TALLENT: NAACP CONCERNS WOULD BE ADDRESSED

Cape Girardeau schools superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent said many of the issues listed by the NAACP for not supporting the upcoming school bond issue would be addressed if the bond issue passed.

The executive committee of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People voted Friday not to support the school bond issue, saying it ignores concerns of black students and the black community.

The committee, which includes 16 standing committee chairpersons and four executive officers, is the policymaking body of the group.

"They want to cloud the issue of the racism inside those schools," said Michael Sterling, local NAACP president. "A new school doesn't mean attitudes are going to change."

The bond issue, which appears on the April 1 ballot, asks voters to approve the sale of $14 million in bonds and waive the Proposition C rollback. If passed those actions would result in a 69-cent-per-$100-assessed-valuation tax increase.

The money would fund construction of a vocational-technical school, an elementary school and renovations at other school buildings. May Greene and Washington elementary schools would be closed.

Sterling said low minority-faculty recruitment and retention and high drop-out rates in the district were the main reasons for the group's decision.

Black students attending the new elementary school would feel alienated and left out if the new school is put near Bertling and Sprigg streets as proposed, he said.

"There could have been other options available," Sterling said. "There is a lack of representation of minorities in the school district. They should concentrate on trying to uplift our community."

A school-district master plan, which was developed last year after a series of community meetings, creates an agenda for developing programming, facilities, finances and other needs within the district. Tallent said it addresses many of the areas of concern listed by the NAACP.

He said the district is already working to improve minority-teacher recruitment and the drop-out rate. Minority teachers are actively recruited in an effort to increase minority representation within the district, and the Alternative Education Center is one means of retaining at-risk students and graduating drop-outs from the system, he said.

"There are several issues in the master plan geared specifically for the drop-out rate," Tallent said. "We're also working really hard to improve the number of minority teachers. We often send minority members of the staff on recruiting missions."

Tallent said the proposed placement of the new elementary school was the result of economic concerns and population shifts. The large tract of land has been owned by the district since the 1960s, which made it a cheap alternative that allows for greater development in the future, he said.

"We have a history in our district of using buildings 50-plus years," Tallent said. "We have to keep that in mind, and try to decide what populations are going to do 30 or 40 years down the road. We're certainly not trying to provide less of an opportunity for any segment of our community."

Tallent said he first learned the NAACP might not support the bond issue when he and Sterling spoke recently to a Southeast Missouri State University class. However, he said he has not contacted or been contacted by NAACP members to discuss their reasons for opposing the issue.

"For the plan to be effective we have to make sure we're addressing all of the issues important to the community," he said. "If we don't dialogue, we don't keep anyone aware of what the issues are."

Sterling said the issues are simple, although he doesn't believe they will be resolved before April 1. In order for the NAACP to consider backing the bond issue, the Board of Education would have to dedicate itself to black teacher recruitment, mandate cultural-sensitivity workshops for district faculty and staff, and show a sincere commitment to diversity.

"We've been working these issues since the early '90s, but we're at that point that it must be addressed and dealt with," Sterling said. "We want to work with school board members -- we're just bringing it to the surface that we need to look at this."