CAT Tracks for September 19, 2003 CAIRO BOE REGULAR MEETING

The Cairo Board of Education held its regular meeting on Thursday, September 18th...

The meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. and all members were present. Also present was one of the FOP administrators and a representative of HS&G (which installed the new heating/cooling system at CJSHS.)

The first order of business was approval of the agenda for the meeting and approval of the minutes (open and closed) of the August 21st meeting. The superintendent then did the monthly reading of the treasurer's report. (Not having been provided the usual copy, I am unable to report the figures.) The Board then approved payment of bills/payroll.

The superintendent announced that the District had received two checks "of note"...namely, two "refund" checks. One was for $300+ and the other for $200+...for overpayment of 2.2 contributions and another for federal funds. (Evidently, there had been some payment errors by the District...although I can't imagine such a thing happening!)

Next up..."Plant (Buildings and Grounds)". Nick Atherton of HS&G was present to answer any questions that the Board might have on the "completed project"...that the District had now entered the "warranty phase". Some previous correspondence from HS&G had apparently satisfied previous concerns by the Board, and they readily approved the conclusion of the project and payment of the final bill.

District Maintenance Supervisor Lorenzo Nelson was present and was called upon for his comments on the project and the "state of the district". Mr. Nelson echoed the report of Mr. Atherton and stated that he had seen improvements. Mr. Nelson went on to report that the blacktop job had been completed at Bennett School and that damage done by lightning at Bennett school had been corrected. He stated that there had also been lightning damage at the CJHS building, but that the extent of the damage had not yet been determined because power had not been fully restored to the building. Mr. Nelson indicated that work needed to be done on the "curtain" in the gym at CJSHS so that it could be opened and closed as necessary for PE classes and athletics. Mr. Nelson concluded his remarks by stating that "yard maintenance" was consuming the time of custodians and his maintenance helper...resulting in a delay in other maintenance work...but that they were keeping up as best as they could.

Under "Curriculum", the principals gave their reports. The magic number for the night was "239"...the enrollment of both Emerson and Bennett. Both schools have also held their annual "Open House"...Emerson reporting a light turnout...Bennett a heavy turnout. Both principals also made an open plea to the Board..."We need a nurse!"

It was reported that Bennett school received approval of their SIP...scoring a 27 out of a possible 30. The superintendent added that in a follow-up discussion with State Superintendent Schiller, that Bennett had met AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) under NCLB...that Bennett remained a "Choice School" under the law only because it was receiving Title I improvement funds. Praise was (rightfully) bestowed upon the members of the Bennett SIP Team.

As is usually the case, the same cannot be said of the high school...or should I phrase that "was not said"? Principal Williams was not present due to the recent death of her mother. In her absence, the superintendent reported that the high school had also received approval for its SIP...but then went on to qualify that by saying that the approval was "provisional"...that "they" had left out the 7th and 8th grade...that "they" had until October to modify it...that if "they" didn't, the high school would lose recognition! (At no time did the superintendent point out that "they"...the CHS SIP Team...kept asking all summer about whether to include the 7th and 8th Grades! We asked our ISBE coach. She made inquiries at the District office and to ISBE. No one knew the answer...or would give an answer. Finally, the ISBE coach told the CHS Team to submit the SIP for 9-12 only. BUT for some reason, this information was NOT presented to the Board and public at last night's meeting. If you were at the meeting, it sounded like "yet another screw-up by the high school staff". Oh, well...why should we expect anything different?)

On the horizon...the District is preparing letters to the parents of our lowest achievers...notifying them that their children are eligible for tutoring. Money is available through SIDEZ to hire District personnel for tutoring. Evidently, Sylvan or some other outside agency must be contracted to provide the service.

Under "Student Matters"...The superintendent indicated that he had received numerous complaints about transportation. Parents are upset that the buses are so crowded that their children are having to stand in the aisles while being transported...if they get on the bus. Some students are having to stand and wait for as much as a half hour until the full bus makes its run and comes back for "seconds". Some students are being asked to walk to another bus stop since the bus at their stop is too crowded. Also, some students at Emerson are being delivered to school as much as an hour early...and having to sit in the cafeteria until time for class.

And it's off to Springfield...again. The superintendent reported that he would have to be "out of the office" in mid-October. The District is back in court...with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. This one...it's hard to keep track since there are so many...is for the District arbitrarily revoking its "Nepotism Policy" without first negotiating it with the affected bargaining units. The CAESP filed an Unfair Labor Practice and will travel to Springfield next month for the hearing. (Say "Hi" to Barney for us!)

The Board then voted to go into closed session at 7:30 p.m. They voted to come out of closed session at 9:30 p.m.

Recommendations by the superintendent:

Prior to adjournment, the superintendent held up a letter from Joe Griggs in his capacity with Shawnee Community College...offering the assistance of SCC in providing classes to Cairo High School students...since they don't have enough electives. Hmmm... Board President Griggs did emphasize that SCC was not planning to supplant anything that Cairo High was currently offering...that SCC was just trying to "help"!

The meeting was adjourned at 9:47 p.m.