CAPE UPDATE: MEETING THE NEEDS OF KIDS: AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Over the past three years the Cape Girardeau Public Schools have been deliberately pursuing a course toward significant and comprehensive capital improvements throughout the school district. The district began with an "Educational Summit" in January 1992 which involved over 200 citizens of our community resulting in the formulation of Project Partnership: School and Community. This valuable process began by involving even more citizens through the formation of three study task groups: finance, facilities, and educational programs. After several months of close scrutiny and intensive review by these groups recommendations were formally submitted to the Board of Education and subsequently published verbatim in this newspaper.

Through these reports and the various meetings which followed, educational priorities based on the needs of children were established. These educational needs did not always conveniently coincide with the political wishes of the general community. The harsh reality of these needs continues to present itself in the form of aging school buildings. Today these needs stand in the physical form of Washington and May Greene Elementary Schools, side by side with the reality of two bond campaign defeats. With some patrons stating our need to go back to the people and "really listen," including the editorial board of this newspaper, the Board of Education and its administration returned to the public arena via three publicly held and widely publicized town forums. The Board of Education has held two public work sessions to study the approaches to consider in addressing the growing needs.

The results bring a repeat of some very familiar problems facing the school district with a commitment from the Board of Education to resolve the needs and maintain a sensitivity to the voice of the community. In essence, the Board of Education has begun to break down the size and scope of the projects and develop a revised long term schedule which will begin to address the immediate facility needs of our school community. Therefore the middle school, while considered appropriate educationally, will be delayed in lieu of the building needs at the elementary level regarding Washington and May Greene Schools.

At the Jan. 31 work session of the Board of Education, preparations began for a schedule to construct a new elementary school and the addition to other elementary schools which would serve to replace the older elementary schools of the school district.

This action by the Board of Education has demonstrated their sensitivity to the voice of the community as it pertained to the district's construction plan. Also, it will again scale back the cost to the citizens of the community.

To finalize the earlier work of the board, professional and administrative staff, in future meetings, will review the impact throughout the district on school size, class size, general maintenance needs, consistency of the instructional program and school boundaries.

Neyland Clark is superintendent of Cape Girardeau public schools.