Supporters of Frank Ellis to hold rally Sunday

Supporters of Cape Girardeau Central Middle School principal Frank Ellis and assistant superintendent Debbie Followell will hold a rally Sunday at Capaha Park to demand that the school board reverse its decision to replace the two administrators.

The rally is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at shelter No. 1.

Mary Jackson, a Central Middle School parent, is organizing the rally. Jackson said she'll have a petition on hand for people to sign calling on the board to reinstate Ellis and Followell.

At least 600 people have signed the petition so far, Jackson said. "A lot of them are just citizens," she said, adding that some are parents of middle school students.

Jackson said hot dogs and chips will be provided at the rally. "I am paying for it myself," she said.

Jackson said she plans to present the petition to the school board later this month.

If the board rejects the petition, Jackson said she may lead an effort to elect new members to the school board next year. "They can ignore it all they want," she said, "but they can only ignore it until election time."

Sunday's rally will be the second in support of Ellis. Hundreds of fifth- and sixth-graders at the middle school walked out of class and staged about a half-hour rally April 17 in which they held up signs and chanted support for Ellis.

The school board voted 5-2 behind closed doors last month to replace Ellis and Followell at the end of the school year.

School district officials have refused to explain the decision to replace Ellis and Followell other than they felt an administrative change was needed.

But in a Dec. 7 letter to Ellis, Scala and assistant superintendent Pat Fanger cited five main problems: Poor communication with teachers and parents, inconsistent discipline, lack of instructional leadership, failure to address assistant principal issues and failure to perform principal duties such as parent/teacher conferences.

According to the letter, Scala and Fanger met with Ellis five times last fall, from Sept. 13 to Nov. 30, to discuss problems at the school.

Also according to the letter, Scala and Fanger told Ellis in November that an administrative change was needed and urged the principal to find a new job outside the school district.

In the letter, Scala and Fanger wrote that Ellis and Followell "have not proven to be an effective administrative team."

But Jackson disagrees. "Mr. Ellis may be a little more strict than Mrs. Followell," she said, "but you need that balance."

"Frank Ellis is all about putting forth the effort to encourage these children to become better people," she said.

Jackson said she's seen no evidence of the administrative problems cited in Scala's letter.

Board members Charles Bertrand and Tom Reinagel voted against replacing Ellis and Followell. Bertrand said last month that he and Reinagel voted against the recommendation because they thought Scala didn't provide adequate documentation of the evaluation of the administrators.

"We are not saying they are good principals or bad principals," Bertrand said Tuesday. "We don't know."

Bertrand said Scala never showed the Dec. 7 letter to the school board.

Bertrand said the petition and rally won't change the sentiments of the majority on the board. "It is a done deal as far as the job at the middle school is concerned," he said.

The district already is advertising to fill the principal and assistant principal positions.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123