I kept trying to reassure the membership that I held hope for a successful resolution.

And, I meant it!

Today, not so much...

Oh, I have ranted and raved - editorialized to heighten emotion - when Cairo Superintendent of Schools Leotis D. Swopes would do something particularly onerous, hoping that said outbursts would send a message to the "powers that be" to reign him in before he caused irreparable harm...

...to no avail.

(Oh, somebody finally gave good advice and backed him off of freezing the contractually guaranteed "Step Raise", but that only seemed to make him angry...prompting him to look for other means to kick the CAT.)

Case in point...Association Leave.

Since the first CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) between the Cairo Board of Education and the Cairo Association of Teachers was negotiated in 1978, there has been a provision allowing the Association to use fifteen (15) days for Association members. Under this provision, the Association simply notifies the administration that a particular member or members will miss school to attend to Association business...attend educational conferences, meet with attorneys, etc.

Since 1978, there have been eight (8) superintendents and a multitude of building principals. Never, I repeat NEVER has a request for Association Leave been questioned or turned down.

In fact, there is an obvious "Well, Duh!" reason for this...it is NOT AN OPTION!

See for yourself...

5.5 Association Leave

The Association shall be allowed to use no more than fifteen (15) days each year for Association business. Permission to use such leave shall not be denied as long as no more than two members requesting such leave are from the same building. The superintendent may grant exception to this limit upon written request of the Association. The Association shall reimburse to the Board the cost of the substitutes if, in fact, substitutes are used.

What part of the second sentence in the above language do YOU not understand???

So, again...

Since 1978, there have been eight (8) superintendents and a multitude of building principals. Never, I repeat NEVER has a request for Association Leave been questioned or turned down.

Never...until now.

Yes, Cairo Superintendent of Schools Leotis D. Swopes has taken it upon himself - ONCE AGAIN - to defy logic, defy common sense, defy law. In the past two weeks, Superintendent Swopes has denied not one, but two Association requests for leave...unprecedented, but more importantly unfounded.

He has no right!

Superintendent Swopes has taken it upon himself to invent new guidelines that have to be met in order for the Association to use the days allowed under the CBA...a two-week notice...a reason to be given...that the days requested not conflict with the school schedule.

He has no right!

So, on this "Negotiations Eve", I have to admit, the Superintendent's shenanigans are finally taking their toll...my optimism for settlement wanes.

I don't know about the Board of Education, but I honestly do not believe that the Superintendent wants a settlement. I do NOT think Leotis D. Swopes wants a new contract. THAT is clearly reflected in his contempt for what we currently have!

As I look forward (?) to tomorrow night, I am distracted. I find it difficult to focus on the preparations that we usually make for such sessions.

Part of that is frustration with "the process"...the process that sees CAT prepare and submit written proposals by e-mail days or weeks prior to a session in an effort to expedite the process, only to be forced to sit at the Central Office for an hour or two while apparently the BOE Team BEGINS to review our proposal and draft a response. In fact, at the last session, they made the federal mediator sit for over an hour...waiting.

However, the main reason that I am distracted is that there is one thought constantly bouncing around in my head...

"What the hell difference does it make anyway? Superintendent Swopes is demonstrating daily that he has no intention of honoring whatever we come up with anyway! Superintendent Swopes plans to do whatever he damned well pleases...let the lawyers clean up the details."

So, do I expect an agreement tomorrow night? Do I expect an agreement...ever???

Well (as Superintendent Swopes said yesterday during his "15 minutes of fame" broadcast on WKRO)..."I'm glad you asked."

Tomorrow night...hell, no!

Ever...well, yes.

BUT...

I truly believe that Superintendent Swopes wants you to have to go out on strike to get it. I believe that Superintendent Swopes (like many superintendents and BOE members before him) believes he can break the CAT...defang and declaw the CAT...make the CAT willing to bow before him...allow him to exercise the power of god over one and all...including the Board of Education.

I hope I'm wrong. Anyone who went through the "Strike of 2002" should know the error of such thinking. CATs in 2002 refused to bend...stood strong...despite significant financial penalty. The District went "belly up"...having to yield its authority to a Financial Oversight Panel. BOTH sides should have learned from that experience...Cairo School District Number One does NOT need to repeat that history.

Unfortunately, Leotis D. Swopes wasn't here during that time. AND...Leotis D. Swopes has nothing invested in Cairo...doesn't own property here...doesn't pay taxes here.

Hell, Superintendent Swopes is not even HERE on weekends, taking as many all-expenses-paid "vacations" (i.e. educational conferences) as he can schedule!

What does Leotis D. Swopes stand to lose if we go to war - AGAIN?

Leotis D. Swopes has HIS 3-year contract in hand - although it took him until December to get it approved! Seems the FOP had some problems with its terms. Don't know if it was the $100,000, or the free house, or the $300 per month on utilities, or whatever.

Pity us...

Whatever the final terms...he's due it, whether the District survives or not. AND, if the District does NOT survive, better for him! He won't have to drive down to Cairo every week. He can just get his check out of his Chicago mailbox!

Talk about a conflict of interest...

Okay...just had to get that off my chest...so that I can sit patiently at the table tomorrow night...and endure.

It's depressing...the constant battle to stamp out ignorance can wear one down.

However, never fear...CAT IS HERE...TO STAY!!!

Had some CATs have wondered out loud about the "Antichrist"...the Devil...Satan! I laughed at their joke (?)

Well, I'm not going down the Biblical road...my credentials do not qualify me to take THAT journey. Plus, Superintendent Swopes may aspire to godly heights and powers, but, in reality, he is simply the latest superintendent.

However, I do believe that CSD #1 employees have their own personal Guardian Angel...one well-known and loved for "feeding the hungry". That Angel was there for us in 1978, in 2002, and all the disputes in between. Our Angel was "CAT-friendly" and for one (now old and ex-) CAT, literally a CAT-lover! (Please forgive my point of personal privilege!)

Well, ain't gonna get into any "signs" or anything...that's for another Website. Let's just say this Angel gave me the strength through the years to fight the good fight.

She continues to do so...

As I was typing this "missive", two thoughts associated with our Angel kept "speaking to me"...

• A resolve demonstrated by successive generations of CATs...

  "You can stand me/us up against the gates of Hell and I/we won't back down"

• And more to the point as we take a deep breath prior to tomorrow night...

  "Rest if you must...but don't you quit"