SCHOOL BOARD OKs ATTENDANCE AREAS

A plan to consolidate six elementary schools to five got final approval by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday despite a plea by parents of Oak Hills Subdivision to leave their children in the Alma Schrader District.

Final approval of the plan doesn't mean changes won't happen in the future, board members said.

The board had asked for public comments on the proposed changes when the plan was unveiled at its January meeting.

Fifteen written comments were collected. Several were from parents in the Oak Hills Subdivision whose students attend Alma Schrader. Under the new plan they would move to the new elementary school.

Parents said their homes are about the same distance from both school buildings, but it is safer for children to travel to Alma Schrader than to the new building.

The new elementary school is planned for property the school district owns at Sprigg and Bertling.

In addition, parents pointed out that the area around the proposed new school is essentially undeveloped. New neighborhoods are likely to spring up quickly, especially if the bond issue passes.

Steve Trautwein, chairman of the attendance committee, read a summary of public comments about the proposal at Monday's meeting.

Some comments commended the plan. Others asked for special consideration for sixth-graders when the changes are implemented. And others expressed concern over the distribution of minority students and suggested that percentages should be equal at all schools.

In a clarification, Trautwein said Timothy Circle, a cul de sac in the Woodland Hills Subdivision, was intended to remain a part of Alma Schrader.

The committee has recommended a periodic review of attendance areas and school board members endorsed the idea at the meeting.

School board president Bob Fox said the perfect time for such a review would be just before the proposed new elementary school would open.

"That's still two years away," Fox said. "I was concerned about possible future development in the new school area."

Fox voted against adopting the proposal, which passed 5-1. R. Ferrell Ervin was absent.

Board member Harry Rediger commended the committee for its work on the proposal. "They affected as few people as possible," Rediger said. "And we knew it would be impossible to please everyone. For the few people who are dissatisfied, I hope the district can work with them and gain their support."

Board member Bob Blank said, "I don't think this issue has been dropped."

The Attendance Area Study Committee was convened in November when the school board approved a 10-year, two-phase master plan.

The first phase of the plan calls for a new elementary school and the closing of Washington and May Greene. The second phase would establish a fifth-sixth grade center along with a seventh-eighth grade center and a ninth-12th grade high school.

The changes necessitate new boundaries for the city's elementary schools. The plan also asks voters to approve a 69-cent tax increase in April to fund construction and improvements outlined in the master plan.