Accompanying Superintendent Swopes were BOE Members Mary Coleman, Brenda Gooden, Bobby Mayberry, and Vernon Stubblefield. (Danny Brown arrived shortly after the meeting began, asked a couple of questions about the procedure, and promptly got up and left. Therefore, Mr. Brown should NOT be counted among Superintendent Swopes' later referenced "supporters".)

Meridian BOE Members present were Jill Bosecker, Carolyn Dumas, George Floyd, Mike Hileman, Nancy Killius, and Carl Riley. Also present was Meridian Superintendent Yvonne Bullock.

President of the Meridian School Board, George Floyd, opened the meeting by indicating that the notice of the meeting as published by the Meridian BOE to its public was in error as to the date...stating October 3rd, instead of October 2nd. Therefore, they could NOT have an official meeting.

Cairo Superintendent Swopes indicated that he still wanted to present his ideas. With the understanding that the meeting was NOT official, President Floyd allowed Superintendent Swopes to continue.

(Incidentally, this is actually when Danny Brown left the meeting/building.)

Superintendent Swopes started softly, then gained volume as he got into the "meat" of his presentation. So, in the early going, we did not hear everything he had to say. Later, it was hard to keep up with all the attacks he was leveling against Cairo personnel. Therefore, what follows is not word-for-word, but definitely captures the intent and substance of his remarks.

Editor's Note: Since charges of "editorializing to heighten emotion", "skewing", or "slanting by omission" have been leveled at CAT, we invite Superintendent Swopes to provide us with a copy of his prepared remarks (consisting of several written/typed pages). CAT will scan the pages and post them on CAT Tracks without further commentary.

Superintendent Swopes began his remarks indicating that he wanted to discuss mutual interests...commonalities that existed in the two districts. He related a story concerning his father (trouble hearing here) who didn't like his neighbor, but for some reason sought the neighbor out, and their relationship improved...to their mutual benefit...a new-found respect.

Superintendent Swopes identified the purpose of the school district(s)...to teach...to have children learn.

At this point, Superintendent Swopes issued a disclaimer (seemingly protesting a little too loudly) that he and Meridian Superintendent Bullock had not known each other when he first came to Cairo...that they had first met at a conference...then began discussing their respective districts...discovering many commonalities. (Later, Superintendent Swopes indicated that there had been no meetings...no conspiracies. THAT statement is "interesting" in that the District has been abuzz for the past month about meetings between Cairo and Meridian officials. Funny how the "smoke" aways turns into "fire" in Cairo! Superintendent Swopes later followed up his "no conspiracies" comment with a call FOR a conspiracy...that there was a NEED for a conspiracy to fix the "problems" he identified.)

Superintendent Swopes went on to cite No Child Left Behind and the sanctions involved...that Cairo was in the 5th year...speculating that Meridian was a year further along than Cairo. He emphasized that despite actions taken by the district(s)...children had not learned...were not learning. (Another "editor's note"...I put an "(s)" after district in the previous sentence. As Superintendent Swopes proceeded to make his slanderous and defaming remarks, it was not clear whether he was singling out JUST Cairo teachers or whether he was including Meridian teachers. I DO know that he kept emphasizing the "commonalities" of the two districts, so if WE are guilty, then by association...so is Meridian!)

Superintendent Swopes emphasized the experience level of the teachers involved...averaging 17-18 years in the classroom. He also emphasized the small class sizes...Cairo at 12...Meridian smaller. However, according to Superintendent Swopes, the end result was only 20% of the students meeting or exceeding state standards.

It was at this point that Superintendent Swopes decided to "get personal"...

Superintendent Swopes warmed up by using the snide remark that all teachers hear on various occasions...that 17 years of experience wasn't necessarily positive...that it might actually mean 1 year of experience...17 times.

At this point, Meridian BOE President Floyd interrupted Superintendent Swopes prepared remarks...basically indicated that he should get to the point. It was obvious to the audience that Superintendent Swopes was not happy about being interrupted...said that he didn't mean to seem like he was "lecturing"...just trying to point out "common ground".

Superintendent Swopes continued...

He asked rhetorically..."Are our kids just dumb?"...which he then dismissed out of hand.

Superintendent Swopes then stated that "Since nothing is wrong with the children...", it must be the fault of the teachers. He indicated that the reason for the children not learning might be "teacher apathy". However, Superintendent Swopes seemed eager to cite another probable cause...white teachers and black students. Yes, you read that right...Superintendent Swopes played the "race card"!

What kind of professional educator (who couldn't name most of you if you walked into his office tomorrow morning) would raise such an inflammatory topic in a town with such a divisive racial history??? More importantly, WHY would he make such a statement knowing that it could well create problems where they didn't exist???

I could really "go off" here, but I'll leave you to your own "heightened emotion". The "charge" by Superintendent Swopes is blatantly FALSE!!! He defames and slanders the good name and motivations of teachers who have given their lives to the children of Cairo...regardless of race, creed, and color!

Superintendent Swopes continued his "racist theme" making reference to Martin Luther King Jr...that the failure of (white) teachers to teach children was an act of "violence against our children".

Speaking of "violence against our children"...

Rumor has it that Superintendent Swopes has ventured into the schools...particularly CJSHS. While there, he has reportedly taken it upon himself to discipline personnel and students...in a very public way. In fact, I have had several people tell me that Superintendent Swopes has walked into their areas of supervision and yelled at students. What kind of professional and caring person is that? Sounds like Superintendent Swopes needs to have a long talk with himself instead of casting blame on his white faculty members. Superintendent Swopes...STOP THE VIOLENCE!

Superintendent Swopes concluded his remarks by asking (rhetorically) the Meridian Board of Education whether they would be interested in joining Cairo in cooperative programmatic ventures. As an afterthought, Superintendent Swopes stated that the Cairo Board members (Coleman, Gooden, Mayberry, and Stubblefield) were present to show their support of his proposal.

(The BIG question here is whether the members of the Cairo Board of Education also believe that the white teachers in Cairo - many of whom THEY personally voted to hire - are a bunch of racists??? The only ray of hope is that Superintendent Swopes has already shown that he does NOT always inform the BOE of his misadventures! Hopefully, the BOE members present were taken by surprise by his remarks and will take immediate and decisive steps to rein him in...before he destroys what is left of Cairo School District Number One. Since he signed his $100,000 contract plus house plus utilities, he has shown that "he's got his"...he doesn't give a damn about anybody else.)

And, folks...you should have seen Superintendent Swopes' face when he concluded his remarks...the biggest smug smile you ever saw in your life! To their credit, the Meridian Board Members did NOT smile and did NOT give any reaction or response to Superintendent Swopes...probably as stunned as we were!

Meridian BOE President George Floyd indicated that the Meridian BOE had established procedures to follow. When no further comment or reaction was forthcoming, Superintendent Swopes said, "Uh...that's all" and made a move to leave. That's when the meeting "adjourned" and those assembled either left or stayed to eat.

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