PHOTOGRAPHERS BEMOAN CONTRACT POLICY; SCHOOL BOARD TOLD PROCESS IS UNETHICAL

Two Cape Girardeau photographers criticized Central High School's policy of designating an official photographer for senior pictures in its yearbook.

Steve Robertson, owner of Robertson's Creative Photography, said at the Board of Education meeting Tuesday night that the process was unethical.

Another photographer, Pat Patterson, owner of Pat Patterson Photography, concurred, saying that the policy causes his customers extra effort and time to get senior pictures published in the yearbook.

The school, through a competitive bidding system, awards a photography contract each year. Bill Cheek, owner of Cheekwood Studio, has been awarded the contract for the past 11 years.

Photos by the photographer contractor are used in the yearbook. The yearbook photo is taken and provided to the school at no charge to students.

Students may have their senior pictures made at any studio but must have a photograph taken by the photography contractor. Senior pictures taken by other photographers are not used in the yearbook.

The photography contractor also provides film, photography paper and chemicals to the school and takes photographs at other school functions.

"This contract system is not right," Robertson said. "It needs to be stopped. Parents need to be given the choice of using their family photographer if they so choose."

Robertson suggested that the board make a policy that the school devise official picture standards and make them available to all photographers. Photographs that meet the standards, regardless of the photographer, would be used in the yearbook, he said.

He also suggested that a committee be formed to devise a yearbook budget and report back to the board in 60 days. He volunteered to serve on the committee.

Robertson said: "What I'm asking for requires courage and conviction. It would be easier to shrug your shoulders and take no action. But I ask you to consider: is this current program right? Is it fair to all concerned? Does it build good will and confidence in this school district?"

Liz Lockhart, yearbook adviser, and Dan Milligan, high school principal, attended the meeting but made no comment.

Board member Carolyn Kelley said: "Liz Lockhart has an award-winning yearbook. I'm sure she believes that if it's not broken, don't fix it."

Kelley said many services in the district are contracted through a bidding process.

Board President Pat Ruopp told Robertson, "The board will take your comments under advisement."

No action was taken.

Robertson said his concerns were presented to the school board in a closed-door meeting in 1984. At that time the board took it under advisement. Robertson said he never heard back from anyone.

Patterson and Robertson said they had both in the past bid on the Central High contract and their bids were not accepted.

Patterson said: "What bothers me the most is that my customer has to go to extra trouble to get their photograph in the yearbook. If a student goes to an outlying school district, I can take care of it. If they go to Cape Central, they have to go to the contract photographer also. You are penalizing my customers time-wise and effort-wise."

Cheek said many school districts in the area have contract agreements with photographers.

Cheek said he builds his clientele though heavy advertising and marketing campaigns and makes senior pictures for students at many schools with contract photographers other than himself.

"They still have to go to their contract photographer for their yearbook picture," he said. "But they don't find it an inconvenience; they go where they think they get the best quality."

He said being the photography contractor for Central High School does not mean he has "the market cornered in Cape Girardeau."