Schools leave blanks in answers to questions

The past 365 days were more beginning than end, more question than answer for Southeast Missouri school districts.

The full impact of 2004's biggest local events in education is still to come: the controversy surrounding Cape Girardeau's superintendent; another shot at a new high school in Jackson; the uncertainties of Missouri's school funding system.

So, with one eye on the past and the other on the future, here's a look at the Southeast Missourian's top 10 education stories from 2004:

1. Cape Girardeau's superintendent search:In August 2004, the Cape Girardeau School Board voted against renewing superintendent Mark Bowles' three-year contract.

At a price of $12,000 to $15,000, the board hired the Missouri School Boards' Association to conduct a search for a leader and also upped the position's salary range from $104,000-$110,000 to $125,000-$140,000 -- decisions that drew criticism from students, teachers and parents in the community.

The search turned up 15 applicants, six of whom were interviewed by the board and three of whom became semifinalists in the search: Dr. Betty Chong, assistant superintendent in Cape Girardeau; Dr. David Scala, assistant superintendent in Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Dr. Rudy Duran, superintendent in Steelville, Mo.

On Monday, the board announced it had chosen Scala as the new superintendent. Scala will be in Cape Girardeau during the last week of January to sign his contract and will officially take over July 1.

2. Jackson's failed bond issue: After 20 years of discussions and two years of serious planning, the Jackson School District placed a $27 million bond issue before voters in November to renovate and expand the aging Jackson High School.

The issue fell less than 1 percentage point short of the 57.14 percent of votes needed for passage. However, school officials say plans to improve the high school are far from dead.

The Jackson School Board will consider placing the bond issue on a 2005 ballot at an upcoming meeting in January.

3. Cape Girardeau's budget cuts: The Cape Girardeau School Board rang in 2004 with $1.2 million in budget cuts.

The cuts eliminated some jobs, created student participation fees for sports and other extracurricular activities at the high school and froze salaries. The cuts were based on recommendations from a 100-member task force that met for several months in 2003.

4. MAP test success: In August, local schools learned that students had scored high enough on annual state tests to avoid stiff penalties under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Both Blanchard and Jefferson elementary schools in Cape Girardeau faced the possibility of having to pay for students to transfer to better-performing schools, but students at the two schools raised their scores on the Missouri Assessment Program tests enough to meet new federal standards.

For the upcoming 2005 MAP tests, the scores required of students will be even higher under No Child Left Behind, However, the significant jump in last year's scores placed most students above even that mark.

5. School funding lawsuit: By the end of 2004, nearly all of Southeast Missouri's school districts had joined, in one way or another, a lawsuit against the state's education funding system.

The Cape Girardeau School District chose not to join the lawsuit as a plaintiff but instead became part of a coalition to intervene in the suit in April 2004.

The Coalition to Fund Excellent Schools -- made up of mostly hold-harmless districts such as Cape Girardeau -- will be allowed to offer its concerns and question witnesses during the trial.

In November, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon asked the Cole County Circuit Court to put the lawsuit on hold to allow the new legislature a chance to solve the problem.

6. Cape schools increase tax levy: After three years of controversy, the Cape Girardeau School District voted in August to increase its tax levy by 17 cents per $100 assessed valuation.

Unlike past years when the board considered raising the levy from $3.99 to $4.16, there were no opposing comments from district residents.

The move will generate around $748,000 annually in additional property tax revenue for the district. The revenue from the increase is targeted at four areas in the district's budget: salaries, textbook purchases, technology updates and building reserve fund balances.

7. Schultz lawsuit settled: In July 2004, the Cape Girardeau School District settled a 2-year-old legal battle over the Schultz School building for $300,000.

The Schultz building had been tied up in court since 2002, after Ray Bax, a Jefferson City developer, offered to buy the brick structure for $2 million to renovate it as office space for three state agencies.

However, Bax lost the bid for the office space and then attempted to withdraw his contract with the school district. The school board in turn filed a lawsuit for $2 million plus damages for legal fees and interest rate costs.

A judge ruled that the $2 million contract between the district and Ray Bax of RMB Inc.'s Bax Construction was valid and transferred the title to Bax. Because of Bax's impending bankruptcy, the school district settled last summer and the title was returned to the district.

Now the district is renovating the 90-year-old building to use as its Alternative Education Center by fall 2005.

8. Saxony Lutheran opens: On Nov. 21, Saxony Lutheran High School dedicated a 42,000-square-foot facility in Fruitland, Mo., and began classes at the new site the following week.

The school, which formed in 2000, had been using temporary facilities at St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

The building is only phase one of the building plan. As more students enroll, additions will be made and programs will be expanded.

9. State funds released: In April 2004, local school districts received as much as $500,000 each after Gov. Bob Holden released education funds that had been withheld through the course of the school year.

Many districts, including Jackson and Scott City, made cuts to staff and other areas of the budget but still faced deficit spending because of the withheld money

When it was released -- Around $500,000 to the Jackson and Poplar Bluff districts and $117,000 to Scott City -- the money allowed school officials to offset the deficit spending.

10. Central High School's heating, cooling: The heating and air-conditioning system at the 2-year-old Central High School attracted public attention after school officials announced last summer that what was once deemed the "Cadillac of all units" was inadequate and would cost $240,000 to fix.

Problems with the system have been ongoing since the school opened in 2002, though the companies involved in creating the system all say the problems are not their fault and that, technically, the system is working just as it is supposed to.

In July 2004, the school district hired an outside company -- Control Technology and Solutions from the St. Louis -- to redo the system. The final touches were put on the project this week while students were on holiday break.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, ext. 128