School board candidates speak up at voters' forum

Cape Girardeau School Board candidates took the opportunity Thursday to introduce themselves to the community and voice their opinions on topics ranging from funding to the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

Five of the district's candidates attended the Southeast Missouri League of Women Voters' annual board candidate forum. Candidates Steven Peel and James McCausland were unable to attend.

Questions from an audience of around 30 people were submitted to league moderator Glenda Quinn, and candidates were given one minute to respond.

The hour-long forum, which will be broadcast daily on cable channels 5 and 23 throughout the next few weeks, gave candidates a chance to talk about their backgrounds and philosophies concerning education prior to the question-and-answer period.

Quinn, who has been a member of the league for around 20 years, said she was very happy with the participation from candidates and the audience.

"It's important for people to get to know their candidates by name and put a face with the name," Quinn said. "If it changes one person's mind about voting, then it's served its purpose."

Several of the nine questions posed to candidates revolved around funding issues. The current school board just voted to make $1.2 million in cuts in January, and is facing the possibility of future cuts.

On Thursday, candidates were asked their opinions of the state's current funding system, informally known as the foundation formula.

Each candidate agreed that engaging local legislators was a key step in increasing state funding. Candidate Dr. Debra Mitchell-Braxton took it a step further, saying the community also has a responsibility in solving the funding problem.

"I think many of us who have earned degrees should give back," Mitchell-Braxton said. "The state can't do it alone."

Another question asked candidates what areas they would target if additional cuts were needed in the future. Most said further study of the budget was necessary to answer that query.

"There's always room to fine-tune," said candidate Creighton Gould.

They also asked about addressing the dropout rate at Central High School, which, at 5.66 for the 2002 school year, is higher than the state average of 3.38.

Candidate Laura Sparkman said one way to lower the number of dropouts may be through early intervention.

"So many fall through the cracks and keep getting pushed through when they're performing at the same level as everyone else," Sparkman said.

Candidates also expressed their opinions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which was signed into law in January 2002 and places unprecedented accountability for student performance on schools. Most candidates felt the goals of NCLB were worthy, but unlikely to be achieved.

The school board election will take place April 6. Cape Girardeau has two terms of three years each vacant.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128

Cape Girardeau School Board 2004 candidates

Martha Zlokovich (incumbent)

James McCausland

Tim Arbeiter

Steven Peel

Laura Sparkman

Debra Mitchell-Braxton

Creighton A. Gould