SIKESTON SALES TAX WOULD FUND CENTER

Many issues fill the ballot Tuesday. But for the city of Sikeston, a key consideration is passage of a sales tax to fund a new higher education center. If voters approve the sales tax Tuesday, the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents is ready to proceed.

Sikeston has long sought an institution of higher learning such as a community college. The higher education center would be similar to the one successfully operated by the university in Malden.

Such a center would provide ready access for college classes and industrial training. The center is a partnership with Southeast University and Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff.

At last week's meeting, some Southeast regents worried that approval before the sales-tax vote would be jumping the gun.

But it is fair for voters in Sikeston to realize that their decision Tuesday will seal the future of the center. With Southeast regent support already in hand, the project can proceed post haste.

The quarter-cent sales tax would last six years and generate about $3 million. That local match is essential to secure $1.5 million in state funding.

The new building would be constructed on a 25-acre site at the city's new industrial park at the junction of Highway 61 and Route ZZ. The city has donated the land.

Planners estimate the building could accommodate 500 to 1,000 students. That's not a stretch considering the center is already serving more than 300 students since opening in January. A former bank building serves as temporary quarters. But Sikeston civic leaders envision much larger facilities to better serve the needs of the region and proposed the sales tax to fund it. This campaign is not coming from the university. It is fueled by progressive businessmen and citizens in Sikeston.

Dr. Bob Buchanan, former superintendent of Sikeston public schools, hopes the money can be raised with the city's can-do attitude.

If approved by voters Tuesday, construction could start as early as the fall. The building's design includes 33,000 square feet. It would closely resemble the larger, polytechnic building planned for the Southeast campus. Organizers hope to occupy the new Sikeston center by the fall of 1999.

If the vote fails, organizers will turn to private contributions. But it would certainly slow down the timetable. And if fund-raising efforts fell short, the design would have to be scaled back.

Much is riding on Tuesday's vote. The time is at hand for Sikeston to decide its financial stake in an area higher education center.