Copyright 1995

After months of looking at expense receipts, American Express charges and copies of school district checks, Amy Randol saw something she didn't understand.

On Feb. 13, she submitted a written request -- the district insisted that all of her questions be in writing -- for more information about $644.50 in charges made by Superintendent Neyland Clark. One of the charges was a year old, and she could find no evidence that what appeared to be personal expenses had ever been repaid to the district.

The same day Randol submitted her written request, Clark wrote a check to the school district covering the charges:

-- $399 for a zoom camera lens bought at Nowell's Camera Shop in Cape Girardeau, a vendor that does business with the school district.

-- $43.50 for Bootheel Area Rapid Transportation (BART) service to transport his wife to the St. Louis airport

-- $202 to send his son's basketball team to the last game of the year in a charter bus rather than a school bus.

Clark said he wrote the repayment check to the district after he went to Larry Dew, the district's business manager, and asked if he owed anything to the school district.

"If I owe the district money, I need to know it," he recalled he told Dew. Clark said he was informed of the $644 in personal charges that he needed to repay.

Did Clark repay the charges because of Randol's inquiries? "We'll never know that," Clark said last week during an interview.

Clark said his focus is on the big picture of the district budget that involves millions of dollars. He said he may overlook some small personal expense items. But he said not repaying the charges was an oversight and not "devious or illegal."

The camera lens was purchased Oct. 1, 1993, when Clark volunteered to take photographs with his own carmera for a brochure to promote a bond issue. Board member Pat Ruopp said the board's community relations committee couldn't find anyone else to take the photographs. A school district purchase order was used.

Since the school district paid for the lens, the purchase price didn't include any sales taxes. But Clark sees no problem with the tax-free purchase, because the lens would be used from time to time for school work as well as for his own personal use.

Ed Thompson, school board president, doesn't see anything wrong with the purchase either. "Wouldn't you buy that lens without taxes?" he asked a reporter.

Kathy Swan, a school board member, thinks the responsibility to collect taxes rests with the merchant as well.

But Don Beattie, owner of Nowell's Camera Shop, recalls Clark told him to charge the purchase to the school district. "It was my understanding the lens was for school use," he said. "Why shouldn't I take his word for it, since he's who he is?"

Clark said the lens only fits his personal camera and not any camera owned by the school district.

The charge for the chartered bus, Clark said, was supposed to be anonymous, which is why he didn't pay the charge at the time it was incurred. He said he wanted the team to travel to its last game of the season "in style," but he didn't necessarily want anyone to know he paid for the upgrade.

Board members said booster clubs have paid for charter buses for teams on other occasions.

Regarding the BART charge for his wife's travel to the St. Louis airport, Clark said he simply forgot to repay it.

Expense reimbursements

Board members, the administrative staff and all other 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.

Expenses for travel will be reimbursed when the travel has the advance authorization of the superintendent. The superintendent may grant this authorization without prior Board action when the travel expense has been anticipated and incorporated into the operational budget of the particular program involved, and the Board will later ratify such approval.

Mileage will be paid at a rate annually authorized by the Board.

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.

Adopted: August 9, 1993

Cape Girardeau School District No. 63, Cape Girardeau, Missouri