Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 26, 2007 HAT TRICK, TRIFECTA, WHATEVER

Murphysboro school district gets upgrade

By Adam Testa, The Southern

MURPHYSBORO - Technology has been at the forefront of business for Murphysboro Community Unit District 186 recently.

Visitors to the district's Web site, or that of any school in the district, has seen one of the major advancements. All the Web sites were redesigned to have a more uniformed, professional look, said district technology coordinator Steve Carrington.

The new sites also feature calendars of events for the district and the individual schools, which is made possible through Zimbra, the district's new e-mail system, he said. This system allows teachers and administrators to post events once and have them available to parents and staff.

"We can better stay up to date with events going on in our district," Carrington said.

The new system also allows for parents to receive e-mail updates on things such as their child's grades and attendance if necessary. Carrington hopes to one day have a network created where parents can access the system and view their records.

In addition to Web updates, the district school board has also begun looking at the process of replacing between 170 and 180 computers from labs in the schools.

Business Manager Jan Bush asked the board to approve authorization to find interest rates at local banks to purchase new computers on a lease-to-own basis with an expected cost of $150,000. Funds are levied specifically for lease-to-own purchases, and Bush said the computer replacement project could probably be paid off within three years.

The computers replaced in labs would be moved to classrooms. The average age of a lab computer is three to five years, while some classrooms computers have been there for more than 10.

"That's a good way for us to upgrade those computers and keep the technology rolling," Bush said.

Marion School District may reduce work force by 17 percent

BY LUCINDA GUNNIN, For The Southern Marion School District Unit 2 school board may have to authorize reductions in force for up to 17 percent of its staff at its October meeting if the doom and gloom budget predictions prove accurate.

Superintendent Wade Hudgens said the Illinois General Assembly is playing games with the budget, so the district could be facing the loss of millions of dollars and the delay of several million more.

"Everyone knows that the General Assembly passed a budget in late August and everyone seemed so happy about it, but what they didn't tell anyone is that they haven't passed a budget implementation bill yet. That means the state has no rules in place for how the state budget will be distributed."

So, local schools received state aid payments for August and September based on enrollment numbers for last year in August, but there is no indication of when they will receive additional state funds or what level of funding that they will receive.

Hudgens said the local districts have already seen cuts to special education, resulting in slashing more than $500,000 to Marion, $200,000 to Johnston City and $300,000 to Herrin. Since that was a reduction of money already promised to the schools, the district can't rely on any promises from the state, he said.

The Senate has passed a budget implementation bill, but the House has not. If it is not passed next week when the House returns to session, it is very possible that the state aid might not come until January or later.

In addition, legislation passed by the General Assembly may require county treasurers to withhold the second property tax payments from school districts instead of distributing them as promised the second week of October. If that payment is withheld, the school district will be awaiting $7 million in local tax revenue.

That money should be in an account earning money for the district in interest, but it might be delayed until December, causing huge cash flow issues.

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Pat Brown said the district is facing the loss or delay of almost $10 million, or roughly one-third of its annual operating budget.

"Normally, we would be able to rely on local funding to get us through," Brown told the board, "but if that local money is delayed, we could have serious cash flow crunch."

Hudgens told the board that if the local tax money is not distributed to the school districts in October as intended, he will come to the board at Oct. 16 meeting and request a 17 percent reduction in force.

Proceedings under way in Benton gun scare

BY BECKY MALKOVICH, The Southern

BENTON - Juvenile proceedings have been initiated in regard to one of two juveniles accused of taking a small-caliber handgun into Benton Consolidated High School last week, Franklin County State's Attorney Tom Dinn said Tuesday.

Because the proceedings are in juvenile court, little information could be released, Dinn said, although he did say he is reviewing reports concerning the allegations and any other individuals involved.

Two students, one a 15-year-old male and the other a 16-year-old female, were taken into custody Friday by Benton police after another student told school authorities the two had the gun at school Thursday.

The male juvenile, a rural Macedonia resident, allegedly brought the gun - believed to belong to a relative - to the school in the morning. The female juvenile, from Benton, allegedly got possession of the handgun during lunch hour and returned to school with it. The gun has since been recovered.

The male suspect was detained in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center; the female was released to the custody of her parents.

Dinn could not say whether the juvenile proceedings involved the male or female suspect in the case.

Both police and school officials have said they do not believe the students had the gun at school with any intent to do violence.

"There is no evidence that the firearm was brought to school with the intention of doing any harm to anyone at school," BCHS Superintendent Kelly D. Stewart said in a statement released Monday. "The Benton Police Department has arrested the individuals involved and the school district has taken short-term disciplinary actions and are pursuing long-term disciplinary actions."

According to the school handbook and Illinois school codes, the students could be given immediate 10-day suspensions and be expelled for up to two calendar years.

Additional school safety measures were implemented upon students' return to school Monday morning.