LOTS OF DATA NEEDED ON NEW CAPE HIGH SCHOOL

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education has begun the process of coming up with a plan for a new high school at a price the district can afford. Early indications are that the job at hand may be more difficult than anticipated. And it certainly looks as though the cost of the new high school will be considerably more than originally estimated.

In 1997, voters in the Cape Girardeau district approved a $14 million bond issue to pay for a new vocational school, new elementary school and renovations to four elementary schools and Central Junior High School. The approval of that bond issue was like a breath of fresh air in a district whose "new" school was nearly 30 years old.

When voters approved that bond issue, they also understood they would be asked to approve another bond issue, probably in 2000, to pay for the new high school. And the voters were given a pledge by the school board that the whole package would be completed without a tax increase.

A lot can happen in two years. It now appears that a new high school will cost considerably more than the $16 million estimated in 1997. So far, the school board has heard cost estimates from two groups, and the lowest so far are in the $25 million range.

Officials say they believe the district can afford a $25 million high school without a tax increase. This would be accomplished by using interest earned on the first bond issue, moving capital-improvement funds from other projects and extending the debt-service levy. One question for voters, of course, will be whether or not they view an extension of a tax even though the amount isn't increased as keeping the 1997 pledge.

There are concerns that go beyond dollar estimates.

The board has made it clear, for example, that it's unwilling to spend any money on a cheap building that would soon impose a maintenance burden on the district.

And the board has so far held to the concept of a new high school as opposed to renovating the existing Central High School building.

The district's long-range plan includes converting the existing high school into a junior high school for grades seven and eight. The existing junior high would be converted into a fifth-and-sixth-grade attendance center. Elementary schools would then house kindergartners through fourth-graders. And the new high school would have grades nine through 12. Currently, the high school has 10th, 11th and 12th grades. Without a new high school, this plan would have to be scrapped.

This week the board visited districts in the St. Louis area that have recently constructed new buildings. Board members hoped to get a better feel of current school-construction costs. In the not-too-distant future, the board will be sharing more detailed information about plans for Cape Girardeau. And the community will be asked for its input as well.

Just like the 1997 bond vote, whatever action is taken by the board this year and whatever action voters are asked to take will be crucial to the future of the district. The impact so far of a new vocational school and elementary school plus the other renovations has been huge. It will be important to approach the high school issue in such a way that this momentum isn't lost.

But certainly no option should be eliminated yet.

The cost estimates to date are so far removed from the 1997 estimates that it is like starting from scratch.

This means voters may have several important decisions to make in 2000: school bond election and possible extension of the debt-service levy, another school tax issue for operations, and a city vote on extending the sewer program with no increase in taxes. Clearly, timing will be a crucial factor for all of these issues.