Nell Holcomb getting new chief; junior high principal steps down

Darryl Pannier felt right at home as a young student at Nell Holcomb School decades ago. This summer, he'll return to head up the small rural school district north of Cape Girardeau as superintendent.

The Nell Holcomb school board hired Pannier at a starting salary of $83,300, school officials said Thursday. He will begin the job on July 1.

Pannier, 41, will replace David Fuemmeler, who will retire on June 30 after serving as district superintendent for the past 15 years.

Fuemmeler isn't the only school administrator in the area retiring. Lee Gattis will step down as principal of Cape Girardeau Central Junior High School on June 30. The district is searching for a replacement.

Gattis said he intends to look at other career options but wouldn't detail any of them.

Gattis has worked in the Cape Girardeau School District for 11 years. He's worked as a principal at the old junior high school, the former seventh-grade Schultz School and for the past four years at the current junior high school.

Pannier has served as superintendent of the Fayette, Mo., School District for two years. He has worked in the Fayette school system north of Columbia, Mo., since 1988. He was a teacher and a school principal before being hired as superintendent.

The Fayette school system has 650 students in kindergarten through high school. That's nearly twice as large as Nell Holcomb, which has 340 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The school on Highway 177 north of Cape Girardeau doesn't have a high school. Its students transfer to area high schools to finish their education.

Pannier attended the then University High School in Cape Girardeau, graduating in 1982.

He isn't concerned about the smaller enrollment. He's happy to be returning home. His parents live in Cape Girardeau, and his wife's parents live in Perryville, Mo.

"I always had fond memories," he said of his years as a student at Nell Holcomb School.

Pannier said Nell Holcomb remains an attractive school district. "I think they are a sound district in academics," he said. "They are sound financially."

Pannier said he was happy running the Fayette school system and wouldn't have left for any other job.

Fuemmeler, 59, looks forward to retirement and the opportunity to play more golf. He said he may find a part-time job in education or look at starting another career.

"I told some people I am kind of reading the want ads," he said.

During Fuemmeler's tenure, the district remodeled the school, which was built in 1959. In 1997, the junior high building was constructed. It houses six classrooms, a library, nurse's office, computer lab, science lab and office space.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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