CANDIDATES VIEW SCHOOL ISSUUES

Candidates for the Cape Girardeau School District Board of Education Thursday fielded questions on the district's future and how best to address problems like insufficient funding and crowded grade schools.

Kathy Swan and Jeff Daniel, who are seeking the one-year unexpired term of former board president Carolyn Kelley, and incumbent Lyle Davis, who is running unopposed for another three-year term on the board, participated in the forum at Washington School.

Swan said her candidacy is a unique opportunity to "reinvest" in the school district she graduated from in 1968.

She said cooperation between the school board, school teachers and administrators, and parents is important when dealing with education issues.

"I see this as a team," Swan said. "My personal mission statement for the schools is that we provide our young people with the best education we can provide at the best facilities possible and give them the social skills needed to compete in their later life."

Daniel said that teamwork and flexibility are important qualities for a school board member to possess. A former athlete and athletic trainer, he said his experience in athletics prepares him well for the job.

"If you're elected you're going to be criticized," Daniel said. "In athletics, you're bound to be criticized for tough decisions.

"I can't tell you how I'm going to vote on the issues. But I can tell you I can make decisions, and I'm going to give it my best shot."

Davis said he's encouraged by Superintendent Neyland Clark's commitment to increase community involvement in the school district. He said that will help the district make tough decisions on new facilities, programs and district finances.

"We find ourselves in a position where we have to be all things to all people," Davis said. "That's tough sometimes when you're in a position like we're facing this year, where you have to get rid of $1 million."

All three candidates agreed that the district likely will have to consider some type of bond issue to continue programs in the face of decreasing state and federal funding.

Davis said the prospect for additional state and federal funds for the district in the near future is bleak. He said any increased funding will have to be generated locally.

"Ultimately, it will be up to the local community," he said. "If we're not willing to foot the bill to educate our kids, we're not going to have any luck getting more funding."

Davis said anti-tax sentiment runs deep in Southeast Missouri, which means the district the school board, administrators, teachers and parents will have to stress public education to convince voters of the need for some type of local bond issue.

Daniel agreed: "It's clear, if we want to fund it, we're going to have to go to our own pockets and find it."

Swan said she was disturbed at the amount of state funding the Cape Girardeau School District receives compared with other districts around the state. But she also said revenue for the school must be generated locally through a tax increase.

"When you look at dollars and you look at what we want to do, how else do you pay for it?" she said.

The candidates also addressed the issue of crowded classrooms in some of the district's grade schools.

Davis and Swan said they would favor redrawing the grade school boundaries and adding another school.

"We, probably undoubtedly, will be faced with a new grade school," Swan said. "When that happens we undoubtedly will be faced with redistricting."

Daniel said the district at some point will have to consider the issue of adding a middle school to consolidate more grades prior to junior high school.