School board extends Scala's contract

The Cape Girardeau school board has extended superintendent Dr. David Scala's contract for another two years.

The board took that action in closed session late Monday night on a 5-2 vote. Board members Charles Bertrand and Tom Reinagel voted against the two-year extension.

The board also voted in closed session to hire Exit Realty-Thomas Meyer Associates as the listing agent in efforts to sell the old Schultz School. The Cape Girardeau real estate firm would receive a 5 percent commission on the gross selling price if the property on Pacific Street is sold, school officials said.

Scala is in the second year of a three-year contract that runs through June 2008. He received a 2 percent pay raise last summer, bringing his current salary to $135,150.

He's scheduled to receive a 3 percent pay raise in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Including the final year of his current contract, Scala's tenure as superintendent would extend through June 2010.

Terms of the extension including salary have yet to be determined, board president Sharon Mueller said Tuesday. She said the board would consult with Diane Howard, the school district's lawyer, in drawing up a new contract.

The school board could approve such a contract as early as the board's Feb. 19 meeting, she said.

Mueller said the board has high expectations of Scala. "He has shown us he can meet those expectations," she said.

Bertrand and Reinagel said little Tuesday when asked about their dissenting votes.

"It was in closed session," Reinagel told a reporter. "I don't need to explain anything."

Bertrand said he wouldn't talk about what he said to fellow board members behind closed doors. Doing so, he said, would make his remarks appear like "sour grapes."

A former superintendent in Texas, Bertrand said school administrators must be held accountable for what happens in a school system. "I am going to evaluate the district according to the leadership, that is where it starts," he said.

Bertrand previously has voiced concern about low test scores in some of the district's schools.

But Mueller and fellow board member Steven Trautwein argued that Scala has done a good job since becoming superintendent in July 2005.

Trautwein said Scala has been visible in the community and has communicated well with the public. "He does a good job of taking our story to the community," he said.

The superintendent has helped draw up a comprehensive plan that spells out goals for the district, Trautwein said. Those goals include everything from programs to facilities.

"Based on what already has been accomplished, we have every expectation that we are going to see improvements in test scores, facilities and retention rates," he said.

Scala, Mueller said, has focused on curriculum, customer service, and making schools in the district more accountable to parents and the public. All of those things can improve student achievement, Mueller said.

Scala said he was looking forward to staying on as superintendent. "I am very pleased," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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