Cape School Board discusses future city park near Jefferson, Career Ladder Plan for teachers

Cape Girardeau School District Board of Education members approved authorization for superintendent Neil Glass to negotiate a contract with Brockmiller Construction to install a concrete retaining wall at Jefferson Elementary School for $74,850.

Josh Crowell, assistant superintendent for support services, reported at the board's meeting Monday that a retaining wall will be built on three sides of a city park now under construction next door to Jefferson Elementary. The park is being built in partnership with Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department and will be shared with the school, Crowell said. The park will be used as a playground for students during school hours and then open to the public outside school hours, he said. There will be lights installed, and the park will be closed at night following the same schedule as other city parks.

"The retaining wall is necessary due to the topography of the lot, which needs to be brought up to grade," Crowell said. "Also, a fence will be installed on top of the wall for additional safety."

Crowell said Brockmiller was able to give the lowest bid because the company is already on site building the park, which means they won't have the added cost of mobilizing the crew and equipment needed to build the retaining wall.

Career Ladder Plan

The board next approved implementing a Career Ladder Plan, as allowed by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, for additional teacher compensation in areas determined by the district for new student-centered enrichment priorities.

Glass said he was excited to offer a career ladder to the district's teachers.

"It's an opportunity for them to get a little extra pay for doing a little extra work," Glass said.

The plan will be partially state funded, Glass said, and district officials must submit the plan to the state for approval.

"Basically, this is for help with an intramural program that Mr. (Tyson) Moyers is running and also mentorship programs at the secondary level," Glass said. "The advantage of a Career Ladder Plan is that the state pays 60% of the cost while the district only has to cover 40%. It's a fabulous deal. We're not sure how long it will be funded because when money runs out this is always one of the first programs that goes."

Glass said teachers can qualify for different stages of compensation depending on how long they sign up to participate. He said compensation levels are $1,500 if they've signed up for two years, $3,000 for three years and $5,000 for more than three years.

Glass said teachers were polled to see how much interest there was in a Career Ladder Plan, and 28 teachers said they would like to participate, which would pay out $101,000 in stipends to the teachers but will only cost the district a little more than $40,000.

Glass said he told the teachers this year is a pilot program to see how well the project does. If it is successful this year, Glass said it will be looked at for additional opportunities in the future.