BLANCHARD ELEMENTARY OPENING TARGETED FOR DEC. 11

Blanchard Elementary School students could be moving into their new school before classes are dismissed for Christmas.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska told the Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday night that the target opening date for the school is Dec. 11. Architect Tom Holshouser and the construction superintendent representing R.L. Persons Construction indicated during a meeting last week that Dec. 11 is "a reasonable date to move into the school," Steska said.

Steska said he will receive "continual updates" on the building to determine whether the new completion date is attainable."I'm stressing the word "may" because we've been talking about this since August, and we keep hoping it's going to happen," Steska said. "We have a plan in place to move as soon as we get the word." Construction of the building near North Sprigg and Bertling has been delayed several times since voters approved funding of a five-year master plan that included the new elementary school. Most recently contractors projected a mid-November completion of the school. The school district retained $341,724.20 of the $3.4 million contract for construction of Blanchard. That amount will be paid when the building is completed.

A $300-a-day fine for not meeting a June 30 completion date will be deducted from the final payment. The fine, which includes weekends, will top $45,000 on Dec. 1.

Steska said teachers believe Dec. 11 is an opportune date for the move because it would allow them to get into their new classrooms prior to the holiday vacation. Teachers would then be able to work inside the building before students return to clean up, decorate and organize as they would like."We went back and forth on that issue, and I believe the majority of teachers wanted to go ahead and move before the end of the semester," said Steska. "This way they'd be able to get the dust settled, as it were, before they went on vacation." Currently, Blanchard students are divided by grade level between Washington and May Greene schools, which are scheduled for closure after the new school is completed. Students in grades kindergarten through fourth are housed at Washington School, while fifth- and sixth-graders attend classes at May Greene.

Classroom assignments won't change with the opening of Blanchard, which will allow for an easier transition to the building. If all goes according to plans, a team of teachers, custodial and maintenance staff, and various volunteers will help teachers complete their packing by Dec. 10, a Friday, just in time for a weekend move, said Steska."We think the desks and chairs can be moved in a day," he said. "We're hoping to end school on a Friday with everything paced, and then students would come back to Blanchard on Monday."