Monetary award for teachers benefit entire community

An annual donation to the Cape Girardeau School District is turning in a new direction this year.

For the past three years, 10 teachers in Cape Girardeau public school have received $10,000 each through the Edna C. Kinder award, which was established by Richard Kinder of Houston, Texas, in honor of his mother.

This year, the donation is aimed at helping the local community as a whole instead of individual teachers.

"It's been the most wonderful experience," said Nancy Kinder, Richard Kinder's wife who helps organize the donation. "But our philosophy is if you do something too much, it loses its impact."

Nancy Kinder said that even though the past donations helped individual teachers, they did not help the community.

"We want to make a more substantial impact in the city," she said. The Kinders are working with Cape Girardeau superintendent Mark Bowles and the Cape Girardeau Public School Foundation to determine how future donations should be used.

"It's been a wonderful boost to our teachers," Bowles said. "Our salaries are still lower than most schools in our area. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Kinders for the contributions they've already made and those they plan to make."