BOARD EYES SCHOOL OPTIONS

Cape Girardeau's Board of Education meets tonight to look for the best way to replace old city school buildings.

The board meets at 5:30 p.m. A closed session is scheduled at the start of the meeting to discuss a student disciplinary matter. The open portion of the meeting will follow.

Board president John Campbell said, "I don't know what the consensus will be. But I know the board is unanimous about the fact that we have old, outdated facilities that have to be replaced.

"We're just going to discuss the long range plan and where we go from here as far as bringing another tax increase to the voters."

Campbell calls tonight's meeting "a beginning."

He said, "There are no foregone conclusions. And I doubt there will be any final decisions made.

Board members have been mulling over information from three public hearings held last month, a number of written suggestions and information compiled by school administrators.

In November, the board asked for public comments on plans to proceed toward a middle school in the district. A proposal to turn May Greene into a sixth-grade center received mostly negative reactions.

In April and October, voters turned down a tax increase designed to fund construction of a middle school and other district improvements.

Campbell said the comments received at the November meetings, the written suggestions and other information will be brought together tonight.

"We are going to put some what-ifs down and start to discuss that," Campbell said.

"We feel we're engaged in a thorough process," Campbell said. "We have had a lot of public comment."

Campbell anticipates that at least one other study session will be held before a plan is set. "They we will probably hold a public meeting to disclose the plan to the public," he said.

Campbell declined to speculate on any possible scenarios. "I don't want to prejudice anything."