Cape school officials tout bond issue for junior high renovation

As school district officials stood in front of Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School this week, they envisioned how it will look if voters approve a $20 million bond issue in April.

The measure -- Proposition 1 -- would provide about $10 million for renovations at the school. At the front of the building, parking and parent pickup areas would be improved, and the entrance would be more accessible for students with disabilities.

Assistant principal Alan Bruns said the school has been using Band-Aids over the years instead of making major renovations, but it's time for "a true facelift."

At the school's old gymnasium, which was built in the early 1950s, Bruns motioned toward cracks in the ceiling, the gym's original bleachers that no longer align properly and the wooden support beams that are beginning to sag.

If the measure is approved, the gym would be razed and replaced with offices for guidance counselors, social workers and administrators. A new practice gym also would be constructed, and science labs, which would double as a storm shelter, would be built in the basement.

"What we like about the plan is it's not adding new square footage," he said. "We're going to raze and rebuild right here."

The funding also would go toward making a more secure entrance area, updating the plumbing system and renovating bathrooms.

Principal Carla Fee said the restrooms haven't been updated since the school was built, and it's one of the top complaints she has heard from students. In one restroom, a stall was widened and a door was removed and replaced with a curtain to make it accessible to students with disabilities.

Stacy Kinder, a former school board member who is leading the Yes Cape Schools campaign, said she has heard many comments about the exposed plumbing and wires in the basement hallways, all of which would be included in the project.

Fee said the renovation also would place teachers in a closer area, allowing them to monitor the basement hallways better.

Elsewhere in the school district, the proposal would pay for an expansion project at the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center and basic repair needs across the district.

The measure does not include a change in the current tax rate, and if the measure fails, the rate will not change, school officials said. If the proposal is approved, however -- which would require a four-sevenths supermajority vote -- the district's existing debt would be extended.

Its current debt is scheduled to be paid off by 2030, and the $20 million proposal would extend the debt an additional five years.

The district's overall rate is $4.1567 per $100 of assessed value, and of that, 68 cents is for debt service.

All the projects are the second phase of a facility plan developed in 2008 and 2009. The first phase, which included projects such as replacing Franklin Elementary School, was addressed with a $40 million bond issue passed in 2010.

School officials said the projects were split into two phases to keep the tax rate from changing.

At the junior high school, Bruns pointed out classroom doors with clear panels that need to be replaced to make the rooms more secure. If the bond issue doesn't pass, he said, the district will wait a year to try again, and the school will use "more Band-Aids and pieces to keep us going."

"I think the structure through most of our building is sound, but it's hard to round up a lot of money to start that facelift process," Bruns said. "You can put a little money at it, but where do you start?"

klamb@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

205 Caruthers St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.