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Show Cox ends term on upbeat note 1 When Dr. Clark L. Cox retired J u superintendent of the Alpine 1 School District, he hoped to just j puthiskeysonthedesk"andgoout j with Tittle fanfare." l This didn't quite happen but district employee said he left Thursday "without saying a formal good-bye." He was honored at the June 28 district school board meeting with former board members and district employees attending the last part the meeting instead of during theopening to express their good Col's last day on the job was 'today (June 30) when he offi-'; offi-'; ly turned over the keys to his wr, Dr. Steven Baugh. At the board meeting, Jan Lewi, Le-wi, president of the school board, the Superintendent's back ground before presenting him with a farewell gift from the board. She said he and his wife now plan to travel and to eventually settle in St. George. Cox said this job becoming superintendent of the Alpine School District was the "only job I have taken in education that I really wanted. I moved here because be-cause it was where I wanted to be for pleasure instead of for professional profes-sional reasons." He thanked board members and citizens in the communities involved in-volved for "letting me work in this community for the last five years. I've grown in many ways." He said he feels it has been "very fruitful in many ways," and he has enjoyed the challenge it has offered and he "enjoys challenges." Although hehas worked 60 to 70 hours every week as superintendent, superinten-dent, he said most of that work has been interesting. (One speaker at board meeting said she often saw Cox's car as she passed the district offices at 7 in the morning). There has been no two days the same. He quipped there were two groups of people who have always had the last word in his life "women and school board members." mem-bers." Saying this, he did get back at one board member. Cox said since coming to Alpine District has been "harangued and harassed by an unnamed board member directly to my left" who wanted more text books in the district. dis-trict. "During (my time as a superintendent), superin-tendent), David Harvey has felt a need for more textbooks in this district. So I want to give him this gift." Cox then pulled out a thick but tattered textbook. Reading from the cover and inside the book, he said it was used in 1950 by an 11th-grader 11th-grader at Pleasant Grove High School. Then he read the name on the inside cover: David Harvey. The name was written in various forms throughout the book and along the edge. Other thoughts were also in the book and the name "Harv" was scrawled in the pages. "David, if we had more students like you in this district, we would have even fewer texts than we do now," he joked. Cox explained the book was found about one-and-a-half years ago by workmen renovating the See COX on Page 2 Cox - Continued from Front Page boiler room at the Pleasant Grove High School. How it got there and remained there, is a mystery but he had kept it for this moment. On a more serious note, Cox said he has enjoyed his 37 years in the education field because things keep changing. Tou really work with good people. There's so much happening in this district all the time that no 4. J l-t- the district's curriculum. "I would like to be known for improving the education program and developing an organization that permits the district to run smoothly enough that we can pay most of our attention to the education educa-tion program," he said. He feels education will face more challenges in the coming "years. In an earlier interview Cox said "Add to this, the concern and support offered by parents and the high caliber of students who attend the Alpine schools, and you have one of the finest districts anywhere, any-where, bar none. There are good people here." Dr. Cox began his career in education as a teacher in Logan-dale, Logan-dale, Nev. He next moved to Cali fornia where he served as a principal princi-pal for 10 years. Being a principal was the best job he had because of the satisfaction satisfac-tion it afforded, but after 10 years he decided it wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life He went back to school, got his doctorate, and became a superintendent superin-tendent in California. lwu uajra til e tuiAC He said he has worked with a lot of good people, a lot of good board members. Alpinehas nearly 3,000 employees employ-ees and 40,000 students along with a $94 million budget. A fact that at times has made the job seem overwhelming, over-whelming, he said. Dealing with employees and working with restricted finances has been the most challenging aspects of the job, but he wants to be remembered for his impact on he feels that the experiences he has had while superintendent here "have been outstanding and most enjoyable." "At the present time,," he said, "the district is financially sound, well organized, and has an excellent excel-lent educational program." He said he learned that the foundation of this excellence here is the "outstanding teachers, administrators, admin-istrators, and support personnel who are so dedicated and professional. |