DELAY DECISION ON PREP PERIODS

And speaking of timing, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education should delay a decision to reduce the number of preparation periods for secondary school teachers.

This is certainly not a new issue. The district has long considered eliminating a second preparation period for secondary teacher as a way of saving several hundred thousand dollars. Already, elementary teachers in the district have only one preparation period.

But let's not forget these are the same teachers who endured an unpopular salary freeze last June due to budget constraints.

Elimination of prep periods without a rather generous pay proposal could further erode teacher morale. And raising salaries enough to offset loss of a prep period won't save the district dollars.

Another year of attrition may allow the district to better ease into one prep period at the high school.