STE. GENEVIEVE EYES SCHOOL BONDS, BOAT GAMBLING

STE. GENEVIEVE Voters in Ste. Genevieve Tuesday will decide a school bond issue and whether to authorize city water system improvements and a riverboat gambling proposition.

If approved, the school bond issue would authorize the issuance of $4 million in bonds to pay for school building construction and expansion.

Mikel Stewart, superintendent of Ste. Genevieve schools, said the ballot measure represents the second phase of school improvements started in 1989.

"Basically, starting back three or four years ago, we introduced a $7 million bond issue that was cut into two phases," Stewart said. "The public passed the first phase in November 1990."

After that measure passed, the school district did $3.5 million in construction and renovation to school facilities. In August, the bond issue also was on the ballot, but was defeated.

The $4 million in bonds would affect all four of the district's school buildings, Stewart said.

"Basically, it's renovation and new construction," he said. "In total summary, we'll make available 22 new classrooms and science labs, and renovate nine classrooms and one physical education facility and add a physical education facility.

"It also touches on several other items like playgrounds, new windows and a variety of equipment and furnishings and utility-type upgrades."

Stewart said the 1990 improvements included new windows and a heating system in the district's old middle school, a new physical education facility, school kitchen and two new libraries, and other construction.

"Our real challenge today is our growing school district, which has grown by nearly 500 student in the past seven or eight years," he said. "And in a school district with only 2,100 students, that's a pretty good increase."

Ste. Genevieve County Clerk Darryle Shuh said the first proposition city voters will decide is whether to issue $2,775,000 in revenue bonds to extend and improve the city's waterworks system.

Shuh said the improvements are needed because of the age and condition of the city's water system.

Proposition 2 on the ballot will let voters decide whether the city can license excursion gambling boats in the city if voters approve riverboat gambling state-wide.

"If it passes through the state, the city wants to get first shot at having excursions out of Ste. Genevieve," Shuh said.

The county clerk said the docking area that would be needed for the riverboats currently is not in the city limits. The proposition on the city ballot would authorize annexation of the needed property.

"If it does not pass state law, it's shot until next time," he added. "If its passes statewide, and passes citywide, the city would then have the authorization to go forward and annex the property."