Editorial: Cape Board of Education should tap the brakes on athletic complex

There are times for swift, decisive governmental action. Other times, though, call for officials to be deliberate, thoughtful, cautious.

Cape Girardeau Public Schools Board of Education appears to have mistaken the latter for the former in regard to funding an indoor athletic complex at the district's high school campus.

Once complete, the project would include space for locker and weight training rooms, offices for coaches, and a 50-yard indoor turf field. The facility would be located beside Tiger Stadium near the visitors' bleachers.

At the board's most recent meeting, members voted 5-2 to fund Phase 1 of the project at a cost of about $2.6 million. Phase 2 could cost, officials estimate, another $2 million, but they're not sure.

The vote came at the same meeting board members received an updated cost estimate for the project's first phase.

Board members Paul Cairns and Veronica Langston voted against plowing ahead too quickly. Cairns suggested taking more time to have a more complete picture of what the future looks like.

"In my opinion, I would love to see us come back next month and make a choice that has all the cards laid out as much as we can," Cairns said. "I think we need to build this into a more cohesive plan. Something that says, 'Hey, we're about to get pregnant with $4.6 million.'"

We agree.

At the moment, the district is juggling other projects with no clear price tag.

Jefferson Pool will open soon, and the district will be on the hook for certain operating costs as part of a partnership with the city. While concrete numbers are not yet available, it's conceivable the district's portion could easily reach six figures annually.

At the meeting, Langston correctly noted the district has purchased the former Red Star Baptist Church with the intention of using it as Central Academy but has not put forth cost estimates of renovating that property.

Without knowing how much the district will need to spend on those projects, district officials should be wary to commit to more than $4.6 million in future funding.

What's the rush?

An indoor athletic complex sounds like an interesting idea for the student-athletes within the district, but such a commitment, in these uncertain times, should cause the district's elected and appointed officials to ensure the district can sustain the project as well as all the others occurring now and in the near future.

Before proceeding it would be prudent for the district to have a master plan in place with more financial clarity.

We encourage board members to tap the brakes a little bit -- gather more information, hear from stakeholders, then make the best-informed decision possible.