Aldermen review options for high school expansion

Jackson schools superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson outlined three high school expansion plans to the Jackson Board of Aldermen Monday night at the aldermen's study session.

The city will play a hand in the process, considering two of the options call for the city's involvement.

One of the plans contains a community center and another includes a school and city library combination. Anderson said he believes the end result could end up being a hybrid version of the plans that could include both the community center and the library combination, if the city -- and, ultimately, the voters -- agreed to do so.

Jackson Mayor Paul Sander said many aldermen have attended several of the public meetings regarding the need for the high school's expansion and they will deliberate the matter and keep the communication ongoing between the district and the city.

While those two entities are trying to keep the communication running, Jeff Brune, the executive director of the Cape Girardeau Transit Authority, was at the meeting Monday night in an effort to try to keep public transportation running.

Transportation needs

Brune made a presentation to the board in hopes that it will contribute more money to the authority in the future.

Currently, Jackson pays $200 per month to the organization, which provides public transportation to anyone outside the city limits of Cape Girardeau and is geared more toward the elderly and disabled residents of the county.

Brune said about 9,100 point-to-point trips inside the city limits of Jackson were handled by the authority in the last fiscal year and he expects that number to rise by several hundred by the end of this fiscal year.

Brune said the organization has faced serious financial cuts recently and he said money is being drawn from reserves every month to pay salaries.

Sander said the board would consider the matter and get back to Brune soon.