Ron Scaggs will leave the Jefferson College Board of Trustees in April. He has served 24 years on the board but chose not to run for a fifth six-year term on April 8.
Scaggs, 77, of Festus said his age is the reason.
“I don’t want to be in my 80s on the board,” he said. “You just recognize it’s time to go.”
Scaggs, who retired after a long career in law enforcement, said he has enjoyed his time serving on the college board and making decisions that have helped shape the institution into what it is today. He stressed that his contributions on the board have been part of a team effort.
Scaggs said he received some good advice about how to be an effective board member and has tried to follow it all these years.
“I’ve had two concepts that have kind of guided me through my time on the board,” he said. “One was from a Festus city councilman, (the late) Louie Plass. Louie said you pay to hit home runs by striking out a lot. Be a singles hitter,” Scaggs said. “That was his warning of being too ambitious.
“The second – I don’t remember the source – is remember you’re not the ship; you’re the tugboat that nudges the ship into safe water. I think that has been the position of the board since I’ve been here.”
Scaggs said he takes pride in the college’s accomplishments during his tenure on the board, among them making improvements at the college’s Hillsboro and Arnold campuses.
“The (library on the Hillsboro campus) gets a lot of use,” he said. “It’s a state-of-the-art library.”
About $5 million in renovations were completed at the library over about a year-and-half period, with its grand reopening in the spring of 2018.
The college recently completed about $5.2 million in renovations at the Arnold campus that included the addition of a third floor to house the college’s Law Enforcement Academy and EMT-Paramedic programs. The third floor opened in 2024, with the EMT-Paramedic programs moving into it in May and the Law Enforcement Academy moving there in September. Both had been housed in the college’s Imperial campus, which is now closed.
“We have an outstanding Police Academy,” Scaggs said. “The EMT-Paramedic programs also are excellent. Their facilities are state of the art.”
He noted that even seemingly small changes can make a difference for many people.
“We realigned the cafeteria,” Scaggs said. “That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s very important to many students and their parents. Now, the food is excellent. I eat there quite often.”
After a couple of years of offering only food through vending machines, the college returned to offering hot meals through Great Western Dining Service in 2023.
Scaggs praised the Jefferson College Viking athletic programs.
“We’ve had nothing but successful sports programs,” Scaggs said.
He also acknowledged the Jefferson College Foundation for its fundraising efforts to support the college.
“The foundation is an outstanding group of business people from the community,” Scaggs said. “They raise money for all manner of college life. Besides helping students facing hardships, they give scholarships. They support athletics and the arts.”
Scaggs earned an associate degree from Jefferson College, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Maryville University and a master’s degree from St. Louis University in police policy administration.
He spent 44 years in law enforcement and was the Festus Police chief and later a law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney General’s Office for Eastern Missouri in St. Louis.
A U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, Scaggs entered law enforcement as a patrol officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and later became a homicide detective and an undercover officer with the vice squad before being named the Festus Police chief, serving in that role for 14 years.
Scaggs said he first ran for the Board of Trustees because he is interested in education.
“I read an ad for an upcoming election and something clicked,” Scaggs said. “I’d done some lecturing on law enforcement. I really enjoyed being around students. It piqued my ongoing interest.”
College President Dena McCaffrey said she appreciates Scaggs’ work as a longtime trustee.
“For 24 years, Ron’s leadership as a trustee has been an invaluable asset to Jefferson College,” she said. “He has represented the community on our board during some of the most pivotal moments in our history.
“While it’s impossible to capture all of Ron’s contributions, a few highlights stand out. He played a key role in the redesign of the Law Enforcement Academy, which has achieved an impressive 100-percent pass rate on the Missouri POST (peace officer standards and training) licensure exam since 2007. Ron was also committed to the original building of the Jefferson College Arnold campus, as well as the expansion that opened last fall.
“Ron exemplifies servant leadership, as demonstrated by his extensive involvement with the college throughout his tenure. He has attended countless events and served on numerous hiring committees, the Board Budget Subcommittee, the college foundation and as the board representative during faculty union negotiations on multiple occasions.”
McCaffrey said she is the fourth college president during Scaggs’ time on the board.
“I feel confident in saying that every one of my predecessors would echo my gratitude and praise for Ron’s unwavering dedication and the lasting impact he has made on Jefferson College,” she said.
Margie Passmore, the board president, also praised Scaggs’ contributions to the board and the college.
“He will be truly missed,” Passmore said. “We’re going to lose a lot of experience and knowledge from someone who has seen the college grow in his 24 years here. He has been a great board member.”
Margie Passmore presents Ron Scaggs with his retirement plaque for his years on the board from 2001 to 2025.
Scaggs said it has been gratifying to volunteer his time as a trustee – the position is unpaid – but those who choose to run should expect to devote serious time to college business.
“You have meetings and work sessions,” he said. “There is a lot of reading and research. It requires some degree of patience.”
He also said he has appreciated all those who have worked with him to lead the college.
“Dena McCaffrey is a superstar in every sense of the word,” Scaggs said. “I want to thank all my fellow trustees past and present, as well as past presidents, for making my life immeasurably easier.”
Scaggs and his wife, Kerry, have two adult children and four grandchildren.
The subject of a running joke among trustees and the college administrative staff has to do with Scaggs’ skills with technology, which he acknowledges is a weak spot for him.
“I want to give kudos in particular to the computer technology support staff,” he said. “I’m legendary for my ability to ruin a computer.”
The college Board of Trustees race in April has four candidates seeking three seats – two seats for six-year terms and one seat for the four years left of an unexpired term. Voters will choose three candidates to fill the seats, with the top two vote-getters winning the six-year terms and the person finishing third winning the four-year term.
The candidates are Roger Barrentine, Tim Lewis, Bob Boyer and incumbent Krystal Hargis.