WORKSHOP MANAGEMENT QUESTIONED

PERRYVILLE -- It is time for business as usual at the sheltered workshop for the handicapped in Perryville to stop, say some Perry County officials.

Complaints about overworking mentally handicapped employees at the workshop are only part of the problem, said state Rep. Patrick Naeger of Perryville. Tens of thousands of dollars are being poorly managed through an advisory board unwilling to take control, he said.

"The most frequent comment I've heard from the board is That's how we've always done it,'" said Naeger, a member of the sheltered workshop's advisory board.

As a three-year member of the nine-person board, Naeger said he has been in the minority in advocating changes in board operations.

Board chairman Al Cearlock believes it is up to a majority of the board to decide whether changes are necessary. At this point Cearlock said he doesn't see a need.

"A majority of the board, maybe seven or eight people, think Hillary Schmittzehe has done a wonderful job," Cearlock said.

Schmittzehe operates VIP Industries, which runs workshops and housing facilities for the handicapped in Southeast Missouri. Schmittzehe has worked with the region's handicapped for more than 30 years.

After four sheltered-workshop supervisors in Perryville quit to protest working conditions last week, more county residents have advocated taking management of the facility away from VIP Industries of Cape Girardeau.

Almost 1,000 signatures from petitions have been given to county commissioners, said Ruth Tinker, a member of the Perry County Association for Retarded Citizens. The petition requests that workshop management be transferred completely to Perry County residents.

Tinker said she hopes the workshop advisory board takes notice of the signatures.

The nine board members, appointed by county commissioners, oversee distribution of approximately $190,000 in annual tax revenues to VIP Industries to operate the workshop, Naeger said. The revenue comes from a property tax.

Although the money may be given to a number of county organizations that work with the handicapped, it has traditionally gone completely to the sheltered workshop, Naeger said.

How the money is spent is not always apparent, Naeger said. "Our contract with VIP Industries doesn't say we need to see the books," he said.

Cearlock, who has been board chairman for nine years, said regular audits have always given the board a clear understanding of VIP Industries' spending.

Cearlock declined to comment on Naeger's other remarks.

Considering the various sources of money available to VIP Industries, Naeger believes more accountability is needed on several levels. In addition to income from production, the company receives rental profits from the workshop and $13 a day per worker from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Naeger said.

Hourly pay for the nearly 50 handicapped workers in Perryville ranges between 52 cents and a little over $4, said Bill Tweedy, one of the four managers who left the workshop.

"A sheltered workshop seems like a good business to get into," Naeger said.

But monetary interests are not the reason why Perry County should operate its own workshop, he said.

"Sheltered workshops are not designed to see how profitable they can be," Naeger said. "Their purpose should be to give purpose and esteem to those who work there."

Perry County Presiding Commissioner Tom Sutterer agreed, saying that operating the workshop from inside the county has been discussed for a number of years.

"Every day now I'm getting petitions and letters about this," Sutterer said.

A lack of accountability from the advisory board is a possible explanation as to why the issue had continued so long without a resolution, he said.

Whenever the board meets, Schmittzehe and his staff are always present, Naeger said. This defeats the independence of a board, which must be able to conduct sessions closed to the contractor as needed, he said.

"It seems to be Hillary's agenda at meetings," Naeger said.

At this point Naeger said he will pursue the general sentiment reflected at a rally held at the workshop last Sunday attended by parents of handicapped workers and others. They want to keep the advisory board local and change the contractor, he said.

"Hillary has done good things for the handicapped before, but times change and people change," Naeger said. "Sometimes the change is good; sometimes it's bad."