FEW ATTEND SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH FORUM

Only eight people attended a public forum at Central Junior High School Tuesday night, but they expressed opinions about the qualities they want in the next Cape Girardeau schools superintendent.

Integrity, innovative thinking and the ability to work well with staff and the community were qualities most often mentioned during the forum, which was led by a three-member team from the Missouri School Boards Association.

School board members contracted with MSBA in June to help find a successor for superintendent Dr. Dan Tallent, who will leave the district when his contract expires June 30. The MSBA team began interviewing district staff, students and patrons on Monday to gather information that will help them develop a candidate profile for Tallent's successor.

Criteria collected at the forum and interviews will be used to conduct a statewide search for potential candidates. On Sept. 21, the team will present a report of its findings to the board.

Dr. Jacques Cowherd, MSBA deputy executive director, said the long-range master plan and enrollment of 4,500 students are also an advantage for the school district. About 50 percent of all Missouri school districts have fewer than 500 students, and the Cape Girardeau school district is the only one of its size currently advertising an opening.

"This is a good job," he said. "I think you go into any school district and there'll be bumps and challenges. There's nothing that I've heard that will be a deterrent."

Cowherd said the school district should be able to select a candidate for the position by Dec. 8. Two candidates have already expressed an interest in the superintendency, and advertisements on the MSBA Web site and in various state and national publications should attract a large applicant pool before Nov. 12, the deadline for submitting an application, he said.

On Nov. 17, the team will meet with school board members to evaluate applications and narrow the candidates to five or six finalists.

Forum participants emphasized the need for the next superintendent to have strong communication skills and a genuine concern for students. Classroom experience and a good working knowledge of school finance issues were other important characteristics, they said.

"I think its easy to get carried away with these other things and forget about what we're here to be doing, and that's educating our kids," said Bill Port.

Walt Lilly had developed a list of characteristics he hoped to see in the next superintendent. The successful candidate should have good academic credentials and a demonstrated record of nurturing teachers, he said. The candidate should also have innovative solutions to problems and be able to attract quality administrators to the school district.

"I'm more concerned that it is a person that will get along with this community and not work at odds," said Lilly. "I really think the person has to be academically oriented first and extra-curricularly oriented second."

Junior high schoolteacher Gretchen Fee agreed that the ability to communicate effectively was an essential quality. The school district has experienced an erosion of public trust over the past decade, and only an honest, effective communicator will be able to re-establish that trust, she said.

"We need to develop credibility between Clark Street and the community," said Fee, referring to the address of the Board of Educaiton office. "They can't say one thing then do another."

Participants said the school district has several notable features they believe will attract quality applicants. The presence of Southeast Missouri State University, a large medical community, and numerous business and community resources were all good reasons to live in Cape Girardeau, they said.

"We have good facilities and some good administrators, good students and good parents, but we can't seem to get anybody to pull that all together," said Amy Randol.