Cape school board votes to keep tax rate stable

Property taxes in Cape Girardeau will not rise in support of the local public-school system.

At their regularly scheduled meeting Monday night, members of the school board voted to keep the rate at $4.1567 of assessed $100 valuation.

But because property tax revenue will not be coming into the school system until January, the board also approved a Tax Anticipation Note resolution that will enable the district to borrow up to $8 million to help with cash flow until the end of the year.

Neil Glass, assistant superintendent for administrative services, said the interest rate on the note will be 1.25 percent, meaning if the district borrows the money, it will end up paying about $34,000 in interest.

• In other business, superintendent Jim Welker reported the district will host a regional meeting of the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Oct. 4.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center to gather feedback from educators and the public about what they feel is most important in Missouri education.

• James Russell, the district's instructional technology specialist, said more than 40 teachers attended summer sessions devoted to using technology in the classroom.

"A lot of new teachers came too, which gave us a jump on the year," he told school-board members.

He also said a concerted effort by several schools has led to a spike not only in the use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but a substantial increase in audience engagement.

One example he gave is Alma Schrader Elementary School, which now has more than 12,000 followers.

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