CAT Tracks for December 23, 2010

CAT Tracks for December 23, 2010

Whereas this, whereas that, here a whereas, there a whereas, everywhere a whereas...

Cue the music...

Another song by my solo Eagle fave...Don Henley. The song (appropriate for any and all lawyers associated with Cairo School District Number One)..."Gimme What You Got". My favorite line:

You cross a lawyer with the godfather, baby
Make you an offer that you can't understand.

Actually, after scanning the legal notice from today's Cairo Citizen and ENLARGING IT to make it easy on old eyes, a thorough reading of the two resolutions seems pretty clear:

CSD #1 wants to borrow $1.5 million to build and equip an addition to the Harry Emerson Building (aka Cairo Elementary).

Because the BOE doesn't want to spend the $3 million dollars that they have sitting in the Cairo branch of the First National Bank at the corner of 8th and Washington, it wants to borrow (up to) $1.5 million...to be paid off by Cairo School District property owners.

To do this, the two resolutions posted below have to be published in the local paper so that should any local taxpayer object, s/he can go about the process of circulating a petition to demand a referendum.

To be successful, said petitioner will have to acquire the signatures of 237 or more "electors" (registered voters residing in the Cairo School District. BTW...if a petition gets submitted, there will be a THOROUGH REVIEW! If you are so inclined, better plan on getting at least 500 signatures to be on the safe side.)

Now here's where it gets fuzzy...

A 30-day window opened with the publication of the resolution in the December 23rd edition of The Cairo Citizen. (Actually, the Cairo paper arrived early due to the holiday season...and usually hits the local retail establishments a day earlier. So, the "opening date" of the "window" is the first fuzzy area for the lawyers to work their magic.)
But, the fuzzier part for me - the January 3, 2011 "deadline"...

If the petition is submitted by January 3rd, a referendum on the proposed sale of bonds will be held on April 5, 2011...the same date as the school board election.

However, if the petition is submitted after January 3rd, the bond referendum would not be held until March 20, 2012...freaking 2012!!!
Ass-u-me(ing) that the bond sale cannot go forward until the referendum is held, a petition submission after January 3rd would be the death knell for same. Unless the lawyers have got some rabbits that they can pull out of the hat, the timing of this posting could pose some serious problems for construction plans in Cairo School District Number One...

Of course...
School district officials certainly hope that there will NO petition drive. In that event, when the "30-day window" closes (sometime in the latter part of January 2011), the bond issue will be a done deal.

BTW...
I have mixed feelings about this whole thing...
As a taxpayer...well, a taxpayer never wants to see increases.
Of course, us Cairo folks did just got an increase in disposable income following the IL Attorney General's crackdown on the Cairo Public Utility! (Isn't there some saying about robbing Peter to pay Paul? Hey, maybe there's an old Peter, Paul, and Mary song that would be applicable here...)
However, as one who is familiar with the crowded conditions at Emerson (Cairo) Elementary with the closing of Bennett Elementary...there is a definite need for additional classrooms...and the State of Illinois would pick up 75% of the cost!
The proposed bond referendum is to raise the local share necessary to receive "free" state money...over $3 million worth. NOT approving the bond issue would mean no construction now and missing out on the state money. Then...five, ten years down the line, Cairo would have to borrow the whole $4 million...which presents TWO problems. The taxpayer would have to foot a $4 million bill instead of the $1.5 million. OUCH! A greater problem...the $4 million amount exceeds the debt limit of the school district. In other words...there would be NO construction...period! Cairo's elementary-aged children would be forced to attend school in an increasingly outdated, decaying, cramped building. "Band-aid repairs" of such a building would be more expensive than the new construction...with nothing to show for it.
But, then again, there's that $3 million sitting idly in the bank...
And, there's the mixed messages...
The free meals for BOE members at meetings...the expensive trips to meetings in Texas...the free lodging for the District's highest paid administrator (who will pay no Cairo property taxes to help finance the proposed bond issue)...the same administrator who receives up to $250 a month toward his utilities...and the list goes on.
The District pleads broke to its employees...while spending $160,000 on lawyers last year to fight them.
I used to be a math teacher...I can tell you, it just don't add up!

So...
As an educator, I've gotta hope that there is no petition filed for a referendum...ESPECIALLY AFTER JANUARY 3RD!
The Cairo Board of Education does NOT deserve to receive additional money...they misuse what they already have.
However, the children of Cairo DO deserve it...

From the December 23rd edition of The Cairo Citizen...

Another BTW...
My pet peeve...
The school board members being served "free dinner" at all meetings, regular and special...
It's petty, I know...a drop in the fiscal bucket.
A word of explanation...
I've told this story before...
...bears repeating!
An "Ebeneezer Scrooge" moment in the annals of Cairo School District lore and legend (unfortunately all true and worse when witnessed in person)...
Years ago, before the reign of the current Board...
A (former) member of the Cairo Board of Education...sitting at the table in open session...FAT free sandwich in his paw...smacking sounds as he rudely chewed and spoke...making the comment..."I thought we cut out the snacks at Emerson."
I shall NEVER forget...
Guess I'd better tack my "disclaimer" onto this "missive". The views expressed above do NOT represent the official position of the Cairo Association of Teachers, the Illinois Education Association, or the National Education Association. They be mine...