Cape Girardeau school board approves purchase of new scoreboards

Editor's note: The following story has been updated to correct the name of the assistant superintendent for special services.

The Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education members voted during their meeting Monday, May 22, to authorize superintendent Neil Glass to negotiate the purchase of four video scoreboards for Central High School.

The contract for the scoreboards will be through Digital Scoreboards LLC, for an amount not to exceed $417,000.

Josh Crowell, assistant superintendent of support services, said the current scoreboards at the high school stadium and gymnasium are nearing the end of their life expectancy and already developing technical issues. He said the new scoreboard package will include delay of game and locker room time clocks, and be covered by an 11-year warranty.

Glass reported the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation Board of Directors voted to raise funds for the scoreboard replacements at CHS. He said board members proposed the district purchase the boards, and the foundation will pay the district back over a five-year period, "avoiding unnecessary loan expenses."

Glass said the foundation utilizes the current scoreboards for advertisements, which, in turn, provide revenue that helps fund various needs for the district. He said the same will hold true for the new scoreboards.

Glass said two bids for the scoreboard replacements were received through The Interlocal Purchasing System, and Digital Scoreboards was the lowest bid.

Other business

• The board also heard from Mandy Keys, assistant superintendent for special services, regarding the district's guidance and counseling program, student health services and special services. Keys said she evaluated all three programs as "above average."

Keys noted goals for the programs included adding a mental health support counselor, confirming a new medical director and increasing student access to the general education setting.

• Brice Beck, deputy superintendent of secondary education, gave an evaluation of the career ladder grant program for the 2022-23 school year. He said 10 teachers participated as coaches for extracurricular activities or as mentors for students participating in service-learning activities or preparing for or enrolling in advance courses.

Beck reported the teachers put in an additional 819 hours beyond their regular teaching duties. He said the district contributed $12,600 to the program and the state contributed $18,900. He said all 10 teachers have committed to participating in the program for the 2023-24 school year.

• State Rep. John Voss presented a resolution from the Missouri House of Representatives to outgoing superintendent Glass.

Reading from the resolution, Voss stated Glass, among other things, was to be commended for the improvement of the district's graduation rate by 6 percentage points and for the district's annual performance report reaching an all-time high of 96%.