CAPE DISTRICT JUST MISSES TOP MARKS; KEEPS ACCREDITATION

The Cape Girardeau School District will retain full accreditation and will just miss receiving the state's top rating at next week's Missouri Board of Education meeting.

A report submitted by a team of investigators has recommended the state school board give the district full accreditation at its meeting.

The recommendation follows last fall's weeklong Missouri School Improvement Program evaluation.

"It was an excellent review. The strengths far outweighed the concerns throughout the review," said Richard Trout, state supervisor of instruction who led the investigators.

The MSIP review is part of a comprehensive evaluation required by state law to monitor a school district's progress in dealing with the educational system.

Investigators visit school districts on five-year rotations and conduct surveys and interviews with faculty, staff, board members, administrators and parents to determine how well districts meet state and federal standards and assessments.

They also study district personnel and discipline policies to determine if districts are within state guidelines for hiring, discipline and safety.

If the report makes recommendations, the district has a year to create improvement plans.

If too many concerns go unimproved, a district could lose local control of the schools.

Near miss

District superintendent Dr. Dan Steska said he is proud of the district's improvements since its 1996 MSIP review when investigators cited 30 areas of concern regarding needs for improved facilities, more administrators and a revamped guidance program.

The new report lists fewer than a dozen areas of concern, mainly involving the need for improved library facilities and book listings throughout the district and improved finances.

Had the district conducted an additional fire drill and a second earthquake drill at Central High School and Louis J. Schultz School, investigators would have recommended the district for the Accredited With Distinction ranking, reserved for school districts that receive high marks on the 11 MSIP standards.

Steska said not earning the top accreditation stung, especially because monthly reviews of emergency plans were conducted. MSIP requirements mandate full drills rather than classroom reviews.

"We were a hair's breath away from being in the top 25 percent of schools in the state," he said. "To have done so well in all other areas and miss on that is galling, but there's no excuse for it. The fact is we were supposed to do it and we didn't."

Money bind

Trout is aware of the district's financial bind while it awaits a $1 million state appropriation to cover remaining costs for construction of a vocational school.

The district is one of a number of public institutions in Southeast Missouri that counted on money included in a $161.8 million capital improvements spending bill signed into law last summer.

The state is retaining the money until the final outcome of litigation related to Missouri's revenue-limiting Hancock Amendment is known.

The delay has caused the district's fund balances to drop near critically low levels, as noted by the review team.

The school board likely will ask voters to approve an operating tax levy increase in August to provide additional funding for operating expenses, including increases to staff salaries.

"I think the district and board have looked at that and tried to deal with it," Trout said.