STRIKE CLOSES DOORS ON 1,048 CAIRO STUDENTS

CAIRO, Ill. -- A teachers' strike in Cairo public schools entered its second day today after 73 teachers in the district's four schools went on strike.

Teachers wanting a 7 percent pay increase went on strike Thursday, forcing cancellation of classes for 1,048 students.

The teachers rejected a 4 percent pay hike proposed by the school board, said Ron Newell, president of the Cairo Association of Teachers.

The strike is not a "money thing" at this point, said Newell, a social- studies teachers at Cairo High School. "What it comes down to is a respect issue. We felt the administration took confidential, off-the-record negotiations and made them public."

Newell said the teachers felt their request was a reasonable one.

"We looked at the educational budget and we looked at what our offer would cost," he said. "We've been discussing our proposal for more than a month, and actually thought we had an agreement going into the meeting with the board."

"The teachers were asking for a 7 percent raise," said Elaine Bonifield, superintendent of Cairo public schools. "We offered them a 4 percent raise."

Bonifield said the district has nearly reached its debt limit and can't afford a 7 percent increase. Teachers received a 5 percent raise last year, she said.

The average salary for the district's high school teachers is $32,000 including benefits.

Following a six-hour negotiation session with a federal mediator, CAT officials called for a vote of the teachers on the board's 4 percent proposal.

Sixty-six of the 73 teachers on strike attended the vote meeting. Although vote totals were not released, Newell said the group overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.

"We're willing to talk to the administration, said Newell late Thursday. "We're willing to meet even on short notice. We don't want to be on strike."

Bonifield said she wanted to see things get back to normal.

"But we can't promise money we can't pay," she said. "We'd have to make some cuts to give a 4 percent increase."

Bonifield said late Thursday she was waiting to be contacted by the union.

Marty Ryan has taught first and second grade for 15 years.

Ryan, who teaches at Harry E. Emerson Elementary School, said: "It's a matter of salaries, it's a matter of extracurricular (activities). Last year they cut out all of the extracurricular (activities). We weren't sure we would have sports this year and they're slowly reinstating that."

Some of the activities that were cut out were yearbook, Beta Club, Scholar Bowl, cheerleaders -- anything that extra duty was being paid for with tax.

Carol Stout has taught school for 13 years and teaches speech pathology.

She said, "Many students have left and gone to Notre Dame and Cape and Ballard (Kentucky). They haven't moved, they're sending their children to school elsewhere."

Some students and teachers are also eager to return to class.

"We're not asking for the moon," Stout said. "We don't want to stretch the budget either; we just want both sides to sit down and talk and work out a fair deal."

Children playing kickball in street in Cairo also had opinions of the strike.

Jermeka Hughes, 9, a fourth-grade student at Bennett Elementary School, played kickball in the street behind the Cairo school board building.

"The teachers shouldn't be on strike because I want to go to school today, and I like my teacher and I like to learn," Hughes said.

Her friend, Sarai Hollis, 11, is in the fifth grade at Bennett Elementary School and has the same thoughts.

"Teachers need to be in school," she said. "Most of the bad kids drop out of school and they need to learn."

Prince Lane, 9, says he thinks the teachers need to go on strike because they don't get enough money.

Cairo teachers last struck in 1988. That strike, which lasted two weeks, also concerned salary.