Editorial

What to expect

Starting next July, the Cape Girardeau School District will have a new superintendent. Dr. David Scala, a seasoned administrator currently serving as an assistant superintendent in Sioux Falls, S.D., has been hired to take the helm of the Cape Girardeau district.

Scala will have an enormous task when he arrives. He will become ultimately responsible for providing a high-quality education to students in a district that has been beleaguered of late with financial crises and an erosion of confidence in the leadership of the district, both the hired help and elected board members.

If the new superintendent has superior skills not only to oversee an operation that meets students' needs, meets state requirements, meets federal No Child Left Behind demands and meets the lingering financial shortfalls -- including not enough money for an adequate supply of textbooks, but also the ability to convey a sense of trust in the community, then Scala has come to the right district.

It won't be easy, and Scala deserves the benefit of both the community's support and a willingness to offer, if asked, an honest appraisal of why there seems to be so much discord in what otherwise is a fine school district.

Scala said during an interview visit to Cape Girardeau that he was looking for a position south of St. Louis.

If he was looking for someplace with a warmer climate than South Dakota, he has found it, possibly in more ways than winter temperatures.

Comments