MEADOW HEIGHTS BOARD ON HOLD WHILE STATE DECIDES ISSUES

PATTON -- Meadow Heights school board members have yet to hear when any decisions will be made about a conflict-of-interest question or if the district must repay state money earned by falsified attendance records.

Delayed decisions from both the Missouri attorney general's office and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have left the school district unsure how to plan for the upcoming year.

"We were wanting to get this behind us," said Roy Allen, board president, adding that the board was eager to get the matter resolved.

Fake names were added to the attendance rolls during a two-year period and could have earned the district about $34,000 extra a year.

"We have to negotiate the terms after they tell us an exact amount," Allen said.

Then-superintendent Tom Waller resigned in July after problems with the records were discovered.

Superintendent Cheri Fuemmeler said there has been no word on when the district should begin paying back the state money.

On Friday, a school attorney talked to an attorney with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, but no dates were set. Officials are still studying the records.

Fuemmeler said, "We would like to find out where we stand."

Another problem plaguing the district is a possible conflict of interest with a recently elected board member.

Last spring, board member Millie Yates questioned the legality of allowing an associate county commissioner to serve on the school board. Junior Cook, who also serves on the Bollinger County Commission, was elected to the school board in April.

Bollinger County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Hopkins filed the letter with the attorney general's office, but he has received a response.

"It takes them so long, there's no telling when you'll get it," Hopkins said.

Similar letters have been filed with the Missouri Ethics Commission and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The attorney general's office returned a call to the Southeast Missourian last week but had no information on the opinion.

In Scott City, a similar conflict-of-interest decision could be necessary.

Wayne Petitt of Scott City was selected Jan. 9 to fill an open seat on the Scott County Commission. He also is a member of the Scott City school board and was first elected in 1990.