SCHOOL BOARD DECIDES TO KEEP TAX RATE UNCHANGED

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education voted to leave the school district's tax rate unchanged during a special meeting Monday.

The board also approved changes amounting to about a $1 million increase funds to the Vocational Career Center under construction near Silver Springs Road.

District patrons will again pay $3.41 per $100 assessed valuation to provide the district with funding for its operating and capital projects budgets.

No one addressed the school board during a special public comment hearing held prior to the meeting. State law requires boards of education to set tax rates before Sept. 1 of each year.

The school board also approved design changes totalling $1,084,135 to the vocational school. The changes, which include modifications to the site development and reinstatement of an energy management system and equipment for several instructional programs, increases the total price of the project to $10,938,635.

A number of design changes were made in June to reduce the cost of the project to $9.8 million after contract bids came in nearly twice the original $6.3 million estimate.

However, the school board reinstated the original bid specifications earlier this month after state officials indicated additional state funding could be designated for the project.

In other business, the school board approved several technology grant applications. Helen Gibbar, instructional technology coordinator, will submit three grant applications to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to cover costs associated with updating technology equipment throughout the district.

The grants would allow Gibbar to purchase various video and computer equipment to be used by teachers at all grade levels. If all three grants are received, the district would have to provide about $75,000 in local funding.

Superintendent Dr. Dan Steska said the grant requests are in line with equipment and training goals listed in the district's master plan.

The matching funding should be viewed as an investment that reduces the overall price of meeting those goals, he said.

"It would fund a lot of the technology improvements that we would otherwise be using local funds for," Steska said. "All things considered, if you do have the local funds to invest, you get a higher return on your investment if you're able to win grant funding."

Allocations for technological equipment have largely not been spent as budgeted over the past three years, he said. Since 1997, a total of $562,000 has been budgeted for master plan technology improvements.

Of that amount, only $145,000 was actually spent.

"It's a way to meet those goals and let the state come up with the largest part of the funds while we only have to provide the lesser part, so it would be silly of us not to do this," said board member Dr. Robert Fox.