CAPE SCHOOL'S BIGGERSTAFF TAKES POSITION AT WOODLAND

Assistant superintendent Bill Biggerstaff will leave the Cape Girardeau School District to become superintendent of Woodland schools at Marble Hill July 1.

The Woodland school board hired Biggerstaff, 48, last week to replace Ron Wene, who will retire after 14 years as superintendent.

"I deeply appreciate the opportunities I have had in the Cape Girardeau School District," Biggerstaff said. "There have been numerous accomplishments the past five years, and I am very thankful I have had the opportunity to be a part of many of those positive endeavors."

Biggerstaff has worked as assistant superintendent of Cape Girardeau schools since 1996.

Biggerstaff will become the third Cape Girardeau administrator to resign this school year. Last year Superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent announced he will resign at the end of the school year as did assistant superintendent David Giles, who replaced Richard Bollwerk in 1997.

Biggerstaff was hired soon after Tallent was named superintendent. He previously had worked under Tallent for two years at Central High School as an assistant principal.

Tallent said Biggerstaff's departure will leave the district with only two top administrators with experience. Assistant superintendent Betty Chong will continue to manage support services for the district, and business manager Dr. Steve Del Vecchio will continue to manage the district's administrative affairs.

Although it is good to have veteran administrators working in the school district, the departures of Tallent, Biggerstaff and Giles will enable the new superintendent, Dr. Dan Steska, to select an administrative team that complements his leadership approach.

"The school business is kind of like riding a bicycle," Tallent said. "I don't anticipate any difficulties with their picking up where we left off."

Board president Dr. Ferrell Ervin said Biggerstaff's departure will leave a hole in the district's administrative team.

"It clearly is a situation where there will be some lack of continuity as (Stetska) steps into the position," Ervin said. "Clearly we would like to have a strong, cohesive group with experience to remain, but that doesn't always happen."

Biggerstaff agreed. "I think there'll definitely be a transition period," he said. "Along the way you learn your job and you learn your trade, and you do establish some consistency in the district."

Ervin said efforts will be made to strengthen the administration by looking within the district before hiring someone. "Assuming that there is no one or we need someone with more experience, we would begin a full-fledged search within the region and the state," Ervin said.

Steska has been involved in preparing for the next school year, including assisting with the hiring process that resulted in the employment of Kathy Evans to replace Giles.

Biggerstaff has been an educator for 26 years. Before become assistant superintendent, he was assistant principal at Central High School for two years.

Before that time he served three years each as principal at Chaffee High School and Meadow Heights High School. He previously had worked at Egyptian High School in Tamms, Ill., where he taught physical education, coached basketball and baseball, and served three years as dean of students.

He and his wife, Judy, have a daughter, Tiffany.