THREE FILE FIRST DAY FOR CAPE'S SCHOOL BOARD

Two incumbents members of the Cape Girardeau Board of Education and a university professor filed for election Tuesday.

Board members Kathy Swan and John Campbell are seeking reelection to the board. Marketing professor Jack Sterrett is making his first run for public office.

Campbell was in Milwaukee, Wis. Tuesday, but sent his filing information to the district office via fax machine. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Campbell said he plans to sign the official document today.

Swan and Sterrett filed in person Tuesday morning.

Candidates may file through Feb. 2 at the board of education office, 61 N. Clark. The election will be held April 6.

Three board members will be elected to three-year terms. Legislation passed by the general assembly last year expands school boards from six to seven members.

Campbell said he decided to file by fax Tuesday because he wanted to make it clear he plans to seek re-election.

"I had some uncertainty early on," Campbell said. "I wanted to make sure would have the time to devote to the job. It does take a lot of time. By filing for re-election I have made that commitment and will spend the time it takes to do a good job."

Campbell is seeking his second term on the board. A certified public accountant, he is a partner with the accounting firm of Kerber, Eck and Braeckel in Cape Girardeau.

"I think we've started a process I want to part of," Campbell said. "We've gotten started with the facility plan that I think is excellent and we've also started a five-year financial plan. I would like to see both of those projects successfully. I think we're on the right track."

Campbell said changes made over the past three years, especially hiring Superintendent Neyland Clark, have improved the school district.

"I think we have a real good team," he said. "I'm looking forward to serving with the same team for the next three years."

He added that having one three-year term under his belt will make him more effective for a second term.

"It will be much easier to do a lot of things the next three years than the last three years," Campbell said. "But I think we've made significant progress the last three years. We survived the budget cuts and now I'm looking forward to making it all better."

Campbell and his wife, Claire, have one daughter, Kelley, a senior at Central High School.

Originally from Mt. Vernon, Ill., Campbell earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from SIU-Carbondale. He served three years in the U.S. Army.

Campbell, 2102 Yorktown, He has lived and worked in Cape Girardeau since 1974 and is a member of the Lion's club and Duck's Unlimited.

Sterrett, a professor in the marketing department at Southeast Missouri State University, is in his 14th year in Cape Girardeau.

"I am very supportive of our school system and I really believe we have a great system," Sterrett said. "But I do have a slate of items that would like to see accomplished.

"I wholeheartedly endorse the upcoming bond issue that will be put forward to the voters," he said. "Part of my campaign focus will be in getting the upcoming school bond issue passed."

Sterrett believes the district should provide avenues of success for students.

"I believe that it's the responsibility of everyone connected in any way with the school district to see that students do indeed succeed," he said. "I think that we don't need or want to suggest failure in any form to our children, it is introduced to them soon enough. Their environment and tools must all be focused on their success."

In addition, he said the school district itself must succeed, and when it does the public should know.

"I believe our schools need to do a better job in marketing themselves, whether it is a particular school or the whole system. They need to tell their story better. There are a lot of success stories, and the public really needs to know. One of the strengths I can bring to the board is marketing skills."

Sterrett said long-range or strategic planning is also critical for the school district. "That is another of my strengths," he said. I have been involved in various planning processes."

The district should consider private fund-raising activities, Sterrett said. "We cannot continue to depend on the state. We need to help ourselves at the local level."

Accountability in fiscal matters and by teachers and administrators is also a key issue for Sterrett.

"I think we need to continue to look at classroom outcomes," he said. "Those are our successes that are sometimes not very well marketed.

He also expressed a desire to increase parental involvement and to engage senior citizens with the school system.

Sterrett has been awarded the Excellence in Teaching Award at Southeast three different times. The award recipient is selected by student votes.

Sterrett, 835 Karau Lane, in addition to working at the university, worked for a time as assistant to the president for the former Atlas Plastics.

Sterrett earned a bachelor's degree at Emporia State University in Kansas, an MBA in marketing and finance from Northern Illinois University in Dakalb and a doctorate degree in business education from Northern Illinois University.

Sterrett spend four years in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970.

He and his wife, Sharon, have two children, Sarah, a ninth-grader, and Nicholas, a seventh-grade. He attends St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church and with his wife is past president of the PTA at Charles Clippard School.

Swan is seeking election to a three-year term on the board. She was elected last April for a one-year term.

Swan and her husband, Reg, own Johnson Communications in Cape Girardeau. The company was started by Swan's father in 1959. She also works part time as an infection control nurse at St. Francis Medical Center.

"I am really interested in continuing with the work that we have begun," Swan said, "especially the work the school district has taken on in the form of the bond issue."

She also has helped start discussions about expending the district's health curriculum to include substance abuse, AIDS education, nutrition and fitness.

"I am really pleased to see that beginning," she said. "I would love to be able to see that through."

Swan said her experience as a small business owner has proven beneficial when making decisions as a board member.

"When we make a decision we feel is in the best interest of the students, can we go one step farther and make the decision in the best interest of the community as well?" she asked.

"I tend to look at things from a business standpoint," Swan said. "In some ways, schools don't run anything like a business, especially on the revenue side. But the actual day-to-day management is very similar to running a business.

Swan said she encourages additional partnerships between business and schools and involvement of parents and senior citizens.

In the past year, Swan joined the drug prevention team at Central High School, the Teen Pregnancy and Responsibility Network and is membership chairman for the regional school board association.

Swan recently completed a certification course through the Missouri School Board's Association for board members.

"It provides an excellent foundation," she said. "The MSBA is a fantastic resource for local school districts."

She added that completing the course allowed to meet with board members from across the state.

Swan, 1302 Kenwood, has one son, Reagan, a sophomore at Southeast, and one daughter, Maria, sophomore at Central High School.

She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Swan is a member of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Education Committee, vice president of the local American Heart Association chapter, member of Friends of St. Francis, Southeast Hospital Association, Cape Area Personnel Association, Beta Sigma Phi, Sigma Theta Tau International Honorary Society of Nursing, the Copper Dome Society, Southeast Missouri State University Boosters Club, Zonta Club, and St. Vincent de Paul Church Choir. She is past president of the Central High Booster Club and Band Boosters.