CAT Tracks for February 9, 2003 FORMER CAT SPEAKS OUT

Yes, Julie Newell IS a former member of the Cairo Association of Teachers. She went on to assist in the formation of the Cairo Association of Educational Support Professionals...serving as its first president.

The Cairo Citizen published her Letter to the Editor in its February 6, 2003 edition. For those of you who do not get our local paper...

Dear Editor:

I have read with interest recent articles and Letters to the Editor in our local newspaper about people and events that should make Cairo look better in the eyes of the world. I saw with pride that Cordell McGoy, Bob Conroy, Alsandra Lewis, and others had been given awards for their service to the community. I’ve seen where grants from foundations have been awarded to local organizations to help revitalize our community. However, I’ve also read in this column a concern about the bad image that Cairo continues to project to the world. Perhaps the example of what recently happened to me will shed light on that concern.

My husband and I have demonstrated our commitment to serving the community of Cairo by working for 34 years in its public school system, staying when so many others left. Our professional and personal lives have been beyond reproach. In November 2000, I was deeply honored by being elected by people throughout the State of Illinois to serve on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, one of the largest pension funds in the world. I know that many people in Cairo were proud of this achievement. I had made history, since this was the first time that a minority had ever been elected to that Board in the 60 years of its existence. Just as importantly, it was the first time anyone from our part of the state (or any part of the state below Peoria) had ever been elected to this Board. During monthly Board meetings and when talking with other state officials, I always made it a point to represent our city/area in the best possible way.

One of the criteria for this position was that I be employed by a participant of IMRF. For me, that was Cairo School District #1. However, I can only say that once again, Cairo has shown its worst side to the world.

In December of 2001, I became ill and had to be hospitalized for a week. When I returned to work, the Superintendent of Schools, who had concluded that I was merely extending a vacation, decided to place me on unpaid suspension for “job abandonment”, “pending further investigation.” After finding that I really did have proof of hospitalization, the District then spent three months concocting evidence to charge me with “incompetence” – after 34 years of unblemished service! A typical example of the accusations made against me: One of our school buses was not pre-ordered for a trip! According to the Superintendent, “no buses had ever been late before” I took the position. I think everyone in Cairo knows that’s not true. The remaining charges involved allegations of failing to paperclip documents, failing to put dates on forms, etc. – although the photocopies presented at my “hearing” clearly showed paperclips and that dates had been whited out.

From January 10, 2002 until November 18, 2002, I was on unpaid leave. Can you imagine having your income taken away for a year – especially knowing you haven’t done anything wrong?

(I’VE never been arrested or involved in any criminal activity! I’m also NOT the one who regularly makes errors on CSD #1 paychecks of hundreds and thousands of dollars…or authorized the illegal fund transfers that the District was recently cited for by ISBE!)

I am sorry to tell you that not one of the School Board members or the administrators or their attorney ever bothered to talk to my husband or me about their accusations on the “vacation theory” or the “incompetence theory.” Instead, they summarily fired me – even advertised my position BEFORE the “hearing”.

These are people who KNOW me and my family. They know the quality of the ten children my mother and father raised in this community. These are people I voted for and thought that I knew. However, they didn’t bother to pick up the phone to call me for an explanation and refused my attempts to talk to them. Knowing that the charges were trivial and false, they still voted to fire me! (Incidentally, to my knowledge, my dismissal by the Cairo Board of Education is unique…I am the first non-certified employee to be fired during the entire 34 years that I worked for CSD #1.)

The Board of Education also knew that by firing me, they would remove the first minority ever elected to the Board of the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund – ironic in light of this month’s celebration of the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Whether it was jealousy or retaliation for asserting my rights under law, I’ll leave to your imagination. The point I want to make is that whenever someone in Cairo does well or puts forth a suggestion for positive change, there are those in our community who promptly decide to destroy that accomplishment or tear down that suggestion with their negativity.

People wonder why industry doesn’t come here. People wonder why families don’t move here. People wonder why there are no theaters, bowling alleys, McDonalds or Wal-Marts in Cairo. My treatment by Cairo School District #1 shows exactly why Cairo continues to have a bad reputation and why outsiders shun us. The people that I worked with on IMRF appreciated my professionalism and respected my opinions. Imagine their bewilderment when the first minority ever elected to that Board was summarily fired. It serves to enforce their ideas that minorities aren’t fit to serve – that minorities can’t do the job. Unfortunately, history was made once again: No IMRF Board member had ever been fired in office!

I am angry and sorry not just for myself, but for my community. I have lived here for 52 years, so I know what our community is like and that we have been given a “bad rap” on many things. However, after my experience this past year, I am even more convinced that some in our city are content to destroy the city by tearing down others in a futile attempt to elevate themselves. Until we begin to take pride in each other and our accomplishments and support each other, the City of Cairo will only continue its downward spiral.

Sincerely,

Julie A. Newell

POSTSCRIPT: Julie Newell may be down (recovering from hip-replacement surgery), but...as those who really know her will attest...she is far from out! Her battle against wrongful termination continues on several levels. In fact, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is currently reviewing the dismissal as retaliation for her filing previous charges against the District for its failure to grant her rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.