Sale of former district office could aid cafeteria project

Money from the impending sale of Cape Girardeau School District's former board office may help pay for a much-needed cafeteria expansion at Central Junior High.

At a recent meeting, the school board approved a bid from Thomas L. Meyer Real Estate Co. to place the brick building at 61 N. Clark, which held administrative offices until last fall, on the real estate market, and chose Columbia Construction Corp. of Cape Girardeau for the cafeteria project.

A price tag has not yet been placed on the board office, although an appraisal done in early 2000 estimated its worth at $420,000.

The cafeteria project was sparked by a lack of space that resulted when the junior high relocated to the former Central High School facility in 2002. The school has been forced to hold six lunch periods this year, which has caused extensive scheduling problems.

Three local companies submitted proposals for the project, which will add around 2,000 square feet on the north side of the cafeteria. An interview team representing the district spent two weeks reviewing each proposal before selecting Columbia's bid of $192,950.

The bid was nearly $20,000 more than the $173,000 offered by Tom Nall Construction of Advance, Mo., but superintendent Mark Bowles said the team looked at not just cost but also experience, technical approach, financial guarantee and timelines for the project.

Bowles said funding for the cafeteria project will also come from the district's long-term maintenance plan.