CAT Tracks for May 28, 2009

Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for May 28, 2009

SPECIAL BOE MEETING...MINUTES

It is done...

Negotiations for a "successor agreement" - aka a new "CAT Contract" - which officially began on May 29, 2008, with a "ground rules meeting, officially ended on May 28, 2009, when the Cairo Board of Education voted (unanimously) to ratify the "Tentative Agreement" reached on May 18th. (The CAT membership had previously voted to ratify on May 26th.)

One day short of a year...

Throw in CAT's original "Demand to Bargain" letter on February 5, 2008...almost 15 months!

The "terrible twos"...

A time span that included two CAT Presidents, two IEA UniServ Directors, two CSD Interim Superintendents (the latter being hired full-time), a school board election which produced two new CSD BOE members (and two retentions), not to forget a Federal Mediator who came to two meetings but was unable to move the two mountains.

CATs are purrsistent!

There are still details to be worked through...salary schedules to be produced, documents to be developed and signed - e.g. the actual signed agreement for the BOE's "50% pick-up" of any increase in the group health insurance premium, the implementation of the new "Section 4.24 - Retirement Distribution" (both for this year's retirees and for the next three years), the handling of "retro pay" for unpaid salary and health insurance premiums.

However, there should be no "devil" in these details...e-mails have been exchanged between the parties since May 18th that have reduced any remaining shades of gray to a clear, crisp "black and white".

Okay, those last two paragraphs are my usual long-winded way of telling you NOT to expect new "Contract Booklets" to be distributed before you depart on June 3rd! THAT will not happen until the opening of school next August.

However, have no fear...

Assuming that you a "TechnoCAT" with access to the Internet, you can access the new 2008-2011 CAT Contract at your leisure beginning...

NOW!

Yep, the unofficial "rough draft" has already been posted. It includes everything but the salary schedules (which I never post online anyway!)

Check it out:

2008-2011 CAT Contract

BTW...I gave you the direct link. If you are basking on a beach somewhere in early August and wondering about what the Contract says about using personal days, cue up your Blackberry (or the laptop back at your condo or in your hotel room) and go to the CAT Home Page. (Forgot the link...didn't update your bookmarks when CAT moved to its new Internet address on July 1st? No problemo...just Google "Cairo Association of Teachers"...we'll be there!) That first big rectangle that contains the current monthly calendar in the center...there's a "CAT Contract" link to the right. Click that link and it will take you to a choice of the three most recent CAT contracts.

Voilà!!!

It don't get any better than that...

Okay, now...for the rest of the story.

Other business WAS conducted at the meeting.

As usual, below is an annotated agenda to serve as "minutes"...

I. Call To Order - 6:00 p.m

II. Roll Call - Coleman, Vaughn, Stubblefield, Gooden, and Burris. (Brown arrived at 6:01 p.m.; McBride arrived at 7:06 p.m.)

III. Recognition and Comments from Employees and Public - None.

IV. Approval of Agenda - Special Meeting - Motion made, seconded, and passed.

V. Personnel - Skipped until after closed session.

VI. Closed Session - The BOE voted to enter closed session at 6:02 p.m. The BOE voted to exit closed session at 7:35 p.m.

VII. Requiring Action/Decisions By Board of Education

Address Any Action Deemed Necessary By Board On Matters Considered in Executive Session

Union Negotiations Update - Motion made, seconded, and passed to ratify the contract between the BOE and the CAT.
Motion made, seconded, and passed to approve the FY 2010 School Calendar.
Personnel - Motion made, seconded, and passed to grant an additional 8 days to Cara Lacy to be divided between Emerson and Bennett.
Sale of Property - Motion made, seconded, and passed to authorize the Superintendent to negotiate the sale of the greenhouse.

Superintendent Swopes reported to the BOE that there was an increasing problem of students having accidents on school property, parents not having insurance to cover the accidents, and expecting the school to be responsible and pay. The Superintendent went on to say that there is something in place to handle this situation...that he simply needed to make the building principals aware. In response to a question by a BOE member, the Superintendent indicated that the problem was mostly at CJSHS.

The Superintendent went on to say that there was another problem at CJSHS...concerning lunch applications. He reported that the state was on site reviewing the food program and discovered that many students did not have applications on file. The time period involved is not this year, but the two previous years. The Superintendent did say that the state was complimentary of the electronic scanning system that is now in place. He further indicated that Chartwells was concerned about a decline in the sale of a la carte items, their biggest money-maker.

VIII. Adjourn - A motion was made, seconded, and passed to adjourn at 7:46 p.m.