Cape County voters on Tuesday passed a $12 million school bond issue aimed at financing several improvements across the Cape Girardeau Public School District.
Under Missouri law, the ballot issue needed a 57.14% approval rate to pass. Proposition Y, 'YESchools' as it came to be known, passed with a 61.84% approval: 2,207 to 1,362.
Before Tuesday’s vote, Superintendent Dr. Neil Glass said the $12 million would not only be used to meet district-wide needs such as parking lot repairs, new HVAC systems, and roof repairs, they will also be focusing a bulk of the funds on specific projects at Jefferson Elementary and Alma Schrader Elementary.
“We’re proposing $2 million at each location,” says Glass. “At Alma Schrader, we’re looking at some much needed renovations and upgrades. It was built in 1959, and it’s not really conducive to student learning.”
At Jefferson, Glass says they will further their STREAM initiative and make renovations to the 62-year-old building. This includes improvements to their gymnasium.
Glass says they will also place $1.5 million towards a consolidated preschool center serving children years 4 to 5 on Jefferson’s campus.
“We’re excited to pool our resources in that location, where we feel like we could offer services to several more students,” says Glass.
The bond issue did not require a tax increase. In fact, Glass says this is their third ballot measure since 2010 that did not require one. Each of these elections - 2010, 2015, and 2019 - have accumulated $72 million for Cape Public Schools.
$4 million will be used to replace the “Bubble” aquatic facility, currently located at Cape Central Middle School. Glass says the facility has served them well since 1977, but the “integrity is questionable.”
“We’re just not sure what the state of the facility is,” says Glass. “We know that it loses water, and we know that it’s not really conducive to large crowds - the air quality gets extremely poor.”
The City of Cape Girardeau has agreed to provide $6 million for the new facility, slated to be located at Jefferson Elementary. Two weeks before Tuesday’s vote, an anonymous donor added a $1.5 million matching donation.
This is the third phase of a master facility plan that has been in development since 2010.
To see all results from the Apr. 2 election, visit: http://www.capecountyelections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Unofficial-Election-Summary.pdf