CAPE GIRARDEAU SCHOOL BOARD UNVEILS A NEW PLAN

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education has set a new course for achieving its goals of upgrading facilities for the public school system here. At a meeting last week, board members voiced support for a two-part tax package that will provide funds for maintenance of existing structures and construction of an elementary school. In adopting this approach, the board has backed away from its previous stand that called for construction of a middle school. We feel school officials are on the right path, having gathered public input about facility needs here and made the collected expectations part of the program.

There is nothing so intractable as a governing body that will not listen. In the case of the Cape Girardeau school board, opinions were sought and were heard. Following two election defeats during 1993, when the district hoped to fund ambitious plans that included a middle school, the board held public forums in which people conveyed a message that existing facilities should be more fully maintained and that a new elementary school was preferred over the board-promoted grade distribution.

As outlined last week, the current board plan satisfies these community concerns. In June, a ballot issue is planned to waive Cape Girardeau's 37-cent Proposition C rollback. In effect, this is a tax increase, and by law a portion of this revenue must be used for at-risk programs, the teacher's fund and the incidental fund. Factoring in this new money with the Missouri school funding formula, an extra $1.6 million annually could be sent from the state in Cape Girardeau's direction; added to the $1.1 million the rollback would provide directly, the plan could have a $2.7 million positive impact on the school system. From the incidental fund would be directed money for building maintenance and repair; currently, an 8-cent tax levy generates just $200,000 a year to maintain the substantial investment Cape Girardeans have in their public school infrastructure.

Then, in November, the board plans to propose an $8 million bond issue for construction of a 500-student elementary school at the corner of Sprigg Street and Bertling Avenue. This would add 25 cents (per $100 assessed valuation) to the current tax levy and would subtract two aging schools (Washington and May Greene) from district use. Part of the increased levy would also enable construction of additional space at Jefferson Elementary School.

To use a baseball metaphor, the board has stopped swinging for the fence and opted instead to string together some singles. The middle-school concept, while worthy of debate and probably never fully understood by the public, proved itself to be unmarketable at the polls. Citizens voiced a preference for the frugality of taking care of existing structures and the comfort of a known grade structure. Board members recognized this and constructed a plan accordingly. They will make a final decision on this approach March 21.

It is important to note, too, that the school board intends to have its elementary school boundaries redrawn by the time people go to the polls in November. This is an undertaking that is as ambitious as it is necessary ... not to mention one that inevitably will upset some in the community. The district must address racial distribution questions, and the redistricting will allow for that. Further, the boundaries as currently drawn do not reflect the changing nature of the city, particularly with Cape Girardeau's residential growth to the north and west. We applaud the board for its willingness to take on this politically unpopular task and for wanting to lay out all information before voters must make a choice.

This two-pronged election plan could not have evolved without board members opening their minds to the desires of constituents. Coming now is a time when the public must open its collective mind to the proposals at hand, to the long-range well-being of local education and to the responsiveness the board has shown to public comment. While we stop short in this writing of endorsing these plans that will only be fleshed out as the times of the elections near, we commend the direction the board is heading.