SCHOOL BUDGET CUTS: ELECTIVES COULD BE FIRST TO GO

Classes that aren't required for graduation could be the first to be eliminated from the Cape Girardeau School District's curriculum next year.

Budget reductions enacted by the Board of Education Monday will mean increased class sizes of up to 30 students for the 1998-99 school year. The larger classes are the result of positions vacated by retiring or resigning teachers that will remain unfilled as part of efforts to reduce the school budget beginning July 1 by some $1 million.

Administrators said the school district offers 26 more credits than districts of similar size in the area, including those at Poplar Bluff and Sikeston. The budget reductions may mean some of those credits will be eliminated next year to make room for more sections in core subject areas like English, math and social studies, they said.

Assistant superintendent William Biggerstaff said all elective classes will need an enrollment of at least 12 students to be included in the class schedule in the fall. The existing curriculum is strong and provides extended learning opportunities for students, but it has always been flexible based upon the academic desires of students, he said.

Besides enrollment, other factors will be considered in determining which electives to include in the class schedule next year. "We'll have to evaluate the importance of the class, the needs of the students and the number of sections in other areas," said Biggerstaff.

A number of college-preparatory courses are considered electives that generally have low participation. Classes that provide students with opportunities for college credit, including advanced placement English, chemistry, and comparative government, will be among those needing the minimum enrollment to be offered next year.

"Some of those classes are important classes, but they're not ones that are highly selected by students," Biggerstaff said. "If the numbers are adequate we'll keep them in schedule. But there have been times in the past when sections are closed because of lack of interest, and that's what we are anticipating would happen here."