Reduce staff, increase salary

I offer this letter in support of reducing the staffing for Cape Public Schools to increase the base salary.

As a previous member of this school board, I am painfully aware that the school district salary schedule was a product of previous boards that, however well intentioned, created a system that hampered the hiring of new teachers because of a low base salary. Adjusting this salary schedule always created additional problems up and down the schedule, costing the district more than it should merely to bring on new staff. Replacing staff provides the important addition of different experiences, new methods and the turnover of salary levels, all important to providing the best learning experience possible for all students.

When you look at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data on all of the K-12 districts in Missouri, you find that Cape enjoys one of the best student-to-teacher ratios in the state, even when adjusted for special education commitments. Cape also spends more per student than most districts in the state. This did not always produce the best results at all buildings.

The Cape district has made tremendous improvements in student performance because of clearer communication of district goals and stronger supervision for adherence to those goals through Professional Learning Communities and computer-assisted staff evaluations.

I trust that the board will follow the mandate of any school board and vote to provide the best learning opportunity for all students of the Cape district.

Paul Nenninger, Cape Girardeau