CAPE SCHOOL BOARD AWARDS CONTRACT

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education approved a driveway construction bid and the sale of property during a special meeting Thursday.

School board members awarded the contract for construction of a bus driveway at Alma Schrader Elementary School to Lappe Cement Finishing. The company's $21,886 bid for the project was lower than the $51,333 bid submitted by Sides Construction.

Separate areas are planned this year for school buses and parents dropping off and picking up students at the school. Parents will have a pick-up area in the front of the school, while the bus drive will be located along the side of the building.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent said every effort will be made to complete the bus driveway before school begins Aug. 26. If the project is unfinished by that date, the company will be required to put up fencing and other equipment to ensure safety around the work area, he said.

In other business, board members approved a price of $15,000 per acre for the sale of 17.701 acres of property to Southeast Missouri State University.

The school district agreed to sell the tract of land, situated on the northwest corner of North Sprigg and Bertling, to the university in March. The university will spend $265,515 for the land, which will be developed for construction of two soccer fields and tennis courts. The improvements will tie in with the university's current construction of the athletic fields on the southwest corner of Sprigg and Bertling.

The school district and university are scheduled to sign contracts finalizing the sale next Wednesday.

Tallent said the school district didn't need the 17 acres. Construction of an elementary school is underway on a 20-acre site just north of the land it is selling to the university. Tallent said the university's plans for the property will complement the new elementary school.

Driveway bid results

Bid Tabulation for Alma Schrader Elementary School bus driveway

-- Sides Construction

Base bid: $51,333

Completion Days: 45

Change order: 15 percent

-- Lappe Construction Finishing

Base bid: $21,886

Completion Days: 35

Change order: 34 percent