SCHOOL REVIEWS NUMBERS; CAPE STARTS WITH DROP OF 13 PUPILS

Enrollment on the first day of classes Tuesday at the Cape Girardeau Public Schools was 4,274, down 13 students from the first day of school last year.

Superintendent Neyland Clark reported on enrollment at a meeting of the Board of Education Wednesday morning at the board office.

While the total number of students is down slightly, some schools experienced growth. Alma Schrader Elementary School, for example, has 40 more students this year, bringing its enrollment to 577 students.

Central High School has 47 fewer students this year with an enrollment of 946.

Clark said, "We are seeing some real growth at some of our elementary schools. ... That (Alma Schrader) elementary school is getting close to maximum size if we look at capping an elementary school at 600 students. And that elementary school is almost as big as the junior high."

The junior high has 673 students this year, an increase of 33.

Other schools that experienced increased enrollment were L.J. Schultz, up 10 with 367 students; and Franklin Elementary School, up 13 to 404 students.

In addition to the high school, schools with a drop in first-day attendance were Charles C. Clippard Elementary, down 7 to 456 students; Jefferson Elementary, down 28 to 317 students; May Greene Elementary, down 27 to 199 students; and Washington Elementary, down 17 to 318 students.

Board member John Campbell asked if the enrollment drops at some schools and gains at other schools reflected a shift in the city's population.

"It seems there may be some growth in some areas. That's why we need a strategic plan," Clark said. "We need to look at the growth in our city."

This year, 51 high school students and 12 junior high students are paying tuition to attend school in Cape Girardeau. That number was 88 the year before, and 199 the year before that, said business manager Larry Dew.

"Half the class at Nell Holcomb (school district) is going to Jackson this year," Dew said.

Clark said, "Rather than worrying about bodies and numbers and whether or not we are losing kids to private or neighboring schools, let's worry about the kids we have and providing them the best service possible. If we do that, the numbers will take care of themselves."

The board also talked briefly about plans for an upcoming tax measure to fund a middle school and other physical improvements in the school district.

Clark told the board that he met Friday with Dr. James R. Oglesby, assistant to the chancellor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, to discuss the upcoming bond issue and referendum.

"Dr. Oglesby has agreed to work with us regarding our short- and long-range plans," Clark said. "We are going to couple him with representatives from Southeast Missouri State."

Representatives of the board are to meet with Oglesby Sept. 24 prior to a meeting he will attend in Caruthersville. Board members will also meet with him in October at the Missouri School Board Association meeting at Tan-Tara.

"We will talk about school organization and middle schools, and a needs assessment for our district," Clark said.

"We need to set down a time line," Clark said. "We will be talking rationale for the middle school, enrollment impact and things we may need to do at the elementary level. We need a board rationale about what we want to do," he said.

"We really need to decide, brick-and-mortar-wise, what we need to do," Clark said.

But the first step is to get community members involved, he said.

Clark asked board members to submit names of community leaders who might be interested in participating in the planning process.

"I think the board has expressed what it sees as needs," he said. "We need to let them (community leaders) indicate their needs to the board. We don't think we can go out and dictate to the community."

The board will meet Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. for its regular monthly meeting. The meeting will be held at 61 N. Clark and is open to the public.