District hears opposition, must grapple with core issues

Leadership is never an easy thing.

The administration and members of the school board at the Cape Girardeau School District are living proof.

Last week, the district's leaders received an earful about a proposal to eliminate a class period at the junior high and high school.

As we wrote in last Sunday's editorial, we knew there would be opposition. And we also said the district should take its time in making an important decision that would most likely affect the highest-performing students in the district, because eliminating a class period would close some opportunities for those students to load up on Advanced Placement, dual-course credits and, some argued, elective classes relating to music and the arts.

It's a decision that should be taken seriously. We stand by that.

After last week's meeting in which about 40 people spoke against the cut in class periods, there are more points to take away from this situation.

The first, and perhaps most obvious one, is it's good to see the discourse, because it means people care. One school board member indicated things have gotten heated.

"This board will not make this decision," board member Jeff Glenn said. "However, this board has been under siege for more than a week now from people who were very disrespectful in the way they chose to communicate their concerns.

"We have no control over this decision. Yet our integrity was questioned, our intelligence was questioned, our motives were questioned. There were more half-truths and lies spread about this issue than anything I've ever seen, and it is an incredible disappointment to me."

It's not healthy that people are being accusatory and questioning integrity. However, it is very healthy that people are coming forward and presenting their opinions. It's up to the board to consider those opinions and viewpoints, as well as that of the administration, and make tough decisions. The fact more than 30 people came to a meeting and expressed their opinions is a clear sign people care deeply about their schools and their educations. That is something to be celebrated and encouraged. It means people are paying attention.

Now, it's important to get all the facts out. It's important to let the administration make its case for how and why it deemed these changes as a good for the district. We called for the school district to listen to its constituents. It remains important the constituents listen as well.

While the public, and the media, have been focused most on how the changes would affect students, there are underlying issues in the district that need to be examined and fixed.

The proposal to eliminate a school period is wrapped around many other complicated issues we plan to examine in the coming weeks.

What problems does the school district have in terms of paying its teachers? How does the school district compare to other local districts along the experience spectrum? Starting-teacher salaries are said to be too low to attract the higher quality young teachers.

Also, what is the importance of a second prep period, and how does this affect student-to-teacher ratio? According to data on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website, the student-to-teacher ratio at the junior high is 12:1, which is stunningly small. DESE establishes a "desirable standard" at 25:1. It's nearly the same at the high school. Are our schools overstaffed? It also should be noted the ratio of students to administrators at the high school level has shrunk from 455:1 in 2006 to 283:1 in 2015.

Small class sizes are conducive to learning, obviously. But at what point is the district no longer being efficient?

So there are some serious issues being raised as part of this discussion.

We would certainly hate to see the schools regress in their performance. We have seen dramatic progress in the graduation rate, a nearly 20 percent increase. It is unlikely the eighth school period has had much to do with that, as some have suggested. The eighth period benefits, as stated before, the top performers more than the at-risk students. Some have suggested eliminating the eighth period would help the lower performers even more.

But do we really understand how much the eighth period helps top-tier students? Are there data showing more scholarships? What is the average financial savings for those who take more dual credit courses? Are there more bright flight scholarships given at Central than other districts because of the eight-period advantage? Before making a decision to cut the eighth period, it would be beneficial to have data that would more clearly explain what the district would be giving up.

When you boil it all down, eliminating a class period would have an effect on students. There is no denying that. But all decisions are made weighing the costs and benefits. That's what's on the shoulders of the school board right now.

And we do think it is up to those elected volunteers to make such decisions, just as it is up to the administration to put all the pluses and minuses on the table. This is a school board decision, not just an administrative one.

The community has sounded off, rather passionately.

Now it's time to listen, understand and help our leaders come up with the best solution for Cape Girardeau.