Every other year, Mehlville School District commissions a formal survey of community members to assess the opinions and perceptions of the school district. This year, the district asked voters to share opinions on teachers and support staff salaries, and retaining teachers and services funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds.
The district gauged community support for four proposals. Of the frequent voters who responded:
- 85 percent favor increasing teacher salaries to become competitive in the region and to attract and retain high-quality teachers.
- 87 percent favor increasing salaries for bus drivers, custodians, cooks, nurses and other support staff to attract and retain these essential workers.
- 74 percent favor retaining interventionist teachers who were hired using federal COVID-19 relief funds. Those funds expire at the conclusion of next school year.
- 73 percent favor continuing to provide other support services provided by COVID-19 relief funds set to expire in 2023-2024, including after-school clubs, after-school tutoring and mental health counseling support.
The district estimates it would need a 49-cent tax rate increase to fund these proposals. Of the frequent voters who responded:
- 51 percent of frequent voters indicated support for a 30-cent tax rate increase to fund these proposals.
- 30 percent would support a 40-cent tax rate increase to fund these proposals.
- 17 percent would support a 49-cent tax rate increase to fund these proposals.
Mehlville School District has the lowest blended tax rate of all 22 school districts in St. Louis County. The district routinely loses teachers to area districts that offer higher pay for the same level of experience. In the 2022-2023 school year, Mehlville School District is paying its starting teachers $2,300 less than the median starting teacher salary in other county districts. At higher levels of experience, Mehlville’s teacher salaries trail the county average by $7,500.
Additionally, Mehlville School District is using federal COVID-19 relief funds to pay the salaries of 34 teaching interventionists, to provide mental health support for students through CHADS Coalition, and to provide additional tutoring and afterschool clubs and activities for students. This funding source ends at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 school year.
The frequent voter survey was mailed to randomly selected households within Mehlville School District with a resident who voted in one of the past two April general municipal election. More than 1,100 people responded to the mailed survey. An online survey was shared with parents and with community members.
Complete results of the community survey can be found online.