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Posted on Mon,
Mar. 21, 2005
Boonville Looks
to Sell Old Academy
By STEVE ROCK
The Kansas City Star
The founder of a
controversial Utah-based association of boarding schools has had
discussions with city officials in Boonville, Mo., about purchasing
Kemper Military School.
Kemper, the
oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River when it closed
in 2002, has been owned by the city since April 2003.
“I would not
characterize this as an offer,” said Ned Beach, president of the
city's Industrial Development Authority. “But we're talking, and
that's exciting.”
The prospective
buyer is Robert Lichfield, founder of the World Wide Association of
Specialty Programs and Schools. The association, based in St.
George, Utah, provides services and guidance for a network of seven
schools in the United States and Jamaica.
Some schools
affiliated with the organization have been the subject of abuse
allegations, and one congressman asked the Department of Justice to
investigate the association and its schools.
Kemper, if
purchased by Lichfield, would not be a member of the association's
network. Instead, it would be subleased to Randall Hinton, who said
he would help operate the school independently.
“We won't have
any affiliation with WWASPS or anybody else,” Hinton said.
Hinton, 30,
would be part of the Kemper management team. He said he previously
worked at homes for children, including some in the WWASPS network.
His vision for
Kemper, he said, includes maintaining the name and the military
theme. Uniformed students between 13 and 18 would receive an
education while adhering to a regimented schedule.
At this point,
though, he's not even sure Lichfield will make an offer.
“The buildings
are severely damaged,” Hinton said. “We've been going through just
to see what it's going to cost to make it livable again.”
Lichfield could
not be reached for comment.
Though no money
has changed hands, some members of Boonville's Industrial
Development Authority are excited at the prospect of seeing Kemper
up and running. The city purchased the school at auction for about
$525,000 in April 2003 with the hope that one day the historic seven
buildings would again be a vital component of Boonville.
Other groups
have previously expressed interest, but nothing has panned out.
Beach said there are two other “interested parties,” but stressed
that neither is as far along as the Lichfield group.
Rick Ball, a
member of the authority, said Wednesday he had not spoken with
Lichfield and did not know much about him.
WWASPS-affiliated
schools have been the subject of abuse allegations, according to
reports in newspapers such as The New York Times, and the
association has been named as a defendant in several lawsuits. One
school, Casa by the Sea, in Mexico, was shut down by Mexican
authorities in September. Another, Majestic Ranch, in Utah, was the
subject of a state investigation that resulted in a misdemeanor
assault conviction last year.
The abuse
allegations prompted George Miller, a U.S. congressman from
California, to ask then-attorney general John Ashcroft to
investigate the association.
In a November
2003 letter to Ashcroft, Miller wrote: “There have been serious
allegations that hundreds of children have been mistreated or
neglected. … We believe that the Department of Justice should
investigate whether federal laws concerning child abuse and neglect,
interstate commerce or unfair or deceptive advertising have been
broken by WWASPS or those operating these facilities.”
Ken Kay,
president of WWASPS, said Thursday that the first priority of the
association and its schools is “the safety and well-being of the
children.” Since the association was founded in 1997, he said, more
than 15,000 families have sent children to member schools. There
have been only about 10 lawsuits in which the association was named
as a defendant, he said, and nearly all of those were either
dismissed or thrown out.
The Justice
Department declined Miller's request to investigate, saying its
authority did not extend to facilities outside the United States or
those that were privately run.
Beach said city
officials had done their due diligence on Lichfield and his group
but found no reason to terminate talks.
The group would
be subject to an additional round of scrutiny, city officials said,
if it presented the city with a formal offer.
“We're not going
to move quickly on this,” said Steve Tillman, a member of the
authority.
“It will
definitely be debated in an open, public forum.”
To reach Steve
Rock, call
(816) 234-4338
or send e-mail to srock@kcstar.com.
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