Cape school district, bond-funded projects begin

Upgrades to the heating and air-conditioning system at Cape Central High School got underway Thursday making it among the first major projects to be funded by a bond issue approved by Cape Girardeau voters earlier this year.

Proposition Y was approved overwhelmingly in April and provides $12 million for various upgrades, expansions, renovations and repairs throughout the school district.

Earlier this week, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education authorized the school district to engage Phillip B. Smith Architect LLC, of Cape Girardeau to develop renovation and expansion plans for two of the district's elementary schools, Alma Schrader and Jefferson.

The architect also will design a new pre-kindergarten center to be built on the Jefferson school campus.

"Work at Alma Schrader will involve an addition, remodeling, redesign and updates and then we'll be doing the same at Jefferson," according to Kristin Tallent, the district's director of communications.

She said a construction timeline has not been finalized, but work at Alma Schrader will probably start first because renovations at Jefferson will be coordinated with the new aquatic center planned in partnership with the City of Cape Girardeau on the Jefferson campus.

Tallent said work at Jefferson Elementary will be coordinated with input provided by an advisory committee working with the city and school district to develop the aquatic center. "We'll be waiting for information to come out of that committee," she said.

District projects being funded through the Proposition Y bond issue include:

• parking lot repairs at Central High School, Blanchard Elementary and Career and Technology Center ($150,000);
• HVAC repairs throughout the district ($200,000);
• roof repairs at Blanchard Elementary, Central High School and Career and Technology Center ($500,000);
• centralized pre-kindergarten center ($1.5 million);
• renovation and expansion of Alma Schrader Elementary ($2 million);
• renovation and expansion of Jefferson Elementary ($2 million);
• aquatics facility on the Jefferson campus, in partnership with the city of Cape Girardeau ($4 million).