SEMO DEPARTMENT HEAD FILES FOR SCHOOL BOARD

R. Ferrell Ervin has filed for a seat on the Cape Girardeau Board of Education, ensuring a race for the two seats becoming open on the board.

Larry Trickey and incumbent Ed Thompson filed earlier. The last day to file for the school board is Tuesday.

Ervin, 2221 Earleen, is chairman of the mass communications department at Southeast Missouri State University. He has lived in Cape Girardeau for eight years.

His wife, Glenna, doesn't work outside the home. They have two children: Blake, a sixth-grader, and Meghan, a third grader. The children attend Alma Schrader School.

Ervin is a parent representative on the redistricting committee working to redraw elementary school boundaries.

"I started regularly attending school board meetings about a year ago," Ervin said. "As I attended, and as I talked with people, it seemed the public perception of the board was somewhat negative."

After Tuesday's meeting of the redistricting committee, Ervin said, he was convinced that a portion of the people in Cape Girardeau "really don't have a high respect for the school board."

He decided to seek election to change the perception.

"I feel perception can become reality. You can get to a point where there is no trust, even when the board is acting in the best interest of the children," he said.

With his background in communication, Ervin said he would like to help the school board communicate better with its public.

"People should feel welcome to comment. They should be encouraged to comment," he said.

Ervin believes most people in Cape Girardeau don't understand the goals and objectives of the school board.

"They don't see the vision," he said. "If it's not readily apparent, the board appears to be flip-flopping on every issue."

The board should clearly state its goals, lay out a plan for achieving the goals and measure if the goals have been attained.

Ervin would also like to see more technology and training for teachers. "One computer for a classroom or classrooms sharing computers is not an ideal teaching situation," he said. "We need to provide teachers the ammunition to get the job done."

Ervin was involved with a group of parents who circulated petitions during the summer asking the school board not to renew Superintendent Neyland Clark's contract.

"I'm not getting involved with personalities," he said. "When you get involved with personalities, nobody wins. I want to deal with real issues."