LITTERING PROBLEM LEADS TO THREAT OF CLOSED JACKSON HIGH SCHOOL CAMPUS

JACKSON -- Jackson High School Principal Vernon Huck has two lunch schedules in his desk: one for an open campus and one for a closed campus.

High school students are allowed to leave for lunch, and many travel to nearby fast-food eateries to gulp down burgers and fries before returning to class. Some drop cups and wrappers on the ground or dump them out car windows, making for a major litter problem.

That upset Huck, other school administrators and even Jackson police officers. The principal made several announcements, followed by a threat of a closed campus. School board members agreed a closed campus might be the solution to the litter problem.

"We were prepared to close it down the next day," Huck said. "I have a lunch schedule drawn up with three lunch periods and one with four lunch periods. It was just a matter of announcing the closure that morning."

About 75 students stepped forward last week and volunteered to clean up streets and school grounds, doing so during study hall and after school.

Things have been cleaner lately, police Capt. Robert Hull said. Now he would like to see more compliance with a city loitering ordinance, especially around the cemetery near Jackson High School.

Although they have heard the closed-campus threat before, students took it more seriously this year. Junior Crystal Jones said she and other students value their time away from school.

"I think I've only eaten in the cafeteria twice this year," she said. "Nobody likes school food."

Fast-food businesses in Jackson love the open campus arrangement, too. Dairy Queen, within easy walking distance of Jackson High School, receives the lion's share of its lunchtime business from high school students. A manager at Hardee's estimated 25 percent of the lunch crowd there is high school students. Sonic Drive-In manager Karen Hahs said a closed campus would hurt her restaurant, although more students eat there on some days than on others.

Several area high schools have open campuses at lunch, although officials acknowledge there are associated problems with the practice. Cape Girardeau Central High School Principal Dan Tallent said there wouldn't be enough room in the school cafeteria to close the campus at lunch, but he worries about lunchtime traffic accidents.

"Students are driving places knowing they have a short period of time to do what they want to do," he said.

Adults monitor the Central campus at lunch to control littering and other possible problems.