NAACP TO PUT FORTH BOARD CANDIDATES

Dawn Evans said the local NAACP will "most definitely" put forward candidates for Cape Girardeau Board of Education in the next election.

At a noon press conference Tuesday, Evans read a letter prepared in response to the appointment of three members to the school board.

On Friday, the Cape Girardeau County Commission appointed Harry Rediger, Bob Blank and Dr. C. John Ritter to serve 11 months on the board. Board members John Campbell, Kathy Swan and Pat Ruopp resigned.

Evans said: "We are, needless to say, extremely disappointed in their choices for the school board in that we believed that at least one or even two of the minority candidates for the seats were well qualified to serve on the school board."

Thirty-one people expressed an interest in serving on the board and 23 came for interviews with commissioners. Of those interviewed, four were black.

She said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People isn't advocating that commissioners should have picked a minority candidate just to have a minority on the board. "Such an idea is repugnant and quite patronizing to us as an organization as well as all citizens of Cape Girardeau."

But, Evans said, the seven members of the school board don't represent the majority of children in Cape Girardeau.

The concern, she explained, isn't based on race or gender, but rather on income level and social standing.

"Most of the school population is not wealthy or semi-wealthy," she said.

Evans said children from low- and middle-income families have different needs than children from affluent families. "There is nobody on that board to speak up for those children," she said.

Following Friday's announcement of the three picks, Evans called a special meeting. She said about 20 people attended, including some members of the NAACP and some non-members. The group drafted the statement that Evans read Tuesday.

Calvin Bird, an NAACP member, said those selected are qualified candidates. But, he said: "I think the ball has been dropped a couple of times. We should have had some people run for election in April."

In April, four candidates, all white men, vied for two seats. Just 21 of 423 registered voters, about 5 percent, cast ballots in the May Greene polling precinct. May Greene has the highest minority enrollment of Cape Girardeau's elementary schools.

Next April, four seats will be up for election on the school board. Evans said the NAACP will put forward candidates for consideration.

Cape Girardeau Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones attended the press conference. He came armed with a reporter's notebook and said he was curious. Jones owns the Cashbook-Journal newspaper in Jackson.

He took the criticism in stride. "It's America. In a democracy every voice should be heard. I respect Mrs. Evans' opinion and I told her so."

Jones said he wasn't sure how the commission could have been more open, fair or unbiased in their selection process. He said the commission's charge was to find the three best people to fill the vacant school board positions. They didn't base the decisions on race, gender, veteran or handicap status.

"Everyone had equal consideration," said Jones.

Jones reiterated that Marie Walker, whom he called top-notch, was among the finalists. She is black.

The commission had consulted with the state ethics commission about a possible conflict with Walker's job. She is a social worker with the Division of Family Services. She works from an office at May Greene Elementary School two and a half days a week. The ethics commission's advice was "When in doubt, don't." So the commission didn't select her.

Jones said commissioners received no negative feedback about their selections until the NAACP news conference.