JACKSON, CAPE CANDIDATES TO DEBATE ISSUES IN UPCOMING PUBLIC FORUM

Cape Girardeau and Jackson Board of Education candidates will face off in upcoming public forums sponsored by city American Business Women's Association chapters.

Jackson residents will hear from incumbent Tom Ludwig and challengers Mark Baker, Mack Illers and Brent Wills at 7 p.m. March 20 at the Jackson Middle School. The event will be held March 23 in case of inclement weather.

Challenger Dennis Sievers withdrew from the race last month because he is moving out of the district.

Cape Girardeau incumbents Dr. Bob Fox and David Goncher and challenger Martha Zlokovich will voice their opinions on various educational issues at 6:30 p.m. March 21. The event will be held at the Dempster Hall Glenn Auditorium on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

Jackson ABWA member Pearla Murphy said the groups sponsor the forums each year because their national organization names educational issues as a priority. In the past, school patrons often ignored school board candidates, but now voters want a say in how their tax dollars are being spent, she said.

"We feel the more people that are there the better because this is their way of making sure that the candidates know what their opinions are and for us to know from the candidates what their intentions are," Murphy said. "There's no reason why they should be able to just put up a campaign sign somewhere and say 'I'm popular, so I'm going to be elected.'"

Participation at the Jackson event has fluctuated over the years, but Murphy said she is pleased with the amount of community involvement she's seen. Both forums require candidates to answer a series of prepared questions on timely issues, but a question-and-answer period also allows voters to address individual concerns.

"It's a good way to hold the candidates accountable," Murphy said.

Candidates agreed the main issues facing both school districts are the funding proposals voters will consider April 4. If approved, the proposals would provide funding for new construction and other facility needs.

The Cape Girardeau school board is asking voters to approve a no-tax increase, $18 million bond issue to fund construction of a new high school. If approve, the measure would fund the second phase of a long-range building plan started in 1997.

Goncher, Fox and Zlokovich agreed the bond issue would address a number of needs for Cape Girardeau schools. They said older students will benefit from the new high school facilities and joint campus with the Career and Technology Center.

The candidates said younger students would benefit from grade reconfigurations. If the bond issue passes, the district plans to convert Central High School to a seventh-and-eighth grade junior high, and Central Junior High would become a fifth-and-sixth grade center. The district's five elementary schools would have smaller enrollments with the removal of two grade levels, and there would be more room for special programming.

Louis J. Schultz would be closed under the plan.

"I want to continue the mission to make sure the master plan is fulfilled both from a building and operating and curriculum standpoint," Goncher said. "If we can get phase two passed, it will be another accomplishment for our board and the community."

Following the bond issue, the district must address budgetary needs, including low teachers' salaries, they said. Cape Girardeau schools have seen a massive turnover in faculty in recent years, a trend which will eventually affect the academic achievement of students. To prevent this, salaries will have to become comparable to other districts, they said.

"As I understand it, the teachers have one of the lowest pay rates in Southeast Missouri, and if we want to attract and keep quality teachers, we need to try to pay them salaries comparable to teachers in other districts," said Zlokovich. "It is a high priority."

Goncher and Fox said the additional funding will have to come from one of two areas: State or local funding increases. The district's hold-harmless status has frozen state funding to about what the district received in 1993, and that's not enough to operate numerous academic and special education programs.

State funding could increase if one of 12 legislative bills currently being considered by the General Assembly is approved, they said. However, if no bills are passed, the school board will have to go to local voters within the next two years.

"The financial impact of our hold-harmless status is a lot worse than anybody thought," said Fox. "We've cut things to the bone and let some things go. Unless we get some legislative help to change our financial picture, we're going to have to come back and ask for an operating levy increase within a year or two."

The financial outlook is similar in Jackson. School officials have outspent the districts revenue in recent years in an attempt to manage a growth rate of some 150 students annually. The district now needs passage of two measures to add space and provide more operating funding that will enable the district to hire more staff.

One resolution seeks voter approval of an $11 million bond issue to fund construction and equipping of a new elementary school, an addition and renovations to R.O. Hawkins Junior High, and some technology needs of the district. The measure would mean a $15 cent increase in the debt service levy to 61 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

A second resolution seeks full elimination of the Proposition C rollback to increase the school operating tax levy by 40 cents to $3.15 per $100 assessed valuation. The additional funding would be used for operating expenses, including hiring additional faculty and staff.

Ludwig, Illers and Wills all support the two measures, citing the district's growth as a reality that can't be contained with the resources the district now has.

"You just can't say we don't want to grow anymore. You have to keep pace," said Wills. "If you don't provide physical structures for the school class sizes will go up, and our class sizes are a little larger than the state average already."

Challenger Mark Baker was the lone opponent to both issues. Baker said the growth in the local tax base is proportionate to enrollment growth, and he wants to make evaluate the district's spending.

"I have a little bit of feeling that the district right now is running around sticking fingers in holes," he said. "I would have to see that they're spending money where they're supposed to be doing it and as wisely as they should be."

Illers said he would like to see more community involvement in the school district, including better attendance at school board meetings. It's easy to complain about happenings in the district, but generally, no situation improves until parents decide to take an active role, he said.

"Instead of being passive and going with the flow, it's the parents' responsibility to get a little bit more involved," Illers said.

Ludwig said school safety also is a priority for the district. The district's bus routes are extremely long in many cases, and the high school campus is complex enough that security is a challenge, he said.

"There are certain things that you're going to need to do to existing buildings to make sure all teachers and students have access to help in emergency situations," said Ludwig. "We've also got issues such as assuring consistent discipline policies in the upper grades and conveying that to citizens."

Candidates in both districts agreed their Boards of Education have not shied from challenges in the past and are showing results from their long-range plans.

PROFILES OF SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES

Brent L. Wills

CHALLENGER

SPOUSE: Lori

CHILDREN:

OCCUPATION: Owner of Wills Insurance

EDUCATION:

* B.S. in Business Administration and M.B.A. from Southeast Missouri State University

* Graduate of Jackson High School

AFFILIATIONS:

* Past president and current board member of Jackson Chamber of Commerce

* Past president of Jackson Retail Merchants Association

* Past president and member of Jackson Jaycees

* Board member of Jackson Jaycees Jaycee Charitable Foundation

* Member of Cape Bible Chapel

Mack W. Illers

CHALLENGER

SPOUSE: Doris

CHILDREN: 2 daughters; 1 in Jackson school district, 1 living in St. Louis

OCCUPATION: Self-employed designer/detailer

EDUCATION:

* Former student of Jackson High School

AFFILIATIONS:

* Resident of Jackson most of his life

* Member of St. Paul Lutheran Church

* Member of Jackson Chamber of Commerce

Mark R. Baker

CHALLENGER

SPOUSE: Mary "Kim"

CHILDREN: 3; Austin (6), Victoria (4), Ryan (2)

OCCUPATION: Journeyman lineman with Ameren UE. 8 years with company.

EDUCATION:

* 1989 graduate of Jackson High School

AFFILIATIONS:

* Third year as president of Parent's Cooperative Child Development Center

* Member of Advisory Council to Jackson R-II School board

* Member of Immaculate Conception Church

Thomas A. Ludwig

INCUMBENT

SPOUSE:

Christina, teacher in Jackson school district

CHILDREN: 2; Matt and Sarah

OCCUPATION: Attorney in Jackson for over 20 years

EDUCATION:

* B.A. from University of Missouri - Columbia

* M.B.A. from University of Missouri - Kansas City

* J.D. degree from Washington University

AFFILIATIONS:

* Member of St. Paul Lutheran Church

* First elected to school board in 1997

David Goncher

INCUMBENT

SPOUSE: Janet

CHILDREN: Jennifer, college student, and Megan, Central Junior High School student

OCCUPATION: Insurance agent

AFFILIATIONS:

* Completing first term as member of Cape Girardeau Board of Education

* Former junior and senior high school teacher in both Sikeston and Cape Girardeau public school systems

* Member of Centenary United Methodist Church

* Advisory board member to Cape Girardeau Parts and Recreation Department

* Member of Noon Optimist Club

* Member of Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce

Dr. Bob Fox

INCUMBENT

SPOUSE:

Connie

CHILDREN:

2 adult sons

OCCUPATION: Self-employed dentist

AFFILIATIONS:

* Completing third term as member of Cape Girardeau Board of Education

* Member of Noon Optimist Club

* Member of Grace United Methodist Church

Martha Zlokovich

CHALLENGER

SPOUSE: Neil

CHILDREN: 2; Matthew and Aaron; both attend Franklin Elementary School

OCCUPATION: Associate professor of psychology at Southeast Missouri State University

AFFILIATIONS:

* Chair of Franklin bond issue committee

* Member of Centenary United Methodist Church

* Co-president of Centenary Rebecca Circle

* Member of United Methodist Women

* Lay reader at Centenary

* Member of Four Seasons Garden Club

* Midwestern Region vice-president of Psi Chi honor society

* Member of American Psychological Association

* Faculty advisor for Southeast Chapter of PsI Chi, Psychology Club and Student Research Conference

* Member of Society for the Teaching of Psychology

* Member of Society for Research on Adolescents