CAPE DISTRICT PREPARING FOR PROP C VOTE

For an additional $41 a year, Cape Girardeau school district taxpayers could pay for new computer labs, improved libraries, updated electrical systems, better lighting, plumbing, heating, roofs, fire protection, handicap accessibility.

The school board wants voters on June 7 to waive the property-tax rollback provided by Proposition C, the state sales tax for education.

The June vote is the first of a two-tiered school improvement plan. In November, voters will be asked to approve a bond issue to fund construction of a new elementary school.

The waiver would add 37 cents for each $100 of assessed valuation. Last year, the tax rate was $2.87. If voters restore the rate to the pre-Proposition C level, it will be $3.24. The measure requires a simple majority to pass.

The tax increase would cost the average Cape Girardeau homeowner $40.98 a year, or $3.42 a month, said Business Manager Larry Dew. The 1990 census prices the average home in the city at $58,300.

The proposal would generate $1.1 million in new local money. That money has been earmarked by the Board of Education for capital improvements, repairs and upgrades to current buildings. The increase would also generate $1.6 million in new state funds.

An open forum is planned June 2 at 7 p.m. at the Central High School auditorium for school board members to hear from school patrons about the proposal.

Board members will present information about the plan, answer questions and accept suggestions.

"Like the other forums, we are looking for open dialogue," said Superintendent Neyland Clark.

This is the third time voters have considered a school tax increase in Cape Girardeau. Two have failed.

In April 1993, taxpayers rejected a 99-cent tax increase that would have funded a new middle school, a new elementary school, an addition to Jefferson Elementary School, earthquake resistance, air conditioning and electrical updates.

In October 1993, voters turned down a 51-cent tax increase that would have funded construction of a new middle school and an addition to Jefferson Elementary.

After the second failure, school board members held a series of public hearings asking patrons what they wanted to see happen with school buildings.

The answer, at least in part, was to repair buildings already in use. Kathy Swan, school board member who works on the public relations committee, said the Proposition C rollback answers that concern.

"And it's not all bricks and mortar," Swan said. "There is a direct benefit to the kids in this tax levy. Physical improvements have a direct impact on the education available to our kids."

But she emphasized that the repairs are just one part of the plan.

"We are not doing this instead of a new building," Swan said. "We still have to replace buildings every once in a while, like all school districts."

If a new elementary school is built, May Greene and Washington schools are slated to close. A redistricting plan for elementary schools is scheduled to be presented to the school board at its June meeting.

More than 200 school districts in Missouri have approved the Proposition C waiver, most by overwhelming majorities. Among area schools that have waived the Proposition C rollback and the approval rates, are Jackson, 94 percent; Poplar Bluff, 97 percent; Scott City, 93 percent; Chaffee, 96 percent Sikeston, 97 percent; Scott County Central, 96 percent; Kelso, 93 percent; Oran, 95 percent; and Kelly, 88 percent.

Most of those 200 school districts waived their Proposition C rollback in response to Senate Bill 380's requirement of a minimum $2.75 tax levy.

"We don't have to do it, but the opportunity is there for us too," Dew said. "And $2.87 is not that far from $2.75."

A number of other school districts, including Webster Groves and Mehlville in the St. Louis area, are conducting similar campaigns to Cape Girardeau.

School officials worried that the clean-up bill for Senate Bill 380, approved during the recent legislative session, might affect the payback of waiving the Proposition C rollback. But Dew said the final bill allows increases in local tax rates to generate increases in state funds.

"Taxpayers here pay $1.10 and get another $1.60 from the state," Dew said.

Cape Girardeau's budget allots nothing for debt service and one percent for facility acquisition, which is an accounting term for capital outlays and building improvements, Dew explained.

The average Missouri school district spends 13 percent of its budget for these two expenditures. Schools with the same enrollment and AAA-rated schools both spend an average of 13 percent on debt and building improvements.

At the same time, Cape Girardeau spends 11 percent of its budget on maintenance. The state average is 10 percent.

"Our goal is to move money from maintenance and repair to instructional materials," Dew said.

If building improvements can be made, repairing roofs or installing new windows, costs should go down for maintenance, he said.

"We have been painting and patching when what we really needed was a fix," said Swan. "This is the fix."

Where the money goes

Electrical upgrade Schrader 3,000

Lighting CJHS 40,000

Plbg. fixture replacement (ADA) CHS 30,000

Heating system upgrade-boiler Jefferson/Schrader 70,000

Roofs CHS 150,000

Improved fire protection communication/intercoms All schools 100,000

Computer labs All schools 50,000

Vocational equipment Vo-Tech 50,000

Tuckpointing/waterproof Franklin 20,000

Furniture replacement All schools 50,000

Floor coverings Clippard 20,000

Parking lots 85,000/25,000 CHS/VO-TECH 110,000

Library/media center upgrade All schools 50,000

Wooden bleacher replacement CHS/CJHS 10,000

Window replacement/retrofit Schrader 213,000

Chalkboard replacement All schools 25,000

Master lock systems CJHS 20,000

State matching funds energy grant All schools 25,000

State matching technology All schools 25,000

ADA requirements All schools 25,000

Contingent All schools 50,000

Total $1,136,000