Willamette Leadership Academy founders step down, leaving area.

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard

VENETA - Bill and Cate Lay, husband-and-wife founders of the oft-embattled Willamette Leadership Academy, are handing off school operations and leaving Oregon.

The Eugene couple, who founded Pioneer Youth Corps Military Academy as an after-school program in 1993, will move to Washington state, staying temporarily in their daughter's house near Olympia with the hope of eventually settling somewhere on the coast.

Roger McClelland, a popular teacher who this year took on administrative responsibilities, will be the new executive director.

The school's ongoing financial struggles were only one factor in the Lays' decision to step aside, Bill Lay said this week.

"It's nothing really bad - it's just time to move on," he said. "We've been doing this actively for 13 years ... and it's just time to do something else. Cate and I, we're getting kind of tired, and it's been an uphill battle much of the time."

For the past several years, Lay, 56, had served as chief executive officer, and in November also took on the job of principal after Larry Lyford was laid off for financial reasons. Cate Lay, 51, had been chief financial officer, although her job also was eliminated for part of this year for budget reasons.

Both Lays will keep a hand in the school, consulting and serving on the board of Pioneer Youth Corps of Oregon, a separate corporation that oversees the Veneta area charter school. That board meets quarterly, and the Lays plan to travel to Eugene to attend.

Despite a fiscal crisis that nearly shuttered the school in January, the academy ended the school year on solid footing, Bill Lay said, with final enrollment near its 105-student cap, high school slots already full for next fall and thousands of dollars in outstanding debt nearly erased.

"Basically, the academy is pretty solid and we're comfortable about leaving it," he said.

Lay said he has confidence in McClelland, who worked in naval intelligence and, since 1986, as a substitute teacher before joining the academy in 2002.

"Honestly, I've been watching him, and he's extremely organized, he has a good, clear idea of the vision of the program, a good, clear idea of the philosophy of the program, the methods and mission," he said. "He's well-respected and well-liked by parents and students, he's a good administrator and a firm leader. And he has a good strong education background, which is something I lacked."

A former military police officer and youth social worker, Lay credits a New York National Guard cadet program with helping him veer off his own troubled path as a youth. His belief in the benefits of a militarylike school structure to build leadership, self-esteem and respect for authority led him to launch the Eugene program for middle- and high-schoolers.

The academy, which grew bigger and became a charter school after 1999 enabling legislation, "has helped hundreds of kids," he said.

"I would say the original mission that I set out to accomplish has been accomplished," he said, adding that he runs into former students and parents frequently who describe their experience at the academy as beneficial and, in some cases, life-saving.

Despite the constant financial struggles, Lay said he has few regrets.

"I would like to have seen a little more support from certain factions, and I think we could have done better with that support," he said, alluding to the academy's prickly relationship with the Eugene School District, whose board eventually yanked its charter and prompted the move to the Fern Ridge District. Fern Ridge, he said, has "treated us like basically one of their schools. They have supported us and encouraged us."

McClelland, 57, said he's ready to rise to the challenge of leading the school. With the help of an extraordinarily committed crop of parents, the school is financially stable and ready to launch a drill team, a newspaper and possibly a grant-funded military training program.

"We're excited and I am pushing things forward for this coming year," he said. "We've climbed out of a deep dungeon hole, if you will, and we've been doing well."

Jennifer Shipp, president of the academy's parent organization, said students and parents are sorry to see the Lays go, but pleased with the appointment of McClelland.

"We did have some students teary-eyed" when the news broke, she said. "But I don't think any parents or any students took it bad, I think because they knew who was taking over the school."

The Lays aren't sure which direction life will take them next. Their house is up for sale, and in the near future they'll be staying at the home of their 29-year-old daughter, who is serving in Iraq, and fixing up her yard, Cate Lay said. Bill Lay is considering pursuing a career in the ministry, and the couple may buy and run an antique shop.

Cate Lay said she feels a blend of sadness and excitement about leaving.

"I don't think we're ever going to leave it behind," she said. "We'll always be a part of it. Whether we work for it directly or not, it will always be a pet charity of ours."