SUPERINTENDENT BERRY RETIRING AT SCOTT CITY

SCOTT CITY -- After 29 years as a school administrator, Scott City superintendent Doug Berry is retiring. He announced the decision at a meeting of the Scott City Board of Education Wednesday night.

Letters explaining his decision to retire also were distributed to students and parents Thursday. School board members received similar letters before the meeting.

"The name Doug Berry and Scott City schools are synonymous," said board president Gale Dale. "He's obviously going to be missed."

Berry has been the district's superintendent for three years. He will retire June 30 when his contract expires. His wife Mary, an elementary teacher is also expected to retire at the end of the year.

Prior to heading the Scott City Public Schools, Berry served as an elementary principal for 26 years.

"He is going to be missed," said Scott City High School principal Fred Graham, who has worked with Berry for 14 years. "He's a viable part of the school. I think he's accomplished a lot of his goals."

When he took office in 1993, Berry said one of his top priorities was to create a school where students wanted to learn and were proud to attend. Over the years, he has met that goal by providing more on-hands technology for students and getting the district connected to the Internet.

At the beginning of the school year, 10 new IBM computers were installed in the high school. In 1994, the school installed 18 Macintosh computers in its business labs. That computer equipment replaced the electric typewriters once used by business classes.

Scott City has one of the best technology programs in the area, said board member Kevin Hillemann, adding that Berry even helped write grants for some of the programs.

"He's probably our greatest asset in the district," Hillemann said. "And he's probably the biggest supporter the district has."

Wayne Petitt, another board member, agreed: "He works well with the community and everybody has a lot of respect for him. We are losing an asset."

During his three-year career as superintendent, Berry supervised the completion of a $1 million building renovation project. All classrooms in the district were air-conditioned and the high school gymnasium was renovated when voters approved a 70-cent tax levy in 1988.

"He's done a good job of keeping the school up," Petitt said. "There's been an improvement on the grounds since he's been there."

Other changes at the schools include a new cafeteria menu and a school breakfast program for elementary students.

"It's hard to imagine Scott City schools without Mr. Berry," said Bobbi Tomlinson, a fourth-grade teacher. "It won't be the same without him."

Board member Cathy Raines said she dreads Berry's leaving because he will be so hard to replace.

"He has been absolutely fantastic to work with" she said, adding that she took office at the same time Berry became superintendent. "Anything I've ever asked him to look into or see that it was taken care of, he did it immediately."

She added that it will be difficult to find another superintendent who is as visible and accessible to the public. "It will be hard to find someone that we have that rapport with," she said.

"He was one in a million. There's probably not a kid out there who doesn't think he hung the moon."

Berry not could be reached Thursday by the Southeast Missourian. He was out of town attending a funeral.

Applications are being accepted until Feb. 20. The board hopes to hire a new superintendent before the April election. The next school board meeting is Feb. 22 at 6:30 p.m.

"It'll be a challenge for us to find someone to replace him," Dale said. "I think it's exciting to see what's out there. There are some good superintendents in the area and maybe one of them will come to our school because we are a good school."