CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT FILED AGAINST SCHOOLS

A Cape Girardeau woman, Juanita Spicer, has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Cape Girardeau School District.

Spicer, a member of the NAACP, refused Thursday to discuss the nature of the complaint, although she said it involved more than one issue.

The complaint comes amid efforts by a school committee to redraw elementary school boundaries and concerns about racial imbalance in the district.

In December, members of the local NAACP protested what they viewed as unequal treatment of black and white students at Cape Girardeau Central High School, and the school's lack of black employees.

The Rev. David Allen of Cape Girardeau said earlier this week the NAACP had filed a complaint against the school district.

Allen's comment came at a public hearing on redistricting Monday night at which the issue of minority enrollment was raised. Allen couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

The complaint was received Feb. 24 by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights in Kansas City.

U.S. Education Department spokesman Rodger Murphey said the complaint was incomplete and that the complainant hadn't provided sufficient information for the agency to determine if it has jurisdiction.

"We are in contact with the person or persons who filed the complaint, to get a clarification," Murphey explained in a telephone interview from his Washington office.

School district administrators have said May Greene Elementary School, with a minority enrollment of 64 percent, violates federal civil rights regulations.

Charles Rankin, director of the Midwest Desegregation Assistance Center in Manhattan, Kan., told school officials in November 1993 that the racial composition of May Greene violates the 14th Amendment, which guarantees due process of all citizens.

Local NAACP President Dawn Evans refused to discuss the complaint, citing the advice of legal counsel.

School Superintendent Dr. Neyland Clark couldn't be reached for comment. May Greene Principal Barbara Kohlfeld said she wasn't aware of any complaint.

School board member Bob Fox said the main goal of redistricting is to reduce overcrowding in the schools.

But Fox, who co-chairs the redistricting committee, said the minority enrollment issue must be considered in redrawing any school boundaries.

"Right now, we have a school, May Greene, which is considered to be racially unbalanced," he said, adding: "We want to do things to try to make it better. We are trying to decrease that percentage of blacks at May Greene, and by moving more students in there from other schools we would do that."

Murphey said the Education Department's civil rights office investigates allegations of discrimination covered by one of five civil rights laws. Those laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability.

Murphey said the federal agency attempts to resolve complaints informally without having to conduct a full-fledged investigation.

If necessary, the agency will investigate the complaint.

"We schedule an on-site visit; we verify data, interview witnesses," he said.

After that, the agency delivers its findings. There are three possible findings: no violation existed, there is a violation and the school district has plans to correct the problem or the district is out of compliance and faces enforcement action.

Rankin has said Cape Girardeau could lose federal funding if found in violation of civil rights laws and face punitive damages from a civil suit.

In 1993, federal funding amounted to about $2 million or 10 percent of the school district's budget.

Murphey said school districts usually cooperate with the federal agency.

In fiscal 1994, the agency received 5,276 new complaints, of which only 21 percent alleged discrimination based on race, color or national origin.

"The majority of our complaints come from people alleging discrimination based on disability," he said.