SETTING THE POLICY ON COMMENCEMENT CHARTS NEW COURSE

With just three weeks remaining until graduation, the Cape Girardeau Board of Education adopted a new graduation policy. Only those students completing all the graduation requirements will be allowed to participate in the May 26 commencement.

The board was right to proceed with the vote before graduation. It sends a clear message to school district patrons that the board will act in a timely, fair fashion.

Superintendent Neyland Clark recommended the board wait until the June meeting for formal adoption of the policy. He claimed a number of teachers of students at risk felt they didn't have a say in the policy.

This policy discussion was no secret. It has been in the works since the start of the school year. Teachers, staff members, students and parents have had opportunities to voice their opinions on the policy. The board approved a first reading last month. There has been plenty of opportunity for input.

Waiting until June would have fueled the fires of speculation. Last year, some students who hadn't completed all graduation requirements were allowed to participate in the ceremony, a deviation from the previous unwritten policy that was followed at the high school. Clark's decision to allow exceptions -- made just a week before commencement -- angered many parents and patrons. This new policy is a direct result of last year's graduation controversy.

Many would have seen another delay in creating a written policy as an opportunity to make exceptions in this year's commencement. The policy change had already been delayed too long. It should have been handled back in the fall, well before commencement plans were made. The timing of last year's decision is what angered some patrons, not the decision itself.

But the new board brushed all those concerns aside with a unanimous vote to adopt the new policy. They proved they had listened to the community and would not be led down the same ill-advised path as the previous board.

This new board -- five new members who attended their first official board meeting this week and two members with two years or less experience -- has demonstrated real maturity in its first meeting. Their actions should build confidence in the future direction of Cape Girardeau's public schools.