SCHOOL LINES ARE DEFINED; REVIEWS NECESSARY, SAYS COMMITTEE HEAD

A proposal received by the Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday would shift elementary school boundaries to improve diversity and maximize use of building capacities after the Barbara Blanchard Elementary School is completed this summer.

The proposal does not eliminate the neighborhood school concept favored by many in Cape Girardeau nor does it negatively impact the majority of students in the district, said members of the Attendance Area Study Committee.

"I would say we still have neighborhood schools because each of the attendance areas is in an integral area," said committee chairman Steve Trautwein. "We certainly avoided the issue of fragmenting the entire district in an effort to reach a balance of minorities in every school."

Some parents are not so sure, however. Although few had seen specifics detailing where new lines would be drawn in the proposal, they said they were concerned that uprooting students would make them virtual strangers in their neighborhoods and could cause children to suffer academically and socially.

"I think some people are concerned about the integrity of the neighborhoods," said Andrea Schneider, a parent who lives in the Alma Schrader district. "A lot of people are concerned because they don't know where the kids are going. They're afraid they will be in effect divorced from the rest of their neighborhood."

In fall 1996, the committee was convened at the same time the Board of Education approved a 10-year, two-phase master plan. Voters supported the effort by passing a 69-cent tax increase in April 1997 to fund construction and improvements outlined in the master plan.

The first phase of the plan calls for reduction of the number of elementary schools from six to five after the new elementary school opens. Washington and May Greene schools are scheduled to close.

The second phase would establish a fifth-sixth grade center, seventh-eighth grade center and a ninth-12th grade high school. Voters must approve a second bond issue to finance this phase.

Trautwein said the committee's first redistricting plan, which was approved by the school board in 1997, was necessary to accommodate the opening of the new school. The committee faced a tremendous task because it was the first redistricting project in more than 20 years, he said.

When the boundary changes were approved, the committee recommended a periodic review of the boundaries to ensure the building enrollments reflected the district's goals of achieving optimal student safety, racial and socioeconomic diversity, good use of building capacity, and improved transportation and cost effectiveness.

With the planned opening of Blanchard school next fall, school officials thought the committee should be reconvened to review enrollment projections, Trautwein said.

"This would be the first of many times when the same process would be followed, if future school boards follow the recommendations we made in '97," he said. "I think probably every year would be overkill, but it certainly was appropriate at this point since we're anticipating moving into that school."

Michelle Tufts, a parent who lives in the Alma Schrader district, said she expected the boundaries to shift but regrets the upheaval she believes will result. People should review details of the plan before forming any opinions, because rumors are already circulating about who will be moved, she said.

"My daughter is a fifth-grader, and she came home upset because she heard all her friends are moving," said Tufts. "I hate to see so many kids changed, both in and out of all the schools."

Trautwein said while diversity and building capacities were the committee's major concerns during this review, some proposed changes do concern other factors, including safety.

"Independence is now a boundary instead of William in response to the fact that Jefferson would have been underutilized and Franklin would have been overcrowded," he said. "We're still trying to keep the children as safe as possible.

"We saw what we did this time as a fine tuning of what we did in '97."

School board member Bob Blank approved the original redistricting plan two years ago. At that time he said the issue was not closed and would upset some parents if the boundaries needed to be moved in the future.

"We knew since that time there were going to be more adjustments," he said. "Things have just changed so much now that it kind of overwhelms you. We're going to work and try to ease the concerns of everyone that we can, because we're still a part of the community, too."

Julie Kay Davenport, Franklin school principal and a member of the committee, said the boundaries of her school will not differ much from the current boundaries. She doesn't anticipate much negative reaction from parents at her school.

"The group that is going to have to move is the same group that has been targeted for the last two years, so most of those parents are familiar with the idea," Davenport said. "We had to make some changes because the number count would not work the way it was, with the racial count and under- or over-utilization of some buildings."

Frank Ellis, principal at Alma Schrader, expects he'll hear more negative reactions because the boundaries of his school are impacted more under the new proposal.

"People buy their homes in the boundary lines they feel are most comparable to what they want," he said. "Quite naturally, when those boundary lines change, people are going to feel something because it affects their homes."

Ellis said the proposal recommends a bigger tradeoff of students from his school with Clippard school students to increase the minority enrollment at Alma Schrader. In addition, a section of Northfield subdivision would move into the Blanchard school attendance area.

"I have some good people that I personally am going to miss because they work so well with me, and I'll definitely miss the children," he said. "A new facility is always exciting, but it's going to necessitate some changes."

Gynel Nickell, a parent in the Alma Schrader district, said change should be expected as the school district's population shifts. She is not concerned about the proposed changes because she lives within a block of the school.

"Whenever we have a different population or new subdivision go in you have to weigh things out," she said. "If you build a new school, you have to change the boundaries."

In the end, children usually will fair well regardless of the school they attend, said teacher Kathy Porter, who lives in Washington school district. Children rebound quickly and will be able to adapt to the changes, possibly better than the adults, she said.

Said Porter: "Kids are kids. They like each other based on personalities and not on other issues."