KELLEY WILL QUIT SCHOOL BOARD; FILING BEGINS JAN. 24 TO FILL HER BOARD SEAT

In a tearful announcement, Cape Girardeau Board of Education member Carolyn Kelley Monday resigned from the board.

At a board meeting, Kelley said: "It's very hard to say goodbye to this community. We have dug special roots here for 28 years."

Kelley, who has served on the board for almost eight years, will remain a member of the board through a Jan. 23 educational summit.

On Jan. 24, filing will open for her unexpired one-year term. Candidates have until Feb. 4 to file for that post. The election will be held in April.

Following a standing ovation for Kelley, school board President Pat Ruopp said: "Cape Girardeau public schools have benefited greatly from your tenure on the board. Many badly-needed reforms were accomplished as a result of your drive and determination."

Specifically, Ruopp cited Kel

ley's push to lower class sizes, her leadership in a successful tax referendum in 1988, her drive to bring an expanded middle school to the city, and the hiring a new superintendent.

"This leaves a void on the board I cannot imagine replacing," Ruopp said.

Kelley is leaving the board because her family is moving to Little Rock, Ark. Kelley's husband, Ted, has been working in Arkansas for some time. She said the desire for her family to be together prompted the decision.

Kelley was first elected to the board in 1984. She was re-elected twice. Her current term expires in 1993.

In an interview, Kelley reiterated that she will miss Cape Girardeau.

"I've been so active in my church and community," she said. "But I know somebody really unique is out there to fill my position on the board.

"I am sorry I'm not going to be a part of the strategic planning," Kelley said. "Three or four years ago I asked for strategic planning. It seemed we were coming into the '90s and we didn't have some blueprints for buildings or programs. The last building the district built was in the 1960s, and we had not one time heard any proposals."

She said the process under way to gather community input is a good step.

"The board will really know what the community wants."

"I am hopeful that in the future the community will continue to support new programs and new buildings. My dream would be to see new elementary and middle-school and good athletic facilities. How that's going to happen, I don't know."

Kelley said bringing the middle-school concept to Cape Girardeau also has been one of her top priorities. She said she hopes the idea will stay alive.

Kelley has advocated a middle-school concept designed to teach adolescents differently than elementary students and high-school students. The school board, at Kelley's request, created a task force in 1988 to study middle schools. That committee agreed with Kelley that a middle-school philosophy was a good idea.

"I'm really still saying, if we miss out on the middle-school philosophy we have missed a tremendous opportunity to have an impact on adolescents," she said. "I hope the community will continue to look at the philosophy of a true middle school."

She told the board she hopes school-business partnerships, including the Adopt-a-School program, will continue.

She also said she hopes the district will continue to assess how to best deal with at-risk students.

"We have seen a lot of changes in the school system in eight years," she said.

During her tenure, Kelley said, board members "have tried to encourage more volunteers in our schools and to continually upgrade our teachers' salaries.

"We have taken an active role in hiring principals. As the academic leader, the principal sets the tone for the whole school."

The board hired a new superintendent, Neyland Clark. "I'm very pleased with Neyland Clark," Kelley said.

While Kelley said the road hasn't always been easy as a board member, she said she has enjoyed her almost eight years on the board.

"Working with the past and present board members, we have developed some unique friendships. When you work with someone so closely on project after project you get to know their leadership style.

"I cannot say there has been one year I didn't enjoy. There have been years when it has been stressful. But the community at large has been very, very kind to me," she said.

"I've learned how to be a better team member while still keeping individuality. Board members have to probe and ask questions, but at the same time it's important to work as a team.

"I think I've learned how to resolve conflicts better and I've certainly pulled on some PR skills I didn't know I had," she said.

"When something you have done or helped implement helps a young person be able to walk across that platform and receive a diploma, that is what is most important," Kelley said. "Any time I've made a decision, I've tried to keep in mind what is best for students."