Farewell Schultz, hello new opportunities

A fitting tribute and farewell to L.J. Schultz School was conducted this week. Last Sunday, former students, teachers and administrators gathered there to remember fondly and then say good-bye to a building that, after May, won't see students for the first time in 88 years.

There was a slide show and cake, but mostly there was good conversation and sharing about the fine school it was and the hardworking man who gave the school its name. Louis J. Schultz was a teacher, coach and superintendent in the district for 38 years. He died in 1968.

The building won't be used as a school anymore because the district is building a new Central High School. That means the current Central High School will become a junior high school, and the current Central Junior High School will house seventh-graders who would have attended Schultz.

To that end, the district is seeking donations to provide the extras at the new Central High School and equipment for other schools. To make donations of any amount to the Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation, contact Rich Payne, Mike Cowan or Terry Kitchen at 335-8228 or send checks payable to the foundation to Cape Girardeau Public Schools Foundation, P.O. Box 399, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63702-0399.