BLANCHARD SCHOOL MARKS NEW ERA FOR DISTRICT

After lengthy construction delays, Barbara Blanchard Elementary School, the Cape Girardeau School District's first new school in almost 30 years, is open.

With a vocational center under construction and a new high school on the drawing board, the opening of Blanchard School marks a new and progressive era for the district. Renovations of other city schools have taken place, and more new schools likely are to be built early in this new century.

Work on Blanchard began in October 1997. The school cost $3.4 million and was to have been completed by summer 1998, but a series of delays pushed back the scheduled completion to June 1999. June came and went. Finally, last Monday the school district officially accepted the school.

The delays with Blanchard were brought on by a combination of problems. The school district, in the interest of getting the most for the taxpayers' money and a functional building that meets the needs of students and staff, ordered a number of changes during construction. Delays in receiving certain building materials hampered the contractor, which had to pay a penalty for not finishing on time.

Construction of Blanchard should be considered a learning experience for the school district. With a new high school planned -- and initial estimates being placed at millions over the amount the school was expected to cost -- the Board of Education has set out on a mission to acquire a plan for the school that is affordable without sacrificing major features.

Already the board has received proposals for a high school that would cost some $9 million less than the first estimate, has visited new schools in the St. Louis area and expects to receive more estimates from some of the companies involved in construction of those schools.

The school district and its patrons can be proud of the new Blanchard School as the first to be completed in this period of capital construction authorized by voters. It should serve the district well for many years.