FAMILY APPEALS DECISION; SCHOOL BOUNDARY DISPUTE CONTINUES

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- John and Jerre Hall still hope to have their 35-acre farm changed from the Jackson to the Cape Girardeau school district even though voters in the two districts split on the boundary change.

On April 2, Cape Girardeau voters approved the change, with 2,253 yes votes and 1,008 no votes. Jackson voters were against the change, with 1,198 no votes and 931 yes votes.

A majority of yes votes was needed in both districts to redraw the school district lines.

The Hall's now will submit a petition to the state board of education asking that a board of arbitration decide the matter.

Jerre Hall said the guidelines for appealing to the state board are quite clear and he plans to send a letter today requesting a hearing.

Within 45 days, the Hall's should know whether the request is granted. If it is refused, they must wait at least two years before going back to voters.

Hall said they decided to make an appeal because of the close margin by which Jackson voters rejected the measure.

"If it had been defeated by a large margin of negative votes from Jackson, we might not have felt like appealing," he said. "But since it was close, we felt like it was worth pursuing."

The Hall's property is adjacent to the San Dangaro subdivision off Perryville Road, near the Jaycee Golf Course. They hope to build a house on the land, but want their two children to be able to continue attending school in Cape Girardeau.

Their children, both students at Alma Schrader School, would have to attend the Jackson North Elementary School at Fruitland, about nine miles away from the farm.

"Since the land is adjacent to San Dangaro and landlocked, they would be the only kids in the subdivision to go out of town to school," Hall said.

The Hall's have hired an attorney to help with the appeal process, but it's a fee substantially less than the cost of tuition in the Cape Girardeau School District if they lived in the Jackson district.

Tuition runs about $3,000 per year per student, and with two elementary age children, that could amount to quite a cost over time, Hall said.

"If we can get our land changed to the Cape school district we can save that money for college," he added.

If the boundary change isn't approved, the Halls won't move to the farm property.

In the past, the two school districts have negotiated boundary issues, a practice that's no longer in effect.

According to Missouri law: "If one of the districts votes against the change and the other votes for the change, the matter may be appealed to the state board of education, in writing, within 15 days...by either one of the districts affected or...by a majority of the signers of the petition requesting a vote on the proposal."

A three-member board of arbitration then would consider the appeal at the first meeting of the state board of education following the appeal.

To get the issue placed on the April 2 ballot, the Halls had to secure 300 signatures on their petition. As part of the appeal process, 51 percent of those who signed that petition must request the appeal.

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education Tuesday voted to proceed with the appeal if the Hall's opted not to. However, since the family and other signers of the petition will be filing the appeal, the district will not.

Jackson Superintendent Wayne Maupin said the Jackson Board of Education has not discussed the issue. "I don't have an opinion," Maupin said. "I really haven't thought that much about it."