On Tuesday, Sep. 6, administrators and community members gathered in the Nottelmann Auditorium to listen to Superintendent, Dr. Chris Gaines speak on the issues and goals of the Mehlville School District and allow the community to understand what the district is doing.

The first topic that was addressed was Prop R. This part of Gaines’s speech mainly went over how the money is being spent and how the district is still trying to save money. Gaines explained that the money from the tax increase is going towards staff development, textbooks, technology and maintenances.

In terms of saving money, Gaines showed that new HVAC systems were installed to help save $13,000.

Gaines also said that the faculty in the district do not make as much as other districts and that some of the faculty are making salaries in the bottom 35 percent of people with the same jobs.

It was at this point that Gaines started to talk about the hopes for the future of the Mehlville School District. The biggest topic, student involvement.

Going off of other schools’ programs, Gaines had many innovative ideas for the district. All of these ideas aimed at helping the students be engaged in the learning process.

One of the proposals was to allow students to work at their own pace and earn credits based on knowledge, not based on the student’s time in the class. This would allow students who are ahead of the class to learn the new content faster and not have to wait for the rest of the class.

Another proposal would allow students to graduate with not only their high school diploma, but also their Associate’s Degree. With this idea, Gaines claims students would get more out of their classes than they would with AP or Dual Credit.

Gaines also has a plan for the students who are better suited for the style of schooling they receive now. He wants the two paths, personalized and traditional, to be alongside each other. The two paths allow for students to be more comfortable with their learning environment.

For more information on the speech, check out the Mehlville School District Website. Also, voice your opinions and concerns on the district’s Let’s Talk center.