CAIRO PARENTS TELL SCHOOL BOARD TO START CLASSES

CAIRO, Ill. -- More than a half a dozen parents, a city council member and a local police officer told the Cairo Board of Education Tuesday night that it is time to settle the strike by the Cairo Association of Teachers.

The board also heard from representatives of the association's negotiating team who said teachers were willing to discuss finances in hopes of settling the strike. The strike entered its 10th day today and has about 1,050 students out of classes.

About 40 parents and 20 teachers were on hand for the discussion at the beginning of the special board meeting. After about 30 minutes of discussion, the board went into closed session rather than take any early stances on questions raised by the crowd.

Dolores Purdiman asked when the children were going back to school. She said money had been set aside to raise the teachers' salaries. She said she wanted the issue settled Thursday night so the children could return to school.

Ida Duncan, another parent, suggested that the board offer the teachers a 5 percent raise to start negotiations again. She said teachers and students could use some of the Christmas holiday break to make up for the lost days.

City council member Cordell McGoy said the city needs the children back in school. He said he knew there were two sides to every coin and hoped the school board and the teachers could settle their differences.

Cairo police officer Philip Matthews said he was disappointed with how the board handled the situation. He said if the board met in executive session and nothing was decided, then settling the issue was back to the beginning. He said the board and teachers should both give a little to settle the strike.

Cindy Holmes wanted to know how much longer it would take before the sides would agree to arbitration and if negotiations were going on.

School superintendent Elaine Bonifield said the meeting was called for the board to explore options. She said both sides would have to agree to arbitration before that could proceed.

Parent Linda Scott said she had two sons in the school district. She said the teachers deserve the raise they are requesting, which is 6 percent plus an additional $564 to $662 for one more year of experience.

Mary Hogan said she has two children in junior high. She said the teachers wouldn't be asking for the raise unless they knew the money was in the budget.

Steve Kohn, Ron Newell and Penny Farris, all members of the association negotiating team, told the board that the teachers were willing to negotiate.

Kohn distributed a proposal to the board and the public, showing how much the proposed increase would cost the district, while still leaving a budget surplus. He said he was willing to discuss the matter either in open or closed session.

The last official negotiating session between the school board and the teachers was Nov. 22.