SCHOOL FACILITIES WILL GET BOARD REVIEW

After people, place may be the most important concern for educating children.

In Cape Girardeau, the place has run out of space, says Superintendent Neyland Clark.

For months, discussions about reducing class size or implementing innovative teaching strategies have stalled because the district has no place to put another classroom.

But the Cape Girardeau Board of Education is setting aside nearly three days next weekend to discuss new educational ideas and where to implement them.

The board will attend its annual retreat July 26-28, this year to be held at the Executive Inn in Paducah, Ky.

Clark said: "Are we going to build a building? I don't know. There is no question in my mind we need classrooms. But the decision rests with the board and ultimately the community."

Talk of a building project for Cape Girardeau is far from new. For at least two years, the school board has periodically mentioned the district's need for an additional building.

Since he has been working with the district, Clark said, "We have not talked specifically about facilities. We don't want to jump the gun."

The board is scheduled to begin a long-range plan for the district at its retreat. That plan, Clark said, will ultimately include building plans.

But, he said, following the planning process is important before any decisions are made.

"We have to study programs and then see what kinds of facilities needs we have first," he said. "I would hate to build a building and then try to figure out what we would put in it.

"Facilities today are so expensive," Clark said. "It is so important to make the right decisions."

Clark estimated building costs at $3-5 million for an elementary building, $6-8 million for a middle school and $10-13 million for a high school.

"That's not a Cadillac. It's just a basic school.

"Are we going to build a middle school? I don't know," Clark said. "I think we have a need to review our organizational structure. I am concerned about putting kids through one additional transitional period that we don't need to. That raise concerns about potential drop outs."

A committee of parents and educators studied the idea of a middle school for Cape Girardeau in 1989. The group recommended that the district group sixth, seventh and eighth grades together at one school.

At a meeting last week, Clark asked administrators to list their top issues for the board to discuss. The conversation eventually turned to facilities.

"Facilities are at the core of most things we want to do," said Larry Dew.

Old buildings

It has been a long time since Cape Girardeau embarked on a school building project. The most recent bond issue approved by voters funded construction of a new gymnasium and renovations at Central High School in 1977.

The newest building in the di~strict, the vocational-technical school, was built in 1967. Two buildings, L.J. Schultz and Washington, were built in 1914.

"The district has taken the status quo on building facilities for some time," Clark said. "During the interview process, when I was told a couple schools in the district were more than 75 years old, I can't describe the images that came to mind."

In the month he has been on the job, Clark has toured all the buildings. Inspection of the buildings eased some concerns, he said.

"I was impressed by the facilities. The community and school district have done a good job taking care of the facilities. But when a space crunch comes, you make do with facilities that are not designed for the purpose it is used for."

The art room at Alma Schrader, for example, is located in the basement. "Let's say it is less than desirable," Clark said.

Crowded classrooms

It's not just that Cape Girardeau schools are old, they are overcrowded, Clark said.

"The first visible sign of crowding is the mobile units," Clark said.

The district now has seven trailers housing nine classrooms.

"That's okay in the interim, but it does not meet the long-range needs of the district."

Clark said the district has virtually reached its limit on class-size reduction. "We have increased the number of teacher assistants to provide two adults in the classroom to circumvent limitations we have on facilities. But ideally we would lower class size by hiring more teachers. We don't have the room."

The district employs more than 70 classroom assistants. Teachers are assigned assistants according to an enrollment formula. If the class size in a grade reaches the cap, an aide is hired.

Reducing class size, a goal for the board of education for several years, means more classrooms are needed to serve the same number of students.

But the student population in Cape Girardeau is experiencing a gradual increase, especially in the elementary schools, Clark said.

"It is prudent to plan for six to seven years from now when the student population will be bigger. Statistic show a general incline in the birth rate," Clark said.

Changing needs

Even if the student population did not increase, the need for space has increased because the way children are educated has changed, Clark said.

Since the youngest building was built, 24 years ago, the number of programs in special education have exploded. Students are offered instruction in remedial education, gifted education, behavior disorders and learning disorders, for example.

"All these programs need a place," Clark said.

"We are also expanding programs, and some of these programs are not our choice to expand. The state and federal government mandates we offer the programs."

For example, he said, "Early childhood and preschool programs, which are being discussed at state and national levels, would have an immediate facility impact."

Other changes make demands on buildings.

"Thirty years ago we didn't talk about handicap accessibility and earthquake design," Clark said.

Clark said discussion about air conditioning has also arisen.

"I heard a suggestion the other day that businesses turn off their air conditioning for one day. They would get an idea what children go through and see how conducive that is to education."

Estimated cost of air conditioning the district is $2.5 million to $3 million.

An immediate facility need is the bubble that covers Central Pool. Estimated cost to replace it is $120,000 to $125,000.

"For what I have learned, it will have to be replaced soon," Clark said.

Central Pool is a cooperative effort of the school district and city of Cape Girardeau. The cost of a new bubble would likely be divided between the two entities.

A task force, which studied the district's athletic program, recommended some facility changes, including construction of a new, eight-lane track comparable to the one at Southeast Missouri state University.

How to pay

"It appears we would have to have a bond issue," Clark said. "This corporation, the school district, is not in the position to sink into its financial coffers and pay for a major building."

Three years ago, the district paid off the bonds that financed construction of the new gym at Central High School.

When the debt was paid off, the district stopped collecting the debt service portion of its tax levy.

The building fund, a portion of the budget designated for construction and maintenance, is spent every year, said Dew. This summer, for example, an elevator is being installed at L.J. Schultz Middle School at a cost of $131,550.

In recent years, windows have been retrofitted and roofs replaced at different buildings.

"All that costs money," Clark said.

Clark said he isn't predicting what decisions will be made at the retreat. But he does predict that the board of education will begin to make some decisions.

"Once the retreat is over and we have some definite ideas about what the board wants, the administration will also move," Clark said.