Since negotiations have been put off until mid-March, there is an urgency to this process. Tenured teachers must be notified at least 60 days prior to the end of school. Non-tenured teachers must receive at least a 45-day notification.

In an attempt to expedite the process, the Association sent a letter to the Superintendent and members of the Board of Education questioning their assessment of the financial status of the District. Various numbers that have been released by the District "just do not add up". (The Association has already pointed out some glaring errors in its "Letter to the Editor" of the Cairo Citizen.)

The Association asked that answers to the following questions be given tonight:

• During Dr. Elaine Bonifield's last year as superintendent, the District maintained cash balances and investments of approximately $1 million. What happened to that money?
• During negotiations with former Superintendent Bonifield, she stated that the $1 million surplus was "not really there"—that $500,000 was earmarked for replacement of the CHS roof. Since the District sold bonds last year to raise approximately $500,000 to replace the CHS roof, our question is "What happened to the original $500,000?"
• If the District is in such dire financial straits and needs to RIF almost 25% of its certified staff and a large number of non-certified staff, why did the District create a new position of Maintenance Assistant in December?
• If the District is in such dire financial straits, why did it choose to buy the Superintendent a new car this year?

The District’s actions do not match its words—EXCEPT, when it comes to teachers. The Superintendent and Board of Education never hesitate to lay the blame at our feet—and call (publicly) for our dismissal.

They blame us for the contract language that provides bonuses to teachers when the District gets new money. They fail to mention that the contract language was THEIR IDEA. They fail to mention that following negotiations with us, they proceeded to give the same bonus to custodians (with whom they already had a signed 3-year contract), secretaries (with whom they were also negotiating at the time), teacher assistants (who were not organized at the time), and administrators. BUT—according to the article that appeared in the Southeast Missourian and was reprinted in the Cairo Citizen—IT IS OUR FAULT!

An indication of the disarray—past and present—existing in the District is that Dr. Isom came to the Board of Education in January and announced that a safety deposit box had been "found" at the First National Bank in Cairo which belonged to the District. He sought authorization from the Board to open the box and find out what it contained! Hmmm…

Your bargaining team will sit down with them tonight and attempt to get answers—attempt to bring reasonableness to the discussion over the financial status of the District. We will keep you informed of the progress of these talks.