Cape school board ready to take copier company to court

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been corrected to attribute a figure to the correct source.

Cape Girardeau School Board members were poised to seek legal action Monday night after learning about problems with a contract with a local copier supplier.

"I would like to have the administration explore legal recourse," said board member Dr. Steve Trautwein, after the board voted to accept a bid with a new company.

The district is at the end of a three-year lease contract, which includes repairs, with Data Business Systems. Ten percent of its 35 copiers work properly, representatives with the new company said during the monthly board meeting.

Neil Glass, director of administrative services, said the company has not been responsive to requests for repairs in recent months. The company said the district had problems with storing paper in humid conditions and there were electric surges to the machines, Glass said.

"I'm at the end of my rope," he said. "I can't wait for another company to come in."

The board accepted a bid from Scheffer's Office Furniture and Business Machines, which also contracts with the Sikeston School District. The company will charge 1 cent per copy without overage charges, the lowest of four bids.

Under its current contract, which ends May 1, the district paid nearly $200,000 for a year of service. It has two months of payments left plus overage charges, which are paid for going over a set amount of copies. Because few copiers operate, the employees resort to other means to make copies, costing the district more, district officials said.

Board member Paul Nenninger said the district should make more of an effort to enforce its contracts in the future.

"In this case, I'd like to see us recover the money," he said.

Superintendent Dr. Jim Welker said he would consult with the district attorney. He said the district tried to work with the company knowing their services would be bid out soon.

In other business:

* Board president Kyle McDonald announced Welker's contract was extended for another year during the executive session of the January school board meeting.

* Nancy Jernigan, executive director of United Way of Southeast Missouri and Tom Davisson, executive director of the Community Caring Council gave a presentation about the work of the Education Solutions Team, which is working to increase the graduation rate in the school district.

* The board approved increased tuition rates for the Cape Girardeau Career and Technology Center. The rates vary by program.

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