PERRYVILLE GETS LOOK AT FIRST OF THREE CANDIDATES

PERRYVILLE -- The weather canceled classes Monday at the Perryville school district, but it didn't stop the business of searching for a new superintendent.

Dr. Dan Roe is the first of three candidates for the superintendent's job to visit the school district.

He and his wife, Marla, spent the day with community leaders and board members at breakfast and lunch meetings. Their 12-year-old son didn't come along.

Roe is interested in the job at Perryville for a number of reasons. He and his family would like to return to Missouri, and he wants to be a superintendent again.

Since 1993, he has been assistant superintendent with the Pittsburg, Kan., school district.

"I'd like to look at some academic things rather than the three B's -- beans, budgets and buses," he said.

And with some recent budget cutbacks and enrollment losses in the Kansas district, things there are uncertain, he said.

Dressed in a navy blue, pinstriped suit and red tie, Roe stood beside the lectern and told some 40 teachers about his educational background and teaching experience. He later answered questions that had been written on 3x5 index cards.

Roe began teaching in the mid-1970s at a small school in Northwest Missouri, near where he spent his childhood. He then became superintendent at another small district nearby before he moved to Iowa, where he became superintendent of a larger, county-wide school district. He was the Lebanon schools superintendent for four years before moving to Kansas.

"I've had the opportunity to experience lots of different programs and different size schools," Roe said, adding that it is experience he will benefit from if chosen to head the district.

"I have lots of contacts in Missouri and the talk is that Perryville has good schools that are stable," he said. "I'd be foolish not to look at this as an opportunity."

During the hour-long meeting with teachers, Roe answered questions about his views on teachers' unions, discipline policies, and his accomplishments.

Roe said he believed a teacher should use whatever techniques are necessary to help children understand and learn, especially with reading skills.

"Whole language is not a cure-all for all reading ills," he said, adding that the whole language approach can be used for specific situations. "A teacher has the tools in their hand. If Basal works, then they shouldn't use whole language."

Whole language uses a literature-based approach to teaching reading while Basal is a more traditional, "by-the-book" method.

Roe said he doesn't come to the district with preconceived ideas about programs that should be implemented or changes that should be made.

"I have a set of experiences that will help as you move ahead," he said. "I would like the teachers, board and community to be a team in making decisions for the kids in the district."

Other candidates for the superintendent job are Dr. Rex Miller of Westphalia and Dr. Dan Tallent of Cape Girardeau. Tallent, who announced his resignation as high school principal, also is a possible candidate in the Cape Girardeau search for a new superintendent. Former Superintendent Dr. Neyland Clark was fired from his post in December.

Last month, the Perryville board narrowed its search to three candidates from the more than 30 who applied for the position. Ron Fitch, who has been the superintendent for about five years, will retire at the end of the school year.

Jim Comer, a retired teacher and consultant who helped hire Fitch, is helping the board with this search as well.

President Orville Schaefer said the board hired a consultant because it helps project a professional image for the district.

Miller will meet with the community at an open forum tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the senior high school library. Tallent will meet with the board and staff Wednesday.

The next scheduled board meeting is Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m.