SCHOOL LINES APPROVED

After months of debate, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday night established elementary school boundaries during a meeting at Central Junior High School.

Board members approved a proposal developed by administrators late last month that slightly modified the original plan adopted in 1997. Under the proposal, most school boundaries would remain the same as in the original proposal, with the most significant changes affecting Jefferson and Franklin schools.

The board's approval included an amendment to the boundaries that were submitted by committee chairman Steve Trautwein during the meeting. Trautwein recommended moving the modified plan's Jefferson-Franklin boundary on William Street over to Independence to alleviate overcrowding in Franklin School

Trautwein's recommendation was based on Franklin's enrollment of 342 students and the 43 percent minority enrollment at Jefferson under the modified plan. By moving the border from William to Independence, the crowded conditions at Franklin would be eased by some 40 students based on March enrollment figures, giving the school breathing room within its building capacity.

Jefferson's enrollment under the amendment would still meet capacity goals, but the minority enrollment would only be affected minutely.

After the meeting, Trautwein said he was pleased with the board's decision to accept his recommendation, and to some extent with the new boundaries.

"There were a lot of different ways to achieve the goals we originally set up," he said. "I'm happy that we're still within federal guidelines for racial balances and we have no schools that are overcrowded."

Some 14 parents voiced dislike of the newest boundary proposal during a segment of the meeting set aside for public comment. Parents argued that board members were catering to requests from a few parents from Clippard and Alma Schrader schools without considering the best interests of the entire district.

"To the school board I say shame on you," Jerry Siemers, a Jefferson parent said in objecting to the newest proposal. "If you plan to pass the next bond issue, it will take the whole school district, not just people from Clippard and Alma Schrader."

Several parents from the Oak Hills subdivision also voiced their dislike for the new plan, which requires only 16 students to move from Alma Schrader to Blanchard school. They said more students should have been moved because of safety concerns for the children and isolation from their friends.

"It appears to me we're taking some kids from Schrader so we can say, 'See, we moved some Schrader kids,'" said Hugh McGowen. "The '99 plan was far superior to the '97 plan."

Board members did not make a decision on the issues of grandfathering students or the complaints from families in the Oak Hills subdivision. School administrators were asked to collect data regarding grandfathering fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders for consideration in May.