BUDGET CUT `TO THE BONE AND MUSCLE'; CAPE SCHOOL BOARD TRIMS $1.2 MILLION IN SPENDING

The budget ax fell Monday night as the Cape Girardeau Board of Education cut $1.2 million from its budget.

Among the cuts for next year:

Two elementary schools, probably May Greene and Washington, will share one principal;

School bus riders must live a half-mile farther from school;

Driver's education will not be offered during the school year;

And, class sizes will be increased.

The board unanimously approved the budget reallocation package with little comment. Teachers and parents who packed the meeting room also had little comment during the meeting.

Superintendent Neyland Clark said, "I think it's important that the community remember that three and a half years ago the district went through a similar process of cutting the fat. Now we are to the bone and muscle. When you take $1.2 million out of a $19.5 million budget, there were things that hurt."

The principal at Franklin School has announced his resignation at the end of this school year. Clark said the position will not be filled.

"We have had a request from a principal to be transferred from another school to Franklin," Clark said. That transfer requires board approval, which has not been given.

After the meeting, Clark explained that May Greene and Washington have the smallest enrollments of the district's six elementary schools.

He said it is possible that a student intern, a person pursuing a doctorate in school administration, could be hired at a much lower salary for one year.

During the board meeting, school board President Pat Ruopp said, "I don't think any specific group has been picked on. This is the most equitable package of cuts I've seen.

"This isn't news to any board members and it shouldn't be news to the community. We've been saying for years that we're spending more than we're taking in and we've been drawing on our reserves."

At the meeting, the board also approved retirements of six teachers and one resignation.

Clark said in the last couple of days he has received several inquiries about the district retirement incentive package, approved last month.

"Hopefully, many of the positions involved here can be eliminated through attrition or retirement," he said.

Cape Girardeau Community Teacher Association President Jo Peukert, a sixth-grade teacher at May Greene, said, "My greatest concern is in the elimination of teachers. That's what impacts our students."

She said the process, which included committees from throughout the district, worked well. "It's not pleasant, but I think there is equity out there. It touches everyone a little bit."

In an interview, Clark said administrators will begin work to implement the cuts. He said the committee that made the final reallocation recommendation will begin meeting to prioritize the list. Some things will be reinstated as money becomes available, he said.