FOUR MORE JOIN LIST FOR CITY SCHOOL BOARD

Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones started answering his telephone calls by saying "Cape Girardeau school board" halfway through the weekend.

His lighthearted approach was in response to more than 100 people offering opinions and advice concerning the selection of three members for the Cape Girardeau Board of Education.

Commissioners Joe Gambill and Larry Bock said their telephones rang nearly nonstop over the weekend also. The callers had questions and suggestions concerning their upcoming choices.

Despite his good humor in dealing with the situation, Jones said the decision is being taken seriously.

The field of candidates widened to 31. Four additional names were released Monday: Harry Rediger, Howard Tooke, Cleo Mabrey and Jim Limbaugh. The four had asked that their names not be made public prior to the selection.

Gambill said he contacted the four over the weekend and told them to "get in or get out" of the selection process. All four opted to stay in.

All of the candidates have an opportunity to be interviewed beginning at 10 a.m. today by the commissioners.

Candidates don't have to be interviewed to guarantee selection. Jones said people who want to improve their chances or talk to the commissioners about their qualifications can come in for 15 minutes of questioning.

An 11 a.m. news conference is planned Thursday to name the three board members. The school board will meet Friday at noon to swear in the new members.

Commissioners said they won't try to balance the school board in terms of gender, race or city geography.

The new board members must have skills to provide educational opportunities for children and manage a $21 million budget, said Jones.

Rediger, manager of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. in Cape Girardeau, said: "We're in trouble. We have openings that need to be filled and we just need to move forward."

He feels a priority for the board would be to develop a long-range strategic plan that would address such needs as capital improvements.

"Redistricting needs to be part of that strategic plan. I'm in favor of dropping the current redistricting effort and addressing that in a strategic plan," he said.

Rediger said the school district is a very big business with a $20 million-plus budget.

Tooke called himself a reticent candidate for appointment to the board. "I was recruited for the position," he said. "Somebody thinks that I'd be good."

Tooke served on the Cape Girardeau City Council from 1968-86, including 13 years as mayor. He did not seek re-election in 1986. He retired from M.E. Leming Lumber Co, where he worked since 1946 and served as president from 1957 until 1993.

Tooke said that in some ways serving on the school board would be similar to serving as mayor.

He explained that the school board is supposed to be a decision-making board whose main function is to lay out the direction for the district as it interprets wishes of the community.

He said the board should function the way citizens want it to function, "not the way a half dozen individuals want it to function."

Retired educator Mabrey said he has three qualifications for the job: "I'm well qualified. I'm ready, willing and able to serve.

"I have no ax to grind except to assure the best-quality education for Cape Girardeau's students that the community is willing to support."

Mabrey was director of student teaching and professor of education and psychology at Southeast Missouri State University.

Limbaugh has been president of Boatmen's Bank here since 1987.

"I think the school district is a vital part of the infrastructure of any community, in particular this community," Limbaugh said. "It behooves all of us to work as part of the solution rather than be part of the problem, and the operative word is all of us."

Limbaugh said he brings business sense to the table. He has been associated with the school district in the past.

He chaired a fund-raising organization for the failed school-bond issue in 1993. Money raised by the organization paid for the work of a St. Louis public relations firm. He served on the finance committee of Project Partnership, a long-range planning process for the school system.

Limbaugh is also a friend and supporter of Superintendent Neyland Clark.

"The reason for my wanting to be involved is not to save Neyland Clark's job," Limbaugh said. "It is to try to improve the quality of the district. What's past is past, and I think now is the time we need to concentrate on getting back to basics."

Other hopefuls are David Goncher, Jenny Strickland, David Rosener, Jaynee Browning, Harold Hager, Al Pannier, Brenda Dohogne, Richard Rolfing, Ruth Ann Simon, Wilfred Hoelscher, Bob Komerech, Dr. C. John Ritter, Steve Robertson, Robert Blank, Pamela Sheets Spradling, Calvin Chapman, Jacqueline Sessoms, Louis Haynes, Marie Walker, Janet Rueseler, Charles Herbst III, Shaunna McGhie, Morris Osburn, Dr. James Fletcher Jr., Debra Ann Tracy, Sheldon Tyler and John Jenkins.