AMY RANDOL'S FEB. 21 LETTER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD

This is the text of the Feb. 21 letter that Amy Randol sent to the Cape Girardeau Board of Education after spending some 60 hours over six months looking at the school district's financial records:

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of some of the information and questions my research of school records has generated. It is my opinion the significance of this information should require immediate attention. Therefore, I request a written reply from the board by 12:00 noon, Friday, February 24, 1995, indicating their plan of action. Please call me and I will pick up the board's reply. My phone number is 334-2002. Please leave a message on the answering machine if necessary.

Even though I am not trained in the research of such financial records, I was disturbed to find many instances of questionable and missing documentation. The following is a sampling for your use.

Section BHD of the board's policies and regulations manual states:

"As provided in state statues, compensation is not provided for members of the Board of Education. However, the board recognizes the benefits derived by the school district through board member attendance at regional, state and national conferences and conventions and similar efforts on behalf of the school district. As the school district as a whole is benefited, the board will reimburse board members for normal expenses for motel, food, registration, and transportation costs incurred while attending authorized conferences and meetings."

Do in-room movies charged by Mr. Davis and Mr. Thompson qualify? If not, was the district reimbursed for payment of those services as listed on receipts for Ck #11911 payable to American Express/Omni Hotel and Ck #17409 payable to the Marriott Tan-Tar-A?

Does the board support the drug free/alcohol free policies of the school?

If so, why are district funds being used to pay for beer and other alcoholic beverages? For example, see check #21986 dated 8-24-93 payable to American Express for payment of a bill at the Boone Tavern and Restaurant which was incurred by Mr. Ed Thompson. Also, see check #14096 dated 4-9-92 payable to Dr. Neyland Clark for reimbursement that included beer products on a receipt.

Section DLC of the board policy manual states in part:

"Board members, the administrative staff and all others employees who incur expenses in carrying out their authorized duties will be reimbursed upon submission of a properly completed and approved voucher and supporting receipts.

"Expenses must be incurred and approved in line with budgetary allocations for specific types of expenses.

"Persons who travel at school expense will exercise the same economy as a prudent person traveling on personal business, and will differentiate between expenditures for business and those for personal convenience."

During my review, I discovered that almost all expenses were properly documented with the exception of those incurred by the superintendent. I considered the supporting information to be complete when there was evidence of the following: purpose; location; person(s); date(s); receipt(s) detailing items involved (not just a charge slip).

Of the 140 expense and reimbursement transactions that were reviewed relating to the superintendent, 50 percent of those did not have adequate documentation to be considered complete. For example:

1. Ck #14123 payable to American Express and dated 4-9-92. Of the $1,129.92 charged by Dr. Clark, $614.37 was not supported by any detailed receipts.

2. Ck #19115 payable to American Express and dated 2-19-93. Of the $722.66 charged by Dr. Clark, $383.69 was not supported by any detailed receipts.

3. Ck #20664 payable to American Express and dated 5-21-93. Of the $108.00 charged by Dr. Clark, there were no supporting receipts.

4. Ck #13195 payable to American Express and dated 3-23-94. Of the $826.69 charged by Dr. Clark, there were no supporting receipts.

5. Ck #15234 payable to American Express and dated 7-26-94. Of the $241.91 charged by Dr. Clark, there was only one receipt for $20.03.

6. Many restaurant charges by Dr. Clark were not supported by receipts or evidence of purpose.

7. Another example is a restaurant bill being charged by Dr. Clark on his American Express bill which was paid by Ck #14123. The receipt was then turned in with a reimbursement request by Dr. Clark which he received payment for by Ck #14096 dated 4-9-92.

8. Ck #19115 dated 2-19-93 payable to American Express for a charge made at Hooters of Maryland Heights. Purpose?

9. A dinner for $98.72 at Charlie's Lobster house in Orlando, Fla., was charged by Dr. Clark on 2-13-93 while he and Mrs. Clark were attending a seminar. See Ck #19431.

10. There were several instances of mileage reimbursement requests by Dr. Clark that were unclear as to the purpose, date and location of the meetings attended.

There are many more examples too numerous to mention here.

It was difficult to keep an accurate account of the number of days the superintendent was out of town because of the lack of information provided with the expense documentation. There is evidence suggesting the following totals:

8-22-91 / 12-31-91, 18 days

1-01-92 / 12-31-92, 51 days

1-01-93 / 12-31-93, 33 days

1-01-94 / 12-31-94, 34 days

These totals do not include vacation days of 20/yr.

A further review of the policies and regulations manual failed to uncover a section that addresses district funds being used to pay for personal expenses/purchases by school employees with the understanding that the funds will be reimbursed to the district by that employee. During my review, I discovered evidence that suggests district funds had been used for such purposes. In a letter to Dr. Niggle dated 2-13-95, I requested a copy of the "accounts receivable notebook." Dr. Niggle responded by letter that it would be available by 9 a.m. Thursday, February 16, 1995. Upon review of this information I noticed there were several entries that indicated Dr. Clark was to have reimbursed the district. When I asked for evidence indicating that the reimbursements had been made, I was provided a deposit slip dated 2-15-95 (two days after my request) which had an entry for N.G. Clark in the amount of $644.50. This was reimbursement to the district for $43.50 charged on 4-5-93 and for $202.00 charged on 3-1-94 and for $399.00 charged on 3-31-94.

Section BGB of the board manual states in part:

"5. Role of superintendent -- The role of the superintendent of schools is of utmost importance because he or she must function both as the chief administrator for the board and as head of the professional staff. With this dual role goes the responsibility of leadership. The superintendent's leadership should result in mutual respect between the board and the professional staff. It should result also in steps by which differences can be resolved."

Section BBF of the board policies and regulations manual refers to school board member ethics and states in part:

"As a member of the school board, I shall:

2. Maintain the public trust through full and open communication.

3. Insist that school funds be spent prudently and effectively to provide maximum education benefits."

I feel that all administrators have a responsibility to uphold high standards and to lead by example.

Sincerely,

Amy C. Randol