CAT Tracks for July 11, 2002 LOANS & LIES

LOANS

No...we have NOT forgotten, and the July 30th pay date is fast approaching. The Association IS in the process of doing the calculations for the IEA 0% loans. Someone will attempt to contact you Monday or Tuesday of next week to insure that you want the loan - in part or in full. If you get this message and you know you want (or do NOT want) the loan, it would be helpful if you would e-mail your wishes. Feel free to share this message with your non-connected colleagues!

If you did NOT fill out a loan application and provide a pay stub during the last week of school and you DO want a loan...contact Ron Newell.

LIES

One of our more outspoken Board members is at it again...spreading lies...and using scare tactics...to try to divide and break the teachers' union.

The latest LIE is that Ron Newell called off a negotiations session scheduled for July 10th. TRUTH: There never was a negotiations session "scheduled" for July 10th.

The CAT had requested a negotiations session for June 25th. Barney Mundorf sent a letter stating that the Board would be unavailable on June 25th...and that the Board would be unavailable until July 10th. The CAT did NOT accuse the Board of cancelling the session, went ahead and mailed a contract proposal, notified the Board that the CAT team would likewise be unavailable on July 10th, and requested any possible date from July 15th on.

The CAT notified the Board of all of this on July 25th and heard no more...until last week. On Friday, July 5th, Superintendent Isom sent the CAT an e-mail stating that the Board was "expecting" to negotiate on July 10th. The CAT immediately sent a response to Superintendent Isom reminding him of its previous correspondence...that the CAT had indicated an inability to meet on July 10th and, in fact, had already requested another date. Superintendent Isom responded by indicating that two Board members would be out of town for a month following July 10th...but that he would inform the Board of our message.

Fellow CATs...these folks are up to something...and it "ain't good"!

Back to our outspoken Board member...This same Board member continues to tell the public that school is not going to start in August...encouraging people to send their children to other school districts. This same Board member keeps telling people that if the teachers go on strike, they will be fired...even though Illinois law states otherwise...that strikes are a legally protected activity.

This same Board member...and others...have been making some other outrageous statements about the cause of the strike and what it will take to end the strike. Several different individuals have reported these statements. In an earlier edition of CAT Tracks, I indicated that I would have more to say about that in the future. As they say...the future is...next week. Stay tuned!

SCHOOL BOARD MEETING

At 5 p.m. tonight...