FRANKLIN SCHOOL GETS A NEW LEASE ON LIFE

And while the Cape Girardeau School District is building new schools, it also has done a good job of maintaining an old one. With the closing of May Greene and Washington elementary schools. Franklin Elementary, built in 1927, is the oldest elementary school.

Louis J. Schultz School is the oldest building in the district, however, built in 1914 as a high school and now used for seventh graders. However, administrators are looking to tear the troubled building down after the new Central High School opens and grades are reconfigured.

But Franklin is a shining example of how an oldie can be a goodie. The district invested in a new gym for students, and portions of the old building have been renovated for new uses.

No doubt the former students who return to Franklin for a reunion on April 27 will appreciate that the district has maintained the school where they spent their formative years.