$1.3 million in cuts may be enough for Cape task force

Officials in Cape Girardeau schools are hopeful that $1.3 million in cuts is all it will take to escape the financial hole the district is in.

Originally, the district had planned to cut $2.2 million from a $35 million budget. On Monday, superintendent Mark Bowles will make cutback recommendations to the school board for $800,000 less than that amount.

"Our target was $2.2 million, but our goal was to judge how much we could cut and do minimal damage," Bowles said. "This has allowed us to put off going broke for a few years while the state and local assessed valuation have time to come around."

Bowles said those two factors are the reason the district is deficit spending now. If the state's economy and local tax revenue doesn't increase, Bowles said more cuts will be necessary.

"We now have a chance to watch the economy before deciding if more cuts will have to be made," he said.

The school board will vote on the recommended cuts at their Jan. 26 meeting.