CHURCH ASKS FOR ZONING CHANGE FOR SCHOOL

It didn't take Jerry Deardorff very long to leave his life of retirement and come back to the world of education. After 33 years in public schools, he returned as the interim administrator for a brand-new high school in Southeast Missouri. Deardorff is helping to organize and oversee the formation of Saxony Lutheran High School. He is a former superintendent for the Meadow Heights and Marquand school districts.

The Lutheran high school will be the first in Southeast Missouri and is scheduled to open next fall. More than 20 area Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod congregations have joined to form an association that has founded the school. "I've never started a school from the ground up," Deardorff said. "While that poses some problems, it also poses a lot of challenges."One challenge is finding a suitable place to meet. A committee is studying sites for a permanent school but needed a building for the coming school year.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church has requested rezoning from the Cape Girardeau City Council to be the temporary site of the new school. By changing its zoning from a residential use to a commercial one, the church can house classrooms for Saxony Lutheran High School.

All schools are zoned in a commercial class under the city's zoning ordinances.

The council will hold a public hearing on the rezoning request at 7:30 tonight. The Planning and Zoning Commission had given its unanimous approval to the request last month. Although churches typically seek special-use permits for temporary situations, the church leadership asked that the site be rezoned permanently.

If the church would ever move from Cape Rock Drive and Kingshighway, it would seem logical a business would be better suited as new owner, commissioners said. Businesses already operate across the street and next door to the church.

Having a school nearby could pose traffic problems at the intersection, residential neighbors warned at the commission meeting, but with a limited enrollment and possible carpools and busing, traffic concerns will likely be minimal, school officials said.

Deardorff is hopeful student enrollment will grow as the school progresses. He's conducting an informal survey among the churches to get an estimate on enrollment possibilities. Freshman and sophomore classes will begin next fall and more classes will be added over time, he said. The big questions now are what is the tuition and where will the school be permanently.

Tuition rates have not been set and a permanent site still hasn't been found, Deardorff said.

What Deardorff does know is that the school will offer a college-preparatory curriculum. "There won't be any arts and crafts and underwater basket weaving," Deardorff said. So students can qualify for scholarships and awards, all the staff must be state approved and certified, as well. The curriculum will follow basic guidelines for public schools, and the school is waiting for information from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod."Everything we do will set a precedent and a tradition," Deardorff said.