CAT Tracks for March 31, 2003 A BUSY DAY!

Superintendent calls surprise meeting of union heads, the FOP holds a Special Meeting, and Cairo BOE holds a Public Hearing and a Special Meeting...

At 10 a.m. this morning, the heads of the District's four labor unions were called to meet with Superintendent Isom. He announced that the Financial Oversight Panel had rejected the District's proposal to cut district expenditures by approximately $250,000. Instead, the FOP ordered a balanced budget for the 2003-04 School Year...as "required by law". Superintendent Isom stated that the District had come up with a new proposal to cut 28 teachers, 21 teachers' assistants, 4 custodians, 3 secretaries, and 2 administrators...a savings of $750,000.

The District administration presented this plan at a Special Meeting of the FOP at 1 p.m. this afternoon. At least I guess that's what they were up to! After calling the meeting to order, they immediately went into closed session...for two hours and fifteen minutes. Upon exiting closed session, they set a date for their next meeting (April 11th), complimented Dr. Isom and his staff on their hard work in making "gut-wrenching decisions" (Just whose "guts" got wrenched?), and adjourned at 3:22 p.m.

At 5 p.m., President Joe Griggs of the Cairo BOE called a Public Hearing to order in the Cairo High School cafeteria for the purpose of discussing District finances and projected RIFs. Well over 100 employees and public filled the available seating. Dr. Isom gave much the same presentation to the assembled audience as he had done earlier to the union heads. The aforementioned numbers of RIFs were confirmed...with assurances that as many as possible would be recalled...by a "compassionate" Board. (I will now firmly "bite my tongue"...or is it fingers in this case!)

One wrench thrown into the mix concerned teachers' assistants. Dr. Isom stated that if a teacher's assistant was RIFed, he/she would have to meet NCLB standards in order to be recalled! He said that this was the legal opinion of ISBE. Dr. Isom did later qualify his assertion by stating that the regulation would only apply to "instructional" aides.

Superintendent Isom then fielded questions from the audience. Several pointed out the inherent contradiction of the drastic cuts in educational personnel and the demand for improved test scores. Isom indicated that he did NOT feel that we would get any sympathy from ISBE...two different groups looking at two different concerns.

The Open Hearing concluded with Superintendent Isom indicating that he would be personally meeting with each indiviual projected to be RIFed on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. (There is a Special Meeting of the Cairo BOE on Thursday evening, during which it is expected that the Board will vote on the actual RIFs.)

President Joe Griggs then adjourned the Public Hearing and convened a Special Meeting of the Cairo BOE.

Superintendent Isom then indicated that he had nothing for the Board to consider, except maybe something on graduation.

Then, in a bizarre moment, President Griggs announced that in its previous meeting, the Board had set May 25th as the graduation date for CHS...but that it had not intended to take the matter out of the hands of the administration!?

The Special Meeting was then adjourned...5 minutes after it began.