The Cape Girardeau school board plans to fill the vacant school board position from among four finalists at a special board meeting July 2.

Board members scheduled the meeting after interviewing the four finalists late Monday afternoon before the start of the regular board meeting.

The board initially had planned to interview five finalists. But finalist Brenda Newbern withdrew her candidacy. Board president Steven Trautwein said Newbern told him she didn't feel that she would have the time to devote to the position.

The four finalists are Martha Hamilton, Twila Brown, Brynda Dickson and Carrie Beth Smith.

Board members spent an hour questioning the four women in an open meeting.

Brown, an assistant professor of nursing at Southeast Missouri State University, told the board she would like to see the district boost pay for teachers. "It's difficult to attract the best and brightest people," she said.

Higher salaries would make it easier to recruit and retain teachers, she said.

Brown said she has been an active parent in the school system. She has three children attending public schools in the district.

She questioned whether the school district should operate a preschool program. The board later voted to start a preschool program at Jefferson and Blanchard elementary schools this fall. "I'm not sure the district's revenue needs to be going in that direction," she said.

But Smith, Dickson and Hamilton said they favored creating a public preschool.

Dickson told the board that the district's alternative school needs to be expanded to serve fifth- and sixth-graders who disrupt regular classroom learning and need to be moved out of the middle school. The alternative school currently serves junior high and high school students.

The district at some point will need to build a new elementary school on the city's north or west sides because of residential growth, she said.

Dickson described herself as a stay-at-home mom. "I am committed to raising my children and volunteering in the community," she said.

Hamilton, a real estate agent, said the school district's comprehensive plan for improvements in everything from curriculum to facilities is too general. "I think there has to be a specific time frame for meeting these goals," she told the board.

The school district's Web site needs to be updated, Hamilton said. She said the district last posted minutes from school board meetings in 2003 and the last school board agenda available for viewing on the Web site dates back to March.

Some links on the Web site aren't operational, she said.

Smith, a clinical pharmacist at Saint Francis Medical Center, said she likes the newly developed comprehensive plan. "I think the vision is that we provide an environment of life long learning," she said. "I think it's a good start."

But she added that school officials need to continually review the plan and gauge the progress being made.

Smith, who is single and has no children, told the board that her situation makes her an ideal candidate to serve on the school board. "Because I am single with no children, I have no stake in a particular school," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123