SCHOOL BOARD ADOPTS RETIREMENT INCENTIVE

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday night installed new members and approve a retirement incentive that is expected to save the school district an estimated $170,000 during the next school year.

Dr. Ferrell Ervin and Mark Carver were sworn in as board members following the acceptance of results from the April 7 election. Ervin, who was elected to a second term, was also re-elected school board president during the special meeting.

Board members elected David Goncher vice-president of the board. Steve del Vecchio and Laverne Smith were re-appointed board secretary and treasurer, respectively.

Board members also approved offering teachers an incentive for accepting early retirement at the end of the school year. The measure was adopted earlier as a means of eliminating about $1 million from the district's operating budget for the next school year.

Fourteen secondary level teachers have said they would consider early retirement, which would save the district about $170,000 after replacement teachers are hired at lower salaries.

The district, which has deficit spent the past three fiscal years, is trying to identify ways to cut about $1 million from its operating budget for the coming year.

Ervin said retirement incentive was the first of numerous proposals board members were able to come to a consensus on. The incentive has proven effective in the past, which is why the board considered it a good way to cut costs, he said. Ervin said board members will likely meet at least twice more in the next month to consider others ways to reduce expenditures in the coming year.

"It's going to be May before any definite action would be taken," he said.

During a brief budget study session, del Vecchio presented board members with a report that compared financial information over a three-year period between Cape Girardeau and eight school districts throughout the state. Administrators were asked to compile the report two weeks ago so that board members could compare size, assessed valuation and budgetary information with other districts from throughout the state.

In the report, del Vecchio compared financial information for Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Sikeston, Farmington, Poplar Bluff, Webster Groves, Camdenton, Washington and University City school districts. Local school districts tended to receive more state aid and have lower operating levies than Cape Girardeau and the more distant school districts.

All of the school districts in the report listed similar expenditure percentages in various categories, including instructional, support, operation of plant, transportation, certified salaries, classified salaries and benefits. All of the districts dedicated an average 74 percent of their budgets to salaries and benefits during the 1996-97 school year.

Board members will hold another budget study session during their regular meeting at 6 p.m. April 20. Del Vecchio and Tallent will present a report comparing programming and other information for the same nine school districts during that meeting.