LETTERS: SCHOOL BOARD STORIES SENSATIONALIZED, WRITER SAYS

To the Editor:

I believe the stories regarding Dr. Clark and the school board in Sunday's paper were unnecessarily sensationalized. The graphic depicting valet parking charges of Board Member Ed Thompson was inherently unfair. I would not expect an unpaid public servant to park his car in downtown Washington, D.C., East St. Louis, Ill., or any other crime-ridden area.

Further, I don't feel that expenditures by board members of $8.22 for three beers and $27.60 for three movies during a three-day trip to Washington, D.C., warrant front-page coverage in the Sunday newspaper.

Was it necessary to have the majority of five pages on this topic? On Nov. 7, 1993, when the Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline of Judges investigated Circuit Judge A.J. Seier and he was forced to resign for, at best, mishandling mileage reimbursements, we had to read about that in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. There were no articles in the Missourian entitled "Circuit judge pays state after expenses questioned."

In fact, memory tells me that later, when the Missourian's editorial addressed this subject, attempts were made to minimize Seier's wrongdoing due to the insignificant nature of the misappropriated reimbursements. According to the Post-Dispatch article, Seier was a well-paid public servant. Why the double standard. I also question the motive behind the headline entitled "Board in Kentucky suspended district's use of credit card." Why not "20-day investigation in Kentucky finds no wrongdoing"?

I fail to understand the compelling nature of running nine articles on five pages in the Sunday paper with a Saturday teaser before the board has a chance to address Ms. Randol's letter at their regularly scheduled meeting.

Craig M. Billmeyer

Cape Girardeau

EDITOR'S NOTE: This letter was hand-delivered to Gary Rust and Wally Lage on Monday. Rust was out of town until Thursday, when the letter was opened. Lage will return today.