SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE PLAYERS IN LOCAL ECONOMIES

School districts large and small prove to be "big players" in the communities that support them.

Schools provide direct impact to local economies through payroll and local purchases of supplies and services.

Schools in small communities, like Oak Ridge, often serve as a hub. Districts in larger communities such as Cape Girardeau also play an important role in the local economy.

"We really are among the biggest players on the block," said Cape Girardeau Superintendent Neyland Clark.

Oak Ridge Superintendent Roger Tatum agrees.

"We are a pretty rural community," said Tatum. "As far as businesses go, we have service stations and grocery stores but very few other places that would employ over 10 people."

Oak Ridge school employs 50 people, making the school the largest employer in the district.

The total employment includes 30 professionals and 20 members of the support staff. He added that about half of the employees at Oak Ridge live within the district.

They work to educate 322 students from Oak Ridge and surrounding communities. The district covers about 90 square miles.

The school district pays back to the local community a fair chunk of its $1.3 million budget.

For example, the school has an annual payroll of $832,764.

They pay an electric bill of around $16,000 a year, about $10,000 annually for natural gas and $2,400 for water and sewer charges.

"The school, established in 1874, has been a center of this community area for years. It's really the heart of the Oak Ridge community," Tatum said.

As a community partner, Tatum has been involved in trying to establish an interchange along I-55 at Oak Ridge. He believes such an interchange would be good for the economy of Oak Ridge.

At the other end of the scale is Cape Girardeau public schools with an annual payroll of $12.6 million, Superintendent Clark said.

The district employees 632 people; 500 full time and 132 part time. Of those, 355 are faculty members.

The annual budget is over $20 million. The district's physical plant, including 10 school campuses, is valued at $44 million.

Clark described the school system as a city within a city.

"We are one of the largest users of utilities," he said. The utility bill last year was $437,413.

The schools spend over a million a year on supplies ranging from construction paper to light bulbs. "And most of those supplies are purchased locally," Clark said.

"We can talk about the number of miles driven with our school buses and the number of pounds of hamburger we use at lunch," Clark said.

The contracted pupil transportation cost is $417,511. The district spent $683,989 on food services.

The district spends $15,000 a year with a local auditing company and $30,000 a year on local legal services.

Last year the district paid $1.2 million in health insurance costs. This year the figure will be somewhat lower because the school system has changed to a self-insurance program.

All those resources come together to produce the schools' product -- well educated students. Cape Girardeau's enrollment this year is 4,447.

"Our graduation rate is good, and when our kids go off to school they compete very well," Clark said.

He said one of the goals for the district is to improve community relations. "We are looking for parent involvement and collaboration of agencies."