PANEL STUDIES SCHOOL BORDERS

Armed with maps, overhead projectors, highlighters, attendance figures and a variety of opinions, a committee is looking at how best to redraw the boundaries of Cape Girardeau's public elementary schools.

Steve Trautwein, chairman of the Attendance Area Study Committee, is sure a plan will be ironed out by the February deadline, and maybe sooner.

The committee was established in November at the same time the Board of Education approved a 10-year, two-phase master plan for the district.

The first phase calls for construction of a new elementary school and closing of two elementary buildings, Washington and May Greene. The second phase would establish a sixth- and seventh-grade center, moving sixth-graders out of elementary buildings.

These changes would necessitate changes in the boundaries of the city's elementary schools.

"At our first meeting everyone agreed we were interested in getting done as soon as possible so the school board would have our information as soon as possible," said Trautwein.

The attendance area committee is looking at two sets of new boundaries, one for the first phase and another for the second.

Superintendent Dan Tallent said a timely report from the committee is important in preparing for an April ballot measure. Voters will be asked to approve a 69-cent tax increase to fund construction and improvements outlined in the master plan.

"We want people to have time to see what we are proposing and to have time to discuss individual concerns," Tallent said.

At each meeting, Trautwein explained, members come with ideas about possible new boundaries. They draw lines on maps, look at the numbers and then look at new ways to draw the lines.

"The committee members' responses have been very diverse," Trautwein said. "But the many differences of opinions have been expressed cordially. I think the February deadline is reachable."

"We're acutely aware that the public needs to have a chance to know about the plans," Trautwein said.

No details about the plans have been established. "At this early stage it's really impossible to summarize the progress," Trautwein said.

"We're constrained by the physical limitation of the buildings, and we're also trying to guess what kind of population shifts may occur as the city develops," he said.

THE NEXT MEETING

The Attendance Area Study Committee will meet Tuesday at noon at the school district's administrative offices, 61 N. Clark.