CAPE SCHOOL BOARD OKs TENTATIVE BUDGET

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education addressed new budgets, school renovations and teachers' salaries Monday at the Central Junior High School cafeteria. It also named Harry Rediger to replace Terry Taylor on the board.

State law mandates that a tentative or new budget be in place by the end of the fiscal year for a governing body to continue fiscal business. Midnight Monday represented the fiscal year's end, so board members approved the current budget as a tentative 1997-98 budget. This will allow the district to continue conducting daily business until a new budget is approved.

Board members agreed to have a special meeting July 10 for a financial session to finalize the new budget.

The board voted unanimously to accept a diagram of proposed renovations to Jefferson Elementary School presented by superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent. Architect Charlie Herbst has been working with district administrators to develop a floor plan for the additions to the building. He said the plans will accommodate the school's population after Phase II of the district's master plan is implemented.

At that time the school will have three sections of kindergarten through fourth grades rather than the present population of kindergarten through sixth grades.

Tallent requested a special meeting with board members David Goncher, Dr. Ferrell Ervin and the Rev. William Bird to discuss the Community Teachers Association's rejection of a salary package proposed by administrators. Tallent said Rediger, who will serve the remainder of the term recently vacated by Terry Taylor, should attend. The other board members have close affiliations with the district that would keep them from voting on the issue, he said.

"I need to meet with these four board members because the CTA and administration need to come to some agreement," Tallent told the board. "We need to meet so we can get the teachers' contracts out as soon as possible."

The board also considered a committee proposal to alter graduation requirements by reducing the number of physical education credits required and increasing the elective options students were offered. The committee recommended that the board make the requirement changes at the last meeting, but the issue was tabled so that the committee could take another look at its recommendation.