JOHN CAMPBELL RESIGNS FROM CAPE GIRARDEAU SCHOOL BOARD

Cape Girardeau Board of Education member John Campbell resigned Friday, saying that "a multitude of factors" led to his decision.

The resignation is effective immediately.

At Monday's regularly scheduled school board meeting an auditor's report on the district's travel expenses is likely to be discussed for the first time.

Campbell, along with board member Lyle Davis and James Englehart, former director of secondary education and currently a consultant for the district, are named in the report as having inappropriate travel expenses.

Campbell said Friday night he had wanted to see the auditor's report on travel expenses before making his decision to resign. He said the report had "very little impact" on his decision to leave the board.

"I did not want to leave with a financial mess on our hands."

Campbell announced his resignation Friday morning. The announcement came as a surprise to some other board members and the two newly elected board members, R. Ferrell Ervin and Terry Taylor.

Last week during an evaluation by the board of Superintendent Neyland Clark, Campbell wasn't told by fellow board members that a vote would be held concerning a contract extension. Campbell left the March 31 meeting early, and the board later voted 4-2 to extend Clark's contract for a third year.

In his resignation letter Campbell said the decision to resign was difficult. "Let it suffice to say that there are a multitude of factors which have influenced my decision," he wrote.

"My greatest regret is that I feel like I am deserting the students and staff. I am not leaving because of my dissatisfaction with any of the staff. I continue to marvel at what they are able to do with what they have to do it with."

Campbell, who is a certified public accountant, took a leadership role after questions were raised several weeks ago about the district's financial record-keeping. As chairman of the board's finance committee, Campbell presented five recommendations for improved procedures, which included closing the district's American Express credit-card account.

He also called for the audit that led to the discovery of the three inappropriate expenditures.

The audit was conducted by Hillin and Clark, certified public accountants. A three-page report of the audit review of district expenditures from July 1, 1992, through Dec. 31, 1994, was given to board members March 22.

The review found that Campbell had charged $60 in golf green fees to the district while attending a Missouri School Board Association meeting in 1993.

Board member Davis charged $23.85 for in-room movies in 1993, the review found.

And Englehart had a $55 charge for spouse registration and meal at a National Association of Secondary Principals meeting either in late 1993 or early 1994.

Leading up to the special audit review of travel expenses was a list of questions raised by Amy Randol, a district patron who spent 60 hours and $700 over a six-month period reviewing district expenditures.

Expenses that were looked at by the audit firm as a result of those questions weren't reconsidered during the special review covered in the March 22 report.

Auditor Steven C. Del Vecchio of Hillin and Clark said he thinks all of the questioned expenses have been paid back to the district.

The special review looked at 382 checks from July 1992 through December 1994 written for travel by board members or central office administrators. The checks totaled over $80,800.

The charges found by the review to be inappropriate totaled $138.85.

"That's really minimal," board member Steve Wright said.

During the review, Del Vecchio also discovered a 1993 hotel bill for a Southeast Missourian reporter for $125.68 had never been billed by the district to the newspaper. When the newspaper learned as a result of the audit review that it still owed the money, the district was asked by the newspaper to prepare a bill for payment. The newspaper received the bill on March 29 and paid it March 31.

The district included the hotel bill for the reporter, who was attending the board's 1993 retreat in Columbia, with the hotel bills for board members and administrators. The bill was sent directly to the district. The reporter's hotel bill was included because the district made hotel reservations and suggested that the newspaper's portion be lumped together with the board's charges with the understanding that a bill would be sent to the newspaper's accounting office.

Del Vecchio said this charge wasn't listed on the report of the special review because the expense wasn't deemed inappropriate. It hadn't been billed by the district.

Wright said he hates to see Campbell, who is in the second year of his second three-year term, leave the board. "I think he's done a superb job. It will be a loss to the board."

The school board meets Monday at 5 p.m. New board members Taylor and Ervin, who were elected Tuesday, will be sworn in at the end of the meeting.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said Missouri law allows the school board to appoint someone to fill a vacancy on the board. The appointed member would serve until the next school board election in April 1996.

Ervin and Taylor said Friday that the board should make a decision about Campbell's replacement after new members take office.

"If the old board nominates someone to replace him, I think there will be another outcry from the community," Taylor said.

He suggested that Harold Hager be appointed to replace Campbell. Hager finished third in Tuesday's school board race.

In his letter Campbell advised the new board to resolve its differences and work to move the district into the 21st century. "You have a huge task," he wrote.