LICENSES OF EX-CAPE SCHOOL OFFICIAL REVOKED

JEFFERSON CITY -- A former top official with the Cape Girardeau School District lost his state teaching and school administrator licenses Thursday as a result of a 1997 incident that occurred shortly after he left the district.

On Aug. 26, 1997, Dr. Richard Bollwerk, a former assistant superintendent of Cape Girardeau public schools, sent thousands of faxes consisting of sheets of solid black paper to 12 fax machines owned by the district. Several of the machines were damage because of the vast number of faxes.

Bollwerk, who resigned from the district in July 1997, was convicted on misdemeanor charges of property damage and harassment.

The State Board of Education voted 6-1 Thursday to revoke his licenses. Board member Jacqueline D. Wellington of St. Louis cast the only vote against revocation. "I can support something less, but not this," Wellington said.

The board and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education officials discussed other options, including a one-year suspension, before making their final decision.

Bollwerk could ask the board to reconsider its action or challenge the decision in court. He held lifetime state certificates as an elementary schoolteacher, an elementary principal and a school superintendent. He earned his teaching certificate in 1974.

Bollwerk is currently assistant superintendent of the Winfield School District, a position he has held since July 1998. Winfield, which is in Lincoln County, serves 1,455 students.

Lyle Laughman, the Winfield superintendent, said in a telephone interview Thursday evening that he was saddened by the board's decision. Laughman testified on Bollwerk's behalf during a state hearing on the matter in January.

"I think it's a real shame," Laughman said. "He is a good educator, a good administrator and cares about kids. He made a mistake and paid for that mistake, but now he's lost his certificates."

Laughman declined to comment on what steps the district would take in light of the state action. He said Bollwerk had not yet been notified of the revocation.

"I don't feel it would be appropriate to discuss that with anyone until he knows about it himself," Laughman said.

During the board meeting, Commissioner of Education Dr. Robert Bartman said there is nothing to legally prevent Bollwerk from remaining with Winfield as an administrator. However, the district would lose points on its state performance assessment for employing a non-certified person in a position that requires certification, he said.

The faxing incident was apparently an act of retaliation by Bollwerk against then-Cape Girardeau Superintendent Dr. Dan Talent. At one time both men had been candidates for the district's top job. However, Bollwerk was passed over for the position in favor of Talent, who had been principal at Central High School. Talent since has left the district.

"It was an act of retaliation based on a problem the certificate holder had with his employer," said Mark Van Zandt, DESE's general counsel.

The Cape Girardeau district pressed charges against Bollwerk, who pleaded guilty in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court to second degree property damage in November 1997. He was sentenced to two years unsupervised probation and 100 community service.

As part of his probation, Bollwerk was barred from contacting Talent, local school board members and another school employee. He later violated that restriction and was charged with harassment. He pleaded guilty to that charge in January 1998 and was given a suspended sentence of six months in jail.

In his testimony to state officials, Bollwerk said he contacted a school employee because the employee had made comments to Bollwerk's children about the initial guilty plea.

Van Zandt told the board Bollwerk has not had any other legal problems since those stemming from the faxing incident.

The complaint against Bollwerk was filed with the state board in October, and he was notified in November. The Cape Girardeau district played no part in the complaint or the subsequent hearing, Van Zandt said.

When the board took up the complaint Thursday, member Rice "Pete" Burns Jr. of Sikeston immediately made the motion to revoke Bollwerk's licenses. Member Thomas R. Davis of Kansas City at first called for leniency. "He doesn't appear to be a danger to kids," Davis said.

Burns shot back that he disagreed, and the faxes were sent for the sole purpose of disrupting district operations. "I hold superintendents to a little higher standard," Burns said.

Davis said Bollwerk received high praise from Winfield school officials, and the Cape Girardeau district could have pursued action against Bollwerk's certification years ago but chose not to.

"It was obviously absurd behavior, but is it worth it to take away the guy's license?" said Davis, who eventually voted for revocation.

Bartman said some sanction was needed to send a message that the board will not tolerate unprofessional actions by school officials.

"This was bizarre behavior, but there ought not be a perception by the general public that the Missouri State Board of Education condones this," Bartman said. "Doing nothing in my opinion is not the right course of action."