Seven-period day to top agenda at school board meeting

A proposal to switch from an eight-period school day to seven will be the main topic of discussion Monday at the Cape Girardeau School Board's regular meeting.

While no action is scheduled to be taken by the board, about 35 teachers, parents and students are signed up to voice opinions and concerns during a public comment period, said superintendent Jim Welker. Each person is allowed three minutes to speak.

Teachers and parents filled the meeting room the previous Monday during a special work session, when Welker presented the proposal to the board.

The district's comprehensive school improvement plan outlines a need for increasing salaries for teachers, he said. But without an increase in revenue from local property taxes or state funding, officials must explore other options.

By eliminating a second prep period at the junior high and high school and reducing the number of classes per day, the district could reduce the number of teachers needed, he said.

The proposal could save the district between $600,000 and $800,000 in personnel costs, Welker said, eventually enabling the district to increase teacher salaries.

One of the top concerns from teachers is the proposal would limit the number of electives and Advanced Placement courses students could take while preparing for college.

Welker said a possible solution would be to create a rotating schedule. But board member Adrian Toole said although the district can make an effort to maintain the same number of courses available, there still is a limiting factor in the number of classes a student can take in a seven-period day.

After the comment period, board members also may discuss the proposal during the meeting.

"At one point, (the board) had talked about taking action on it in December, but I don't know if that's going to happen at this point," Welker said. "We'll listen to everybody and see where the board wants to go from there."

Welker said he gave presentations to staff and faculty at the junior high and high schools last week and also attended faculty meetings, since they would be most affected by the changes.

"I know this is a big issue for a lot of people, and certainly we want to listen to their concerns and comments and take that into consideration as we make a final decision," Welker said. "If we're going to implement this for next year, there's somewhat of a time crunch in terms of making a decision. After the first of the year, students will start selecting courses and setting up schedules."

Before the meeting, the board will gather for a special work session at 5 p.m. to discuss the high school's 11-point grading scale and the percentages for grades.

An "A" on the district's scale is 96 to 100 percent and an "A-" is 92 to 95 percent. At some districts, Welker said, the "A-" begins at 90 percent.

"Some of the board members were concerned it might hurt some of our students in terms of when they apply for scholarships and other things compared to students from other school districts, because our grading scale was higher," Welker said.

A study of other districts was presented during a work session last month, and most of the discussion was regarding the percentages for grades.

"The biggest change, if we make a change, would be in terms of those percentages," Welker said.

The high school's principal, Chris Kase, was asked to take information from last month's board discussion to his staff, review it and make a recommendation to the board. Kase will present that information Monday, Welker said.

klamb@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.