Bob McKitrick
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On the article Forum: Mehlville School Candidates Answer Questions
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On the article Mehlville-Oakville Election: Submit Your Questions for School Board, Fire Board Candidates
Bob McKitrick
3:20 pm on Wednesday, February 27, 2013
ReplyFor the candidates running for the Mehlville Board of Education:
Mehlville currently has a Compensation Review Committee that is studying, among other things, Merit Pay for Teachers. What is your position on "Merit Pay"?
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Mehlville School District Leaving Our Teachers Behind
Bob McKitrick
1:04 am on Thursday, January 24, 2013
ReplyAnd to further my rant, if you are going to reply to my post, have the courage to use your real name. I ignore historical figures who died 200+ years ago. Thanks.
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On the article Letter to the Editor: Mehlville School District Leaving Our Teachers Behind
Bob McKitrick
12:56 am on Thursday, January 24, 2013
ReplyKarl,
I couldn't agree more with your letter and article last week regarding Merit Pay. . Will merit pay work in Mehlville? I'm skeptical. I'm thinking it would strain a lot of relationships between teachers.
Honestly, I am getting very tired of South County politics. I don't understand why public employees are attacked so much around here. Is it jealousy over our stable line of work and pension system? Maybe. Or blindly following extreme right wing rhetoric? Perhaps. As I've posted on these pages before, I am a Parkway teacher, I am very proud to work for Parkway, and I feel like I am fairly compensated in Parkway. I can afford to own a home in Oakville and support my family on my salary alone. I also have a great medical benefits package which is just as important to my young family. I've compared my salary and benefits to those of Mehlville's (easy to do - its all public information) and I don't think I could make ends meet if I worked as a teacher there. I can't say this enough - If any group of teachers deserve a raise in St. Louis county, it's the teachers in Mehlville. And by the way, in my 13 years in Parkway, the teaching staff has never been publicly belittled by members of their Board of Education. Full Day Kindergarten has never been referred to as "taxpayer subsidized daycare," we've never been publicly challenged to bring in receipts to prove we spend our own money on our classrooms, and there are no calls to strip down PSRS. -
On the article Should Local Teachers Pack Pistols?
Bob McKitrick
4:55 pm on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Yes I did read the story. I have also been teaching for 13 years, and outside of keeping a gun safe in my classroom, I'd know of no other safe place for me to conceal a gun from my students. Perez said that armed teachers not only have to conceal a weapon from students but keep it a secret - no exceptions. Again, I don't know how this is possible with 30 students in a 250 square foot area. So the kids would know I'm packing heat.
And I don't teach my opinions to my students. You say you've grown up around guns - so you don't associate them with violence. Many of my students haven't grown up around them. They see them on TV, and in video games. Those games are violent so they associate guns with that violence. No reason to take offense at that statement, that's just the way it is.
I'm fine with conceal and carry, just not for public school teachers. -
On the article Should Local Teachers Pack Pistols?
Bob McKitrick
8:36 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
ReplyAbsolutely not. I am not opposed to having armed police officers at school, but educators themselves should not be armed. As a teacher, I would not feel more safe if myself or my colleagues were carried around guns. And I know I'll get crucified by the gun advocates for saying this - but a classroom should be a safe place both emotionally and physically. Guns are symbols of violence to our youth, not safety. It totally changes the dynamic of a classroom. What message does that send our students if each day, when they look to the front of the classroom, they see a teacher with a gun on his/her belt? Honestly, would any of you want your child to be in that environment? I'm sure they arm teachers in Iraq and Afghanistan too, so is that where we are as a nation?
I'd advocate for adding more armed police officers at schools. They go through extensive training at the Police Academy and are well qualified to use such weapons in a public places.
I'd also say that if the logic is to arm educators - what about other public employees. Shootings can happen anywhere - so should we arm St. Louis County Librarians, Workers at the DMV, Tax Collectors at the Government Centers, etc. I think we need to be careful not to overreact to this tragedy. It does cause us to reflect on our current safety practices and make sure they are effective. However, there have been no school shootings in St. Louis in a very long time, I'd say we are doing something right. -
On the article Solar Panels Installed on Five Mehlville Schools
Bob McKitrick
9:54 am on Saturday, December 8, 2012
ReplyI'd like to commend Ron and the rest of the board for unanimously approving this project and for "Buying American." Alternative Energy sources are going to become much more common place in my lifetime and why not? Solar energy is just a better all around choice than mining and burning coal. I predict that our kids will live in homes with solar panels on the roof when they are my age (35). That's the way things are trending. Congrats to Mehlville for staying ahead of the curve.
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On the Blog Post Frozen Custard Summers
Bob McKitrick
12:23 am on Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Thanks, Lauren. I really got to know you when we worked there - and was so happy I did! Now your like a part of the McKitrick family and that's pretty cool. Believe me, if I had the means I'd totally buy it and keep it going. But I don't, so that's that. The neat thing is that so many people have special connection to the place. You just don't find that in jobs very often.
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On the Blog Post Frozen Custard Summers
Bob McKitrick
12:01 am on Sunday, December 2, 2012
Hi Angie! It was a surprise for me too. This was a very special place for a lot of people and I really wanted to articulate that.
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On the Blog Post Boy Scouts Not Screening for Donations from Homosexuals
Bob McKitrick
10:17 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012
ReplyLots of schools and churches do canned food drives in December. If you want to keep your donation as "local" as possible, I'd give to those organizations.
Bob McKitrick
4:18 pm on Saturday, March 23, 2013
I've stated it on other forums and I'll repeat it here.... I don't know how anyone can vote against Palamand and Felton. They have been very good board members and have served the Mehlville community with distinction. I do not share Ms. Trakas' political views ... and I can't help but think that she is following an ultra conservative narrative. I'm not going to sling mud at her, but honestly, I'd have a hard time voting for anyone else but Palamand and Felton.