Board deadlocks on preschool

Cape Girardeau school board members deadlocked Monday over a district administration proposal to establish a preschool in the Town Plaza shopping center when safety questions arose. Some board members are concerned about putting the preschool near a pawnshop that sells guns.

After the meeting, board president Sharon Mueller said the safety concern ultimately could cause the board to reject the plan to locate the school in the former Sears building in space provided free by National Asset Recovery Services Inc., which is opening a call center in part of the building.

In raising the safety issue, board member Tom Reinagel said he'd discovered that the proposed preschool would be located within a few hundred feet of Audio 1-Plaza Pawn. He said that would pose a serious safety concern."We don't need it next to a gun shop," he said.

Fellow board members and superintendent Dr. David Scala said they were unaware of the safety issue until Reinagel raised it.

Scala promised he and his staff would look at the safety issue. "That was an oversight," he told the board.

But Reinagel accused Scala of "blindsiding" the board by calling on them to hurriedly approve the project. He said the issue was first brought to the board Jan. 19.

But Scala said he first mentioned the possible project to the board in November. "This was done as a good-faith effort," he told the board. The goal, he said, was to give children a better start in school.

Mueller said Scala had kept the board informed throughout the planning process.

The written agenda included a motion from school administrators to authorize an agreement with NARS. Under the plan, the company would have provided free rent and paid the utilities on 7,600 square feet of space in the leased building for use as a preschool and child-care center.

Approval would have cleared the way for school officials to draw up a proposed contract with NARS that would have required further board approval.

But the board never voted on the written motion.

Reinagel called on the board to cease negotiations with NARS. His motion garnered support from board members Charles Bertrand and Laura Sparkman.

Tallying the votes

Sparkman said she wouldn't vote to proceed with the proposed project while the safety issue remains a concern.

Mueller and board members Tim Arbeiter and Steven Trautwein voted against Reinagel's motion. Board member Kyle McDonald was absent.

The motion failed on the tie vote. But Trautwein said after the vote that he, too, is concerned about the safety issue.

Reinagel and Bertrand questioned the legality of the district establishing a preschool within 1,000 feet of a store that sells guns. But a spokesman for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says it's legal.

In response to an inquiry Monday afternoon from the Southeast Missourian, Kris Morrow, assistant counsel for DESE, said the school district could open a preschool right next door to a pawnshop.

The federal Gun Free Schools Zone Act, enacted in the early 1990s, initially authorized "gun-free" zones within 1,000 feet of schools. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that the federal government couldn't prohibit the legal sale or transfer of guns, Morrow said.

Even if legal, Mueller said the proximity of the pawnshop still could pose a safety concern. She said it would be difficult for her to vote to establish a preschool near a store that sells guns.

Contacted by a reporter after the meeting, Audio 1-Plaza Pawn manager David Creech was surprised to hear about board members' concern. Creech said gun sales account for only about 10 percent of his business. "The guns are locked until they are bought," he said. "We have never had a break-in."

Creech said the business has been at the 2100 William St. location for almost 20 years.

Motives questioned

The issue brought to the surface disagreements among the board members, some of whom traded accusations. Bertrand questioned whether Arbeiter should be voting on the issue at all since the latter is employed by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce, which promotes economic development and has an interest in seeing NARS set up shop in Cape Gir-ardeau.

Following the meeting, Arbeiter said he doesn't believe his job poses a conflict of interest. "I wasn't involved in bringing NARS here," he said.

While Sparkman sided with Reinagel on the motion, she said afterward that Reinagel should have informed board members and Scala of his concerns prior to a public board meeting. That way, she said, school officials could have researched the issue.

She said Reinagel tried to embarrass Scala and fellow board members. "He refuses to be a team player," Sparkman said after the meeting.

During the meeting, she accused Reinagel of "grandstanding." At one point, she told him to "grow up."

Bertrand contended it would be illegal for the board to establish a preschool that will serve some students outside the district. Under the plan, NARS employees would be able to enroll their children in the preschool even if they lived outside of the district.

Scala responded, "If it is anything illegal, then it is not going to happen."

Chris Buehrle, president of NARS, was present during the meeting.

Afterward, Mueller and Sparkman said it was embarrassing to have the board argue in front of him.

"We essentially look unorganized as a board because of the action of one," said Mueller, referring to Reinagel. "It was rude."

mbliss@semisssourian.com

335-6611, extension 123