LETTERS: IMPORTANT SCHOOL VOTE

To the editor:

On Tuesday, April 1, we will have the opportunity to do something for our community and for the continued economic growth of our area. We can help move Cape Girardeau forward by approving the Cape Girardeau School District's master plan bond issue.

The facilities additions and improvements outlined in the master plan -- a plan a year in the making that incorporated input from a broad sector of our community -- are absolutely vital to the viability and continued growth of Cape Girardeau.

Phase I of the plan (1997-2000) will include construction of a new elementary school and a new are vocational school; renovations of Alma Schrader, Clippard and Franklin schools; renovation and expansion of Jefferson School, closing of the aging May Greene and Washington schools; and renovation of the current vocational facility to house district offices, centralized maintenance and districtwide programs.

Phase II (2001-2005) will include construction of a new high school; renovation of the current high school and junior high buildings as fifth-and-sixth-grade and seventh-and-eighth-grade attendance centers; and closing of the L.J. Schultz building.

In addition to these improvements, the master plan bond issue will help eliminate facility and safety concerns that plague many of our school buildings; eliminate temporary classrooms located in modular units; provide space to expand the technology curriculum from kindergarten through high school; reduce and balance class sizes; provide state-of-the-art programs for vocational and career training; provide energy-efficient, low-maintenance facilities for all programs; and provide appropriate classroom space for special-services programs.

It has been over 20 years since Cape Girardeau last approved a school bond issue. Three of the schools now in use were built prior to 1920. Our "newest" school, Clippard Elementary, already is 27 years old. Many classrooms are overcrowded. Our aging facilities require continuous, expensive maintenance. And while teachers and administrators have gone the extra mile to see that our young people receive a sound education, in many ways we have stood still while schools around us -- from Nell Holcomb to Advance, Sikeston to Poplar Bluff, Farmington to Scott City -- have moved forward with renovated or upgraded facilities.

To give Cape Girardeau's students the highest quality educational experience is an investment in the future. The dividends will be students better prepared for success; expanded adult programs that give participants opportunities to improve employment skills and enrich their lives; and a high-quality work force to ensure the continue economic vigor that makes Cape Girardeau a good place to live and work.

The master plan bond issue has the full support of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. We urge the community to go to the polls on Tuesday, April 1, and support this extremely important issue. A vote for our schools is a vote for Cape Girardeau.

JIM W. WENTE, Chairman

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce

Cape Girardeau