Conclusion to Cape County's school districts consolidation

The student body of Marquette School poses with its teachers, circa 1950s. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)

Mandated by a law passed in 1947 by the Missouri General Assembly, educators in Cape Girardeau County began considering the consolidation of close to 80 school districts. A county board of education, headed by State College professor A.C. Magill, came up with a plan to take those districts and combine them into three large districts. Each district would have its own high school — at Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Delta.

As we saw in last week's blog, public opinion — at least in the rural sections of the county — was against the plan. And voters soundly defeated it in March 1949.

But that just set up a second vote, one that would come in December 1950 after considerable changes were made to the plan. This time, instead of three districts, voters were asked to approve consolidation into five districts. Four of the districts — Delta, Jackson, Oak Ridge and Cape Girardeau — would have high schools. High school students in the fifth district would attend College High School, then called the Training School, at Southeast Missouri State College.

Published Sept. 21, 1950, in the Southeast Missourian:

SUBMIT NEW SCHOOL MERGER PLAN

A new rural school consolidation program, revamping one rejected by voters in the spring of 1949, was announced today by the Cape County Board of Education, which has submitted it to the state Department of Education before calling a special election. In the prior election, three districts were suggested.

The new plan calls for consolidation of rural schools of the county into five separate districts. These would be: District R-1, College Training School and 11 rural districts; District R-2, Delta and 15 rural districts; District R-3, Jackson and 28 rural districts including a fractional district in Bollinger County; District R-4, Oak Ridge and 20 districts; District R-5, Cape Girardeau and the Marquette School district.

Published Sept. 23, 1950, in the Southeast Missourian:

SUGGEST SCHOOL AREAS IN COUNTY DISTRICTS PLAN

CAPE-MARQUETTE AND JACKSON LARGE UNITS AS OFFICIALLY PROPOSED

Under the proposal of the Cape County Board of Education for consolidation of rural schools, College Training School would be the center for all 11 other districts having a combined enumeration of 584 and a present enrollment, including Training School of 342 pupils and an assessed valuation of $1,860,720.

This was reported today in a listing of the schools which would be combined into five enlarged districts. The plan must be approved by the state Department of Education, however, before it can be brought to the people of the districts in an election for approval.

Delta is proposed as another center with 14 others combining into a district with an enumeration of 974 and an enrollment of 673. Assessed valuation is $1,888,730.

The plan would consolidate 28 schools into a district centered on Jackson. This district has an enumeration of 1,774 pupils and an existing enrollment of 1,574. The assessed valuation would be $6,576,530.

One Cape district

Oak Ridge would be consolidation center for 20 schools enrolling 339 pupils and enumerating 726. The assessed valuation would be $2,663,100.

The Cape Girardeau district embraces only one outside school, Marquette. Enumeration was put at 4,706 and enrollment at 2,822. Assessed valuation came to $17,333,491. It would be called District R-5.

Schools proposed for District R-1 are: College Training School, Sheppard, Iona, Indian Creek, Campster, Juden, Egypt Mills, Abernathy, Kage, Pecan Grove, Coker and Brooks.

Proposed for District R-2: Delta, Blomeyer, Maple Grove, Council Ridge, Stroderville, Whitewater, Dutchtown, Allenville, Collins-Moore, Oak Valley, Arbor, Crump, Rum Branch, Randles, Hickory Grove and Delta.

In Jackson proposal

Proposed for District R-3: Jackson, Fruitland, Schoenebeck, Roberts, McFerron, Millersville, Link, Jackson, Cane Creek, Burfordville, Gravel Hill, Gordonville, Needmore, Tilsit, Williams, Sandy Ridge, Randol, Stroder, Oak Grove, Poplar Grove, Niswonger, Rieman, Big Springs, Clover Hill, Hartle, Helderman, Plainview, Liberty No. 2, Poplar Ridge and a small section in Bollinger County.

Proposed for District R-4: Oak Ridge, Apple Creek Valley, Arnsberg, Buckeye, Clippard, Critesville, Daisy, Fullbright, Goshen, Hilderbrand, Horrell, Kurreville, Liberty No. 1, New Wells, Oak Hill, Oak Ridge, High Hill, Old Appleton, Old Salem, Pocahontas and Shawneetown.

Once again, in December 1950 voters in all five of the proposed districts gave the scheme a thumbs down.

Published Dec. 13, 1950, in the Southeast Missourian:

ALL 5 COUNTY AREAS VOTE DOWN SCHOOL DISTRICTING

Cape County's rural and urban school setup remained unchanged today after voters turned down Tuesday for the second time a reorganization program which would have consolidated more than 70 districts into five large areas.

The voted by proposed districts:

R-1 (Training School) — For 91, against 158.

R-2 (Delta) — For 116, against, 541.

R-3 (Jackson) — For 354, against 412.

R-4 (Oak Ridge) — For 393, against 457.

R-5 (Cape Girardeau) — For 27, against 101.

Some favor seen

Everywhere the vote was decisive, although in the R-4 area centering around Oak Ridge it was apparent reorganization met with more favor than in any of the other four districts.

Cape Girardeau and Marquette District patrons turned the proposal down cold. So apathetic was the public in the former that it was almost outvoted by the overwhelming opinion against the proposal in the Marquette area.

Every adult voter in Cape Girardeau was eligible to vote in the election, registered or not. Yet, only 72 persons marked ballots at the Franklin School precinct, 26 for and 46 against. In the tiny Marquette district every school patron apparently voted. There the count was only one in favor and 56 opposed.

Just stayed at home

Marquette district residents were afraid their school might be eliminated under a new six-member board that would be elected if the proposal passed. Those few Cape Girardeau patrons who voted had a variety of reasons, but most often heard was a fear of disturbing the present board membership which is familiar with the pending high school building program.

District R-1, which was set up as an elementary area only with the tacit understanding that Training School would be high school center, carried at two precincts, Neelys Landing and Juden.

There, also, the election of a new six-member board worried school patrons. Many expressed a fear that one particular section would dominate the board. In the southwestern part of the county, District R-2, with Delta proposed as the high school center, didn't like the plan at all. Even at Delta, which would have gained high school pupils, they turned it down, 109 to 83.

In the Jackson area, largest of the five, three areas voted for the measure, but four other went overwhelmingly against it. Set up as District R-3, it carried in Jackson, Fruitland and Randol, but was soundly thumped at Gordonville, Tilsit, Burfordville and Millersville.

As voting was before

Oak Ridge, the high school center for District R-4, wanted the new area, but was overruled by the other sections, none of which went for it. Oak Ridge, opposed to the previous reorganization plan that would have abolished its high school, cast 290 votes in favor and only 42 against in the new plan which kept its high school intact.

The defeat administered the new plan of reorganization was comparable to that of March 1949, when another was rejected by voters. Then there were three districts put up for a vote. It was the first submitted to the state and approved, and the first voted on in Missouri. Since that time numerous counties have adopted reorganized districts in whole or in part.

The county Board of Education was on hand to accept the reports as they came in to the county superintendent's office Tuesday night. It has no plans for the future, a spokesman said.

Finally, in March 1954, a modicum of success was achieved by the Cape Girardeau County Board of Education. In that election, voters approved two of six districts: R-2, with Jackson as the high school center, and R-7, an elementary district centering on Millersville.

Published March 10, 1954, in the Southeast Missourian:

NEW SCHOOL PLANS APPROVED IN ONLY TWO OF SIX DISTRICTS

Reorganization of rural school districts into single enlarged teaching areas was approved Tuesday by voters in two of six such districts which had been proposed by the Cape County Board of Education.

Thorough endorsement was given the plan in the high school area centered around Jackson and in the elementary district centering on Millersville.

Reorganization failed to pass in two other proposed high school areas, Oak Ridge and Delta, and in two projected elementary districts, northeast of Cape Girardeau and west of Cape Girardeau.

The vote for the high school district around Jackson, District R-2 under the plan, was 790 for and 499 against. The vote for the elementary district around Millersville, District R-7, was 209 for and 57 against.

Despite an overwhelming majority from the Oak Ridge district, the rest of the voters in proposed District R-1 did not favor joining a high school center there and rejected reorganization, 484 for and 638 against.

Loses near Delta

Likewise, Delta gave endorsement to the reorganization plan which would have made it the high school center, but the rural districts which would have been incorporated with it didn't go for the plan. The vote was 400 for and 477 against.

District R-3 was proposed for elementary organization. It is northeast of Cape Girardeau. Voters turned it down, 158 to 92. The other elementary district proposed was west of Cape Girardeau. It was soundly dropped there, 53 votes for to 433 against.

The Jackson Board of Education had given its endorsement to the R-2 District. The existing Jackson district approved it 437 to 170. It was joined by Fruitland and Pocahontas, each of which gave the plan substantial margins. But Tilsit left no doubt where it stood. Only one person voted for and 155 were against. Neelys Landing and Burfordville also turned it down. Regardless of these negative votes, the overall majority holds good and reorganization will be effected.

Many opposed

In the proposed R-1 District centered on Delta, voters in the existing Delta district went there to vote and approved it 438 for to 16 against. But the rest of the voters went to Daisy or to Old Appleton and snowed it under. The vote at Daisy was 38 for and 348 against and at Old Appleton 7 for and 638 against.

In the districts where the plan was rejected, schools will continue as they have in the past. In the two districts where reorganization was approved new six-director boards will be elected soon. Tax rates, transportation matters, school locations and full administration of the new districts will rest with them.

To pay costs

Following tabulation of ballots Tuesday night at Jackson, the county board met. Judges were appointed to make the official count. Cost of the election will be pro-rated among all the districts in the county when all bills are in.

Application for 57 absentee and two war ballots were made and 42 had been returned up to this forenoon. These will be counted tonight or Thursday, officials said. There are not enough to make any change in results.

A March 4, 2001, article by staff writer Tamara Zellars Buck in the Southeast Missourian summed up school consolidation in Cape Girardeau County. She also provided a list of the schools that were merged.

Voters in all three proposed districts rejected the first county plan. It was the first in a series of failed proposals.

Voters rejected a proposal in 1950 that was remarkably similar to the school districts operating today. Under the plan, K-12 districts would be created around the towns of Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Delta and Oak Ridge. An elementary district would be created north of Cape Girardeau, and its older students were to be transported to University High School in Cape Girardeau.

In 1954, voters approved part of a proposal that would have consolidated the county's rural schools into seven new districts. From this plan, voters approved the creation of Jackson R-2 School District, which consolidated Jackson city schools with 17 rural districts. Millersville R-7, an elementary district that eventually was annexed into Jackson, also was formed.

It was their first success, and over the next decade, the county school board would continue working to reduce more than 70 school districts to the mere five that exist today.

In 1956, voters united Delta city schools with 11 rural districts. Oak Ridge city schools were united with four rural districts, and the elementary district now called Nell Holcomb was created from six rural schools in communities north of Cape Girardeau.

Although rural voters rejected several plans to consolidate with the district, the Abernathy, Campster, Kage, Marquette and Pecan Grove schools were closed in the late 1960s and early 1970s after their districts were annexed into the city limits and attendance dried up along with money to run the schools...