill Nolan and two al-dermen are being challenged by write-in candidates, and a former alderman is chal-lenging Aldermen Rich Gau in Ward 1.

Four seats three three-year seats and one two-year seat are up for election in Lindbergh.

Five candidates Cori Akins, board Vice President Don Bee, board member Vicki Lorenz Englund, Al Faulstich and board President Kathleen Kienstra are seeking three three-year seats on the board.

Three candidates Christopher Clegg,

Daniel Sampson and Gary Ujka are seeking the two-year seat on the board.

For the three three-year seats, we believe voters have an easy decision since Bee, Englund and Kienstra have a proven track record of excellent service to students and the community and have exercised sound fiscal stewardship during their time on the board. We urge voters to re-elect the three.

For the two-year seat, we believe voters have a more difficult decision, as both Ujka and Sampson would make excellent board members. But given Ujkas longtime expe-rience as an educator, we believe he should be elected to the board next Tuesday.

With Superintendent Eric Knosts selec-tion as the new superintendent of the Rockwood School District, effective July 1, what the Mehlville Board of Education needs is experienced board members.

Five candidates current board Secre-tary Rich Franz, former board member Venki Palamand and newcomers Randy L. Howard, Jean Pretto and Samantha Stormer are seeking three seats. All five should be applauded for their desire to serve the community.

This newspaper endorsed Palamand last year when he ran unsuccesfully for a third term, writing, Wed be hard-pressed to think of a bigger advocate for students and teachers than Palamand.

(See CONTESTED, Page 6A)

Editorial

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Read more on Page 3A about this Queen of All Saints championship soccer team.

The Oakville High School football team will begin the 2014 season as a Class 5 school instead of Class 6 as a result of a recent decision by the Missouri State High School Activities Association that also changed class assignments for several other schools. To read more, vis-it www.callnewspapers.com.

Web exclusiveMehlville news ........... Page 2AOur town ..................... Page 3AOpinions ..................... Page 4ACrestwood news ......... Page 5ALindbergh news .......... Page 6AMehlville news ........... Page 7ACalendar...................... Page 8ASunset Hills news ....... Page 10AClassifieds ................... Page 11ACrossword puzzle ....... Page 12A

Inside the Call

Mehlville board bids farewell to departing members

Volume 17, Number 16 1 Section, 16 Pages Thursday, April 17, 2014 callnewspapers.com9977 Lin Ferry DriveSt. Louis, MO 63123

Lindbergh officials look to fast-track construction of new school

Furrer calls write-in victoryfor mayoral post stunning

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

With voter approval of Proposition G last week, Lind-bergh Schools officials look to fast-track the construction of a new elementary school, according to Superintendent Jim Simpson.

Lindbergh voters gave the green light to Prop G for Growth in the April 8 election. The $34 million bond issue, designed to address the districts aggressive enroll-ment growth, received 6,599 yes votes 65.46 percent and 3,482 no votes 34.54 percent. A four-sevenths majority 57.14 percent was required for passage.

Sixty-five-plus percent is as good as it gets, especially for a tax increase, and a strong endorsement by our com-munity, Simpson told the Call. More than six out of 10 people walked into the polls and supported our direction.

The bond issue will increase the districts debt-service tax(See LINDBERGH, Page 6A)

A promise is a promiseA promise is a promise at Margaret Buerkle Middle School, so administrators and teachers got

up close and personal with a goat last week. If students reached their fundraising goal for Heifer International, Buerkle administrators and teachers agreed to kiss a goat. Students exceeded their fundraising goal, and Buerkle staffers kept their promise, including Assistant Principal Michelle Wood, above. Read more on Page 9A.

Roby will take oath of officeas Crestwood mayor TuesdayBy GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

Just like in neighboring Sunset Hills, voters in Crestwood decided last week they want new leadership, ousting current Mayor Jeff Schlink in favor of former Alderman Gregg Roby.

In a race that turned on support for or against a redevelopment proposal for the mall, Roby defeated Schlink by 246 votes, earning 1,719 votes, or 53.65 percent, compared to 1,473 votes, or 45.97 percent, cast for Schlink.

Roby will be sworn in at the next Board of Aldermen meeting, Tuesday, April 22. He promised during his campaign that he would serve as a full-time mayor, and he told the Call he plans to be at City

(See OATH, Page 5A)

Gregg Roby

By MIKE ANTHONYExecutive Editor

No one was more surprised about the outcome of last weeks election in Sunset Hills than Mark Furrer, who called his write-in victory over incumbent Mayor Bill Nolan stunning.

Furrer launched his write-in campaign for mayor roughly two weeks before the April 8 election, sparked by his opposition to a pro-posed QuikTrip development off Interstate 270.

... Its a stunning, stunning situation ..., Furrer told the Call. This wasnt so much a win for me, it was more of a no to Nolan. It was just an astounding defeat for him, not so much a great victory for me because I mean, I gave people a choice, and by God, they took it ...

For the mayoral race, Nolan received 955 votes 46.02 percent while 1,120 write-in votes 53.98 percent were cast, according

(See STUNNING, Page 10A)

By GLORIA LLOYDStaff Reporter

The Mehlville Board of Education bid an emotional farewell to three of its members last week, focusing on the accomplishments of the board over the past three years.

Board President Mark Stoner and board member Elaine Powers decided not to run for re-election, and board Secretary Rich Franz did not win re-election, placing fourth in the five-way race for the three open seats on the board.

The three were elected in 2011, five months after voters rejected Proposition C, an 88-cent tax-rate in-

crease, and the board has not seen much turnover since that time. In 2012, Kathleen Eardley was elected to replace former board member Tom Diehl, who de-cided not to run for re-election, and last year Vice President Lori Trakas defeated longtime board mem-ber Venki Palamand, who was re-elected last week.

In an at times emotional farewell to Stoner, Franz and Powers at a dual board meeting April 10 the last one for departing board members and the first for new mem-bers Superintendent Eric Knost and the board noted how appropriate it was that the board that oversaw so many capstone projects in the district, including the

(See FAREWELL, Page 2A)

Mark Furrer

Page 6A - Call Publishing, Thursday, April 17, 2014 LindberghBond issue also will addressimprovements at high school(Continued from Page 1A)rate by 21 cents, to 68.3 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from 47.3 cents. A to-tal of $23.9 million of the bond proceeds will fund the construction of a 650-student elementary school on the nearly 10-acre Dressel School site at 10255 Musick Road.

Given the districts enrollment surge, time is of the essence in constructing the new elementary school, according to Simpson.

From 2007-2008 to 2012-2013, the dis-tricts residential enrollment increased by 569 students. Lindberghs of cial enroll-ment for the current school year is 6,115 students, which exceeded the districts projections by 50 students.

Four of the districts existing elementary schools already exceed capacity, and from 2013 to 2018, district of cials project residential enrollment will increase by 464 students, not including an estimated 120 additional students from new subdivisions being constructed.

All weve got to do is nd a way to handle the growth until the building is built, the superintendent said. Theres a challenge there because the growth is happening strongly, and so well have crowded classrooms almost immediately.

Sappington Elementary will soon be-come our second-largest school in this district, surpassing the middle schools ... We have been very, very creative for next year and we are creating classrooms that were never intended to be classrooms in Sappington ...

Classrooms are being created by splitting large kindergarten classrooms into two, using closet space and making a classroom in a lower-level room that has no windows, according to Simpson.

... The year after that, there will be none of that left to do so well only be left with the library, gym and hallways, he said. So at some point in time, the growth for that school is going to be one in which we have to think they really cant take any more in this school.

District of cials propose to open the new elementary school for the 2017-2018 school year, but that wont be an easy task.

Were hoping to open in August of 17, and that is pretty much a record build-ing so I put that little cautionary note, Simpson said. But weve been meeting every day since it (Prop G) passed with our architects and engineers and our people ... Our architects (Ittner Architects) are going to put this on the front burner for them and design the building ...

Our biggest thing is codes. Codes can hang you up for six months in the blink of an eye, and so were going to be working with the code people, trying to get them to understand the urgency. This isnt one of those projects that can sit on a desk for months. Were willing to meet any code. We just need to know what it is ... Because of the pressure were under with the growth, were going to try to do it in 36 months ..., he added.

Construction of a new elementary school will only increase Lindberghs desirability as a destination district, Simpson said.

... Because when you take the No. 1 student achievement in the state and you put that right beside a modern, attractive, state-of-the-art educational facility, you drive that equation even stronger, he said. So the future is very bright for our school district ... I hear every day almost about the houses ying off the market in record time, being bid much higher than asking price ... Its exciting, the fact that all these young families are moving in droves into our school district and seeking quality education ...

I know that people sense that its a form of a dynamic, vibrant renewal of a com-munity. Its a new generation taking root, and saying, I want this to be our home. I want to shop at the local stores. I want to go to the churches. But I came here for the education.

Young families across St. Louis County are seeking the best education for their children and thats drawing them to Lindbergh Schools.

... Theyll migrate to communities with high-quality education for their children, quality families especially. Those who value education strongly, they will migrate to districts, and theyre migrating to us, Simpson said. They can choose many school districts, but they are actually not choosing the one theyre coming out of. So in a way, theyre saying, I live in a school district, but I have done my research and I am choosing a different one ...

That migration is an economic engine for our local businesses because these young families have children, and theyre spending paycheck to paycheck, and theyre in their spending years, he contin-ued. Because they have young children, theyre homebodies a lot. Theyre not free and single and heading out 10, 20 miles away to have fun.

They are staying close to the house and theyre shopping close to the house. That means Lindbergh Schools plays the role of a strong economic engine not only in the housing market, but also for all the independently owned stores and retail (establishments). This is a wind at their back ...

Critical needs at LHSA total of $3 million of the bond issue

proceeds also will fund some critical needs at Lindbergh High School, including dou-bling the size of the cafeteria, creating two science classrooms from existing class-rooms, converting a record-storage room into two new classrooms, modernizing the library and replacing the wood oor and bleachers in Gymnasium 3.

The building projects will have $3 mil-lion in contingency.

In addition, proceeds from the bond issue will be used to retire roughly $3.5 million of debt incurred when the district purchased the Dressel site and property adjacent to Long Elementary School.

To fund the purchases, the Board of Edu-cation approved the issuance of certi cates of participation, or COPs, totaling nearly $3.5 million.

The COPs will be retired with the remain-ing debt rolled into the bond issue and paid by the debt-service fund. The district cur-rently spends roughly $300,000 per year in operational revenue for that debt.

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(314) 965-GUNS (4867)

9901 Watson Rd Suite 145Next to Harbor Tool and Freight in Crestwood

Firearms Training Simulator with 550+ Scenarios

UPCOMING CLASSES: MO/FL CONCEAL CARRYSATURDAY, MAY 10, 2014

SUNDAY, JUNE 1, 2014GRAND OPENING SPECIAL

COST $125 $100REGISTER IN STORE OR ONLINEUSE COUPON CODE: THECALL

Sue Bogdanovich314-749-2300suebogdanovich@remax.net ProudMizzou

Alumni

ProudProudMizzou Mizzou

8823 CREST OAK, 631263 bed, 2 bath, brick ranch, open fl oor plan, hardwood fl oors,

fi nished lower level. Lindbergh Schools!

COMING SOON! $219,900

4627 SIENNA HILLS, 631283 bed, 2 bath, gorgeous new bath, updated on cul-de-sac, covered patio, private level fenced yard! Mehlville Schools.

$189,900

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