LETTERS: SCHOOL ACTIONS DRAW RESPONSE

To the Editor

First I want to make one thing very clear I and my family are very strong advocates of the Public Schools of Cape Girardeau. We have 4 daughters who graduated from Central High School. Each one going all they way through from kindergarten. Two of these girls went K thru 6 at May Greene and another went K thru third grade. The fourth daughter went thru Special Education. So you see I am very well acquainted with the school System. I served in all offices of the P.T.A. at May Greene, Schultz, Junior High and Senior High. We moved with our family to Cape in 1952 and our family grew by 2 more. I was also on the Advisory Committee for the Board of Education when the Bond issue was passed for the Junior High building, after 3 tries.

Please remember one thing most people in Cape Girardeau want better schools for our children, after all they are our future, however you are not going to cram things down peoples throats. Don't try to hide things from the public and be honest with them. The average person is a lot smarter than you give them credit. If you want a bond issue passed, don't ask the people to give you a blank check. Spell out in detail what you need the money for and why, don't generalize. Believe me, I know what I am talking about when we were trying to pass the bond issues for the New Junior High some of the people on our committee wanted to give out "so Much" information saying that if we told them too much we would get opposition. The other members of our committee said "No" you have to tell people the truth, after all it is their money. We did just that and finally got the bond issue passed.

I have a few question for the School Board. Did Dr. Ruopp attend Public Schools and does his children attend public schools? Mr. Davis does you wearing your credit card as a badge mean that "to heck with what people think" I can do as I please at taxpayers' expense. You seem to think it is none of our business. Also, Dr. Ruopp I did not think this was hilarious as you seem to think. I think you and he were making fun of the people of Cape. Mr. Thompson, would you let a prospective employee have a Credit Card while being interviewed for a job? Do you provide your employees with credit cards and give them free-reign and don't check their expense accounts? You should try to run the business of the Schools as if it were your own business. Don't ever forget it is the tax-payers money you are using. I think it is ludicrous of Dr. Clark to scoff at the expenditure of $400.00 for personal use when he thinks in terms of millions. I think he had better come down to the level of the common man and think like a common man. You could take the $400 and add a couple of hundred more to it and re-wire May Greene or at least start on it. I seems to me it would be much cheaper to re-wire, air condition and renovate May Greene and Washington than to build new buildings. If they rewire, and air condition then the teachers would have an outlet to plug in their computers and would not need a fan.

The present Board of Education, with the exceptions of Dr. Clark and Mr. Campbell, seem to think the citizens of Cape Girardeau are a bunch of idiots and that there is nothing we can do about it. I beg your pardon but there is something that can be done. People need to encourage qualified people to run for the board, not self-serving people.

I don't know Amy Randol, but I did know Dan Milligan and I say he showed he was a man by standing up to the Board. I encourage Amy and her friends to continue and keep a vigil on this situation, you are doing the citizens of Cape Girardeau a favor.

Billie Roth

Cape Girardeau