CAT Tracks for April 14, 2006

Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for April 14, 2006

UNEXCUSED TARDIES

Didn't want you to be the last to know...

The timeliness for the posting of vacancies for employment opportunities in Cairo School District Number One is definitely NOT up to speed.

Got a telephone call last night from a concerned and curious CAT..."Did you see the ad for teaching vacancies in the Cairo Citizen?" Well...no, I hadn't. AND...when I "checked my check" from April 7th, all I found listed was "Jr. High School Special Education Teacher" and "Boys Head Basketball Coach - High School". Hmmm...

The general public knows better! As you will see in the ad below, CSD #1 is also looking for three (3) other teaching positions! This is definitely NOT the way we should hear about these things...since we have negotiated contract language that is supposed to insure that we are the first to know!

AND...it's NOT like these are "emergency" vacancies or "surprise" vacancies. All three vacancies are listed for the 2006-07 school year...so the newspaper ad could have been placed AFTER our next paycheck on April 28th! OR...one could ask...why weren't these vacancies "posted" in the April 7th paycheck, since:

The current Instrumental Music teacher's resignation (for retirement purposes) was accepted by the BOE on February 16th,
The current Jr./Sr.High School Guidance Counselor's resignation (for re-retirement purposes) was accepted by the BOE on January 19th (and advertised on the ISBE website as early as December 2005!), and
The Librarian position has been vacant ALL YEAR!

"Enquiring minds"...and curious CATs want to know...and WE WILL ASK!
As for the "Varsity Boys Basketball Coach/Teacher (High School)"...
Actually, THAT may prove to be the tip of the iceberg. THAT position...at least the coaching part...WAS listed in our April 7th paychecks. The problem with that, however, is that the position was listed on the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association website on March 22nd! So even though it was posted for the "general public" on March 22nd, it was NOT included in our March 30th paycheck! "Why?", you might ask. Well, the Association sent a letter yesterday morning inquiring into that matter...BEFORE we were alerted to the aforementioned advertisement for teaching positions.
What's going on? Your guess is as good as ours...and if you have some "grapevine" insight, feel free to share! The Association fully intends to lodge a complaint and possibly a grievance concerning these matters.
As for the "tip of the iceberg" comment...
If you "check your check", you will note that the listing was for "Boys Head Basketball Coach - High School". There was NO MENTION of "/Teacher"! The FACT that this "EXTRA CURRICULAR POSITION" was advertised publicly for over two weeks before notifying "in house" staff...with an indication of "Teaching Openings: all considered at this time"...would seem to indicate an predisposition to hire outside the District rather than seriously consider current bargaining unit members. This may not be the case, but the timing and the wording of the posting(s) certainly taints the "search process". The always reliable "grapevine" has it that an outside individual has already been "given the tour". We can only hope that...for once...the grapevine is wrong.

(OBSERVATION: The Association finds it appalling that the District would make a wholesale release of ALL 1st-year and 2nd-year teachers - purportedly because of concern about fiscal stability - when 6 days before, they posted the coaching position with a "blank check" for whatever teaching position that coach would require! Guess it shows - once again - that academics takes a back seat to athletics.)

As indicated above, the Association has (and will be) filing official complaints concerning these matters and will be investigating as to whether a grievance needs to be filed.

The Cairo Citizen ad:

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association posting: