Below you will find some background reading. Proposition T was passed with the intent of unfreezing frozen salaries and continue COMPASS’s goal’s of moving our teachers and other staff closer to the county median. We are also now out of a deficit spending mode, were able to restore tutoring cuts and cuts in textbook purchases.
Basically, these were voter approved salary increases/raises…
(For quick reading, I put in Bold the most pertinent information.)
Committee to kick off Prop T canvassing
Mehlville School District voters will consider Prop T on Nov. 4
"Our theme and message is pretty simple: To maintain quality schools (and) to protect our investment without increasing our taxes."
— Jeff Clobes, Together For T chairman
October 15, 2008 – A citizens’ committee promoting the Mehlville School District’s Proposition T hopes hundreds of supporters will turn out Saturday, Oct. 18, for a rally to kick off the group’s canvassing efforts.
The rally will take place at 8 a.m. in the gymnasium at Oakville Senior High School, according to Jeff Clobes, a district parent and chairman of Together for T.
"I think the important thing to note on this is that it’s really a community effort,” Clobes told the Call. "We want the community to be involved and we want it to kind of bring the spirit of the community together …”
Clobes continued, "We’re basically asking for any and all community members that are interested in helping with the canvassing process to show up at Oakville High School on the 18th at 8 a.m. to take part not only in the rally, but also in the canvassing effort.”
Among the speakers at Saturday’s rally will be Superintendent Terry Noble. In addition, Clobes said local elected officials and candidates would be invited to attend the rally, which also will feature musical performances by students.
Noting that the rally will take place from 8 to 9 a.m., Clobes said some of that time will include instruction for volunteers — "how to approach canvassing and just kind of talk about the importance of canvassing and the role that it plays in the overall election process.”
The Together for T chairman also praised the efforts of Rogers Elementary School Principal Jeff Bresler, who is serving as canvassing chairman.
"Jeff is really leading the canvassing effort with both the teachers as well as the community and trying to engage both groups to get involved in the canvassing effort. This is probably the largest undertaking of our campaign. So Jeff really needs to be commended for his abilities in coordinating all of these efforts,” Clobes said.
Voters will consider Proposition T in the Nov. 4 election. If approved, Proposition T would transfer roughly 31 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from the district’s debt-service fund to the operating fund.
The measure would generate roughly $5.6 million annually for the operating fund.
Proposition T would not increase Mehlville’s overall tax rate, but would extend the district’s bonded indebtedness by 15 years — to 2029.
The transfer was recommended to the Board of Education by the Facilitating Team of the district’s public-engagement program COMPASS — Charting the Oakville-Mehlville Path to Advance Successful Schools.
Clobes, a longtime district volunteer, had served as co-chair of the district’s Facilities Planning Team, which formulated a long-range facilities master plan as part of COMPASS.
"Our theme and message is pretty simple: To maintain quality schools (and) to protect our investment without increasing our taxes,” Clobes previously said. "And that really kind of sums it up in a nutshell. Prop T is designed to kind of help us balance the budget without taking additional, serious cuts to the district. What we’re trying to do is restore the budget cuts in textbooks and supplies and tutoring, but more importantly, retain and recruit qualified classroom teachers for the district. Terry Noble’s goal of becoming a high-performing school district basically starts with the ability to hire and retain those quality classroom teachers.”
After Saturday’s effort, canvassing will continue as follows:
• From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 25.
Volunteers will meet at Bernard Middle School, 1054 Forder Road.
• From 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.
Volunteers will meet at Bernard Middle School.
• From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 1.
Volunteers will meet at Bernard Middle School.
To obtain more information about Prop T or to volunteer, call (314) 315-2650, e-mail propositiont@gmail.com or visit www.YesForPropT.com.
Of Saturday’s rally and canvassing, Clobes said, "Really, with today’s economic realities, this may provide somewhat of a break, if you will, from all of the negative news that’s going on regarding the economy.
"We really want to create a feel-good event, but the message is still strong that we want to encourage everyone on the merits of Proposition T.”
Mehlville voters give green light to Prop T
Community’s approval of Prop T ‘an overwhelming victory,’ Diehl says
"We want to reassure (the public) that we’re going to be good stewards of the resources that they’ve entrusted us with and we’ll use them for the purposes that we stated we would use them for."
— Terry Noble, Mehlville School District superintendent
November 12, 2008 – With approval of Proposition T in last week’s election, Mehlville School District officials pledge to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to them by voters, according to Superintendent Terry Noble.
"We’re really pleased. We’re really excited," Noble said. "First thing I want to say is how grateful we are to our public for supporting us at the polls. We want to reassure them that we’re going to be good stewards of the resources that they’ve entrusted us with and we’ll use them for the purposes that we stated we would use them for."
In the Nov. 4 election, Proposition T received 31,089 "yes" votes — 62.23 percent — and 18,867 "no" votes — 37.77 percent, according to unofficial totals from the county Board of Election Commissioners.
"Our efforts to be transparent have helped us communicate more effectively with the community and we appreciate the fact that they are giving us this opportunity to resolve some economic issues that we’ve had as all families are having in this current financial situation."
— Tom Diehl, Mehlville Board of Education president
Proposition T will transfer roughly 31 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from the district’s debt-service fund to the operating fund. The measure will generate roughly $5.6 million annually for the operating fund. Proposition T will not increase Mehlville’s overall tax rate, but will extend the district’s bonded indebtedness by 15 years — to 2029.
Revenue from Proposition T primarily will be used to stabilize the district’s budget. Funding the teachers’ salary schedule — which was frozen for the 2008-2009 school year — and addressing technology needs and reinstating supplies and textbooks that were cut this year likely will be done with Proposition T funds.
The transfer was recommended to the school board by the Facilitating Team of the district’s public-engagement program, COMPASS — Charting the Oakville-Mehlville Path to Advance Successful Schools.
Noble praised the volunteer efforts of members of the citizens’ committee Together for T in helping to pass Proposition T, including Chairman Jeff Clobes, and four subcommittee chairs — former Board of Education member Candy Green, communications; Rogers Elementary School Principal Jeff Bresler, canvassing; Randy Lowry, community outreach; and Kelly Wicks, fund-raising.
The superintendent also praised the work of COMPASS co-chairs Dan Fowler, a former Board of Education member, and Jim Schibig, a former elementary school principal who also served as treasurer of Together for T.
Noble thanked the hundreds of volunteers who went door to door canvassing in the weeks leading up to last week’s election.
"Most of the people we were able to talk to about this prior to the election, once they were informed about what we were trying to do, were very supportive. So we felt like really the key was just to reach as many people as possible and make sure they were informed …," he said. "The canvassers were all coming back, reporting how many friendly faces and supportive people they were meeting and really were optimistic about our chances just from their own personal experience of knocking on doors and distributing information."
Board of Education President Tom Diehl said, "I just want to echo what Terry said about our appreciation to the people of the Mehlville School District. This was an overwhelming victory. I think the voters realized that our schools are an important asset to the community. When our kids need their backing, they’re there for us."
Noble and Diehl said they believe approval of Proposition T is a vote of confidence in the school board and administration.
"I think it’s also a reflection on the level of the trust that the community is willing to give us as a board and an administration to manage the resources of the district," Noble said. "Of course, I think that’s something we need to prove every day. I don’t think you ever stop. It’s just we need to prove that to people and that’s what we intend to do. You have to earn it and then you have to maintain it."
Diehl said, "Our efforts to be transparent have helped us communicate more effectively with the community and we appreciate the fact that they are giving us this opportunity to resolve some economic issues that we’ve had as all families are having in this current financial situation. The news regarding state revenues isn’t encouraging, so we do have to do everything we can at the local level to protect our schools. And once again, our voters have stepped up to the plate to support us."
While the COMPASS Facilitating Team had recommended a second ballot measure, the Board of Education decided not to seek voter approval of that proposal — a 37-cent tax-rate increase to help fund the long-range plan that incorporates suggestions from those who participated in the community-engagement sessions — at this time. A telephone survey of 400 district residents had indicated that while 59 percent opposed a 37-cent tax-rate increase, 64.8 percent of those respondents would support the no-tax-rate-increase transfer of 31 cents from the debt-service fund that Proposition T would allow.
Of Proposition T, Noble said, "This was part of the finance plan. The reason we chose to go ahead and go with this first (is because) we’re running a deficit budget and we needed to get that back in the black for survival. But that was part of the plan along with the 37-cent increase. So the board has elected to put the plan on hold basically because Prop T doesn’t really do a whole lot for the plan itself … I think that I can speak for the board to say that we are definitely going to remain focused on moving forward with the plan, but we’re also going to be monitoring the economy and try to find the right time to move forward with a future proposal.
"Again, I really think it depends on the economic situation as to when we would want to go for that because we do think we’ve got a good plan. We think we’ve got one that the community will support. We need to articulate that to the community and communicate it. I’m finding what’s so reassuring about the election is I think this community is supportive of our schools. I think what is required is that level of trust … but also that we’ve got a plan and that we can be trusted to follow the plan once the resources become available. I’m encouraged that when the community is as informed about the entire vision and all that entails that, they will be excited about it and supportive of it."
Diehl said, "I think there’s no doubt that the recommendations of COMPASS would have some real positive impacts on academic achievement and help us better prepare our students to face the 21st-century challenges that they will encounter, but we have to be pragmatic and we don’t locally have the ability to shape the world’s financial markets. That’s it in a nutshell and while we’d like to have that type of funding available in the next 30 minutes even, that’s not going to be realistic."
