FINANCIAL PLANNING: COMMITTEES STUDY LONG-TERM FINANCES

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education is developing two committees to consider issues and make recommendations regarding the school district's finances and teacher preparation periods.

A school board meeting is scheduled today at 6 p.m. at the Cape Giardeau Area Vocational-Technical School room 214. During the meeting Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent will ask the board to approve mission statements for two ad hoc citizen-based committees.

In May board members requested forming a finance committee to help administrators study the district's financial position. The committee, which would include administrators, teachers and district patrons, would be charged with helping the board to develop a two- to five-year financial plan for the district.

A similar committee was organized two years ago to develop the district's master plan, a course of action devised to provide every student in the district "with the highest quality educational experience." The committee's final proposal was instrumental in getting voter approval for passage of a $14 million bond issue in 1997.

Several of the members from the master plan finance committee have been invited to serve on the new committee.

A second committee is being formed to study the issue of eliminating the second preparatory period secondary teachers currently have. The board became interested in the issue last spring after it was recommended the additional period be eliminated as a means of easing the district's financial crunch during the next school year. Elementary teachers in the district have only one preparatory period, as required by law.

Tallent is still organizing the committees and their membership is unknown, said Dr. Steve Del Vecchio, business manager for the district. The committees will advise board members on community opinions about the issues and are temporary units, he said. The committees will remain active until the charges they are assigned have been met.