Scott Co. Central school board member faces residency issue

A member of the Scott County Central school board may live outside the school district in violation of state law.

But neither school district officials nor county election officials have any responsibility or authority to determine a school board candidate or board member's eligibility, the Missouri School Boards' Association says.

The only enforcement mechanism is to file a lawsuit and let a judge decide, said Susan Goldammer, senior director of school law for the association in Columbia, Mo.

Scott County farmer Eric Kesler, whose eligibility is in question, was elected to the Scott County Central school board in April. He piled up the second most votes in a field of six candidates.

School district superintendent Joby Holland said the residency issue surfaced before the April election, but was never resolved.

Holland said he doesn't know if Kesler's home is within the district's boundaries. He said he didn't ask Kesler about it, either.

"He may live in the district, he may not," Holland said. The school campus is located near Morley, Mo.

The superintendent said the district's lawyer, Tom Mickes of St. Louis, advised him that he had no legal responsibility or authority to determine if a school board candidate or member met the state's residency requirement.

"Once I was told that legally we had no authority over where somebody lived, I washed my hands of it," Holland said.

Goldammer said school districts don't have investigative powers. If a school board candidate signs the filing form and declares he or she is an eligible candidate, the school district doesn't have the authority to say that person is ineligible, Goldammer said.

Kesler and his wife, Kim, reside at 728 Scott County Highway 447. Their mailing address has an Oran zip code. Kim Kesler works for the Scott County Central School District as a special education teacher.

An anonymous letter writer to the Southeast Missourian, identified only as a "concerned resident of Morley," claims Kesler's home is in the Oran School District, but less than a mile from the Scott County Central boundary.

County tax records for 2005 show that Eric Kesler paid personal property taxes on vehicles to the Scott County Central School District. But his real estate taxes were paid to the Oran School District, said County Collector Mark Hensley. A house is taxed as part of real estate.

Scott County Assessor Teresa Houchin was out of the office Friday and didn't return a reporter's repeated phone calls.

The assessor's office would have assessed the house for tax purposes. In doing so, Houchin's staff would have determined in what school district the home was located.

Reached at her home, Kim Kesler wouldn't discuss the issue. Her husband didn't return a reporter's phone calls.

Under Missouri law, school board members must be "resident taxpayers" of the district on whose board they serve, 24 years of age or older and residents of Missouri for one year preceding the election.

In a handful of urban districts, school board members aren't required to be resident taxpayers but are required to be voters of the district. Those districts include Columbia, Independence, Kansas City, Lee's Summit, St. Joseph and Springfield.

Goldammer of the school boards' association said the law's clear that school board members must live in the district, not simply own land.

But short of someone filing a lawsuit, the issue over Kesler's eligibility to serve on the board won't be resolved, say those involved with the case.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123