Cape school board rejects proposal to allow parochial-school students to play sports

The Cape Girardeau School Board rejected a proposal Monday night to allow students at area parochial schools to play sports at district schools.

St. Mary Cathedral School and St. Vincent de Paul Parish School requested the district negotiate an agreement that would allow students enrolled at the private schools to be eligible to participate in football, cross country and wrestling at Central Junior High School.

Superintendent James Welker told the board after receiving the requests, he consulted with staff who opposed the idea, citing already-high athletic participation rates at the junior high.

Staff worried participation opportunities extended to outside students would come at the expense of those enrolled in the Cape Girardeau School District, Welker said.

Welker said he also consulted with district legal counsel, who advised the district’s financial responsibility is to students enrolled in district schools, not students who live in the district.

Board member Kyle McDonald pointed out the district denied a similar request from Nell Holcomb School several years ago.

But the request from St. Mary and St. Vincent warrants more consideration because some of those students’ parents live in the Cape Girardeau School District and would support it through taxes, he said.

Still, he opposed the motion.

“I don’t think it’s in our students’ best interest,” he said.

Board member Lynn Ware agreed.

Board vice president Adrian Toole supported the motion.

“Competition and growing up to the reality of competition is not such a bad thing,” he said.

Welker said he did not know how many private-school students would participate if the motion passed.

Board member Don Call expressed uncertainty about the compatibility of grading and disciplinary structures of public and private schools.

The board collectively expressed concern allowing participation at the junior-high level could establish a precedent for high-school participation.

Board president Jeff Glenn said he was conflicted about the request but eventually opposed the proposal.

The board rejected the motion, with only Toole voting to allow the parochial school students to participate.

During the meeting, the board also authorized the negotiation of a change order for $218,422 to replace roofing at the junior high.

“We had some areas we knew about on the junior-high roof that needed to be addressed,” assistant superintendent Neil Glass told the board.

The roofing repairs will be over the band room. Glass said officials waited to address roofing issues until construction on the upgraded school entrance was underway to evaluate what was needed.

“When you get out of the ground, it’s a lot easier to predict change orders,” he said.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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