KELSO SCHOOL BOARD REFUSES SUPERINTENDENT'S RESIGNATION; CHASTAIN WON'T SAY WHY HE IS QUITTING

NEW HAMBURG -- Kelso C-7 School Superintendent Rick Chastain's request to resign has been refused for now by the Kelso Board of Education.

Chastain submitted his resignation to the board at the end of May. The board held a special meeting to review options and decided by a 4-2 vote to keep Chastain under contract at least until January.

School board chairperson Dorothy Dirnberger said the board was unwilling to let Chastain resign because he was in the first year of a two-year contract and it would be difficult to find a replacement so quickly.

She said the board asked him to remain in his contract until his next job performance evaluation in January.

"When he submitted his resignation it would have given us only one month to replace him," Dirnberger said. "Really, 30 days is not a sufficient time to find a superintendent."

Chastain was given a job evaluation about six months ago. Dirnberger said at least a majority of the board members were pleased with the job he has been doing. That was one of the reasons they would not let him out of his contract, said Dirnberger.

"He got a good evaluation. We're still happy with his performance," Dirnberger said.

Chastain's contract is good until July 1, 1998.

Dirnberger said the resignation caught board members by surprise. She said Chastain told her he would give sufficient notice if he decided to resign. She said the board will be looking for a replacement between now and January.

"He is re-evaluated in January, and if he wants to resign for the next school year that would give us sufficient time to find a superintendent," she said.

Reached at his home, Chastain refused to comment.

Dirnberger said Chastain did not give her a reason for his resignation. She said she does not believe it had anything to do with a lawsuit Chastain filed in January suing Meadow Heights School District.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau, names the Meadow Heights School District and former and current school board members as defendants. Chastain, the former Meadow Heights High School principal, is suing for monetary damages and his job back.

Chastain's attorney, Mary Anne Sedey, has said his dismissal from Meadow Heights could damage his reputation and his ability to advance in his career.

She said nothing has happened in the case recently that would have prompted Chastain to resign his position in Kelso.