Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for June 10, 2009 IT IS TO LAUGH...

That "title" won out over..."Misery Loves Company", or

...Deja Vu, all over again!

Coulda started with the REAL NIGHTMARE...

It's 2 a.m.

Half an hour ago, I awakened in a cold sweat, blood pounding in my ears, chest pains. No...no heart attack, no call to 911. Just jumped outta bed...to leave a nightmare behind!

You see, I had a dream...

No, there were no mountaintop visits. Instead, I had stared into a deep chasm...the veritable bowels of Hell.

You see, I was back in school...had just attended a teachers' meeting in which "they" had announced massive changes. The good news was that Superintendent Isom was leaving...SOON...like in days. THAT news was quickly dashed when "they" announced that retirement legislation had just changed...that in order to receive FULL RETIREMENT, I was NOT going to be able to retire at Christmas as originally planned...a Christmas that was only days away.

NO...I was going to have to finish the school year...AND the next year too!!!

ARGH!!!

I just stopped and pinched myself again...making sure that the aforementioned WAS all a dream...that I am truly awake. I shall NOT be going back to bed for a while...not taking a chance on revisiting that puppy!!!

So, went looking for CAT Tracks material. Hey, it's my usual prowling time anyway!

And here it was...

(Scroll down for the rest of my nightmare...)

Jackson School Board increases teacher salaries by 2 percent

By Alaina Busch ~ Southeast Missourian

Starting salaries for teachers in the Jackson School District saw the smallest raise in recent years when the school board set their pay at a meeting Tuesday.

Teachers received an average 2 percent raise, said superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson.

"I think considering the year and everything, it was the best we could do," he said.

Beginning teacher salaries were set at $32,500, a $500 increase from last year. In 2006, 2007 and 2008 they received an increase of $1,000 or more.

Teachers in the Cape Girardeau School District received a 2.29 percent raise on average this year. The district is taking steps to make its starting salaries comparable to other area schools. It raised salaries for beginning teachers by $93 to $29,463 this year.

Jackson teachers received a 3 percent raise last year. Teachers weighed the increased operating costs when discussing their pay, said Marilyn Turner, a member of the Certified Teachers Association's budget committee. She said the economy and gas prices made more of a difference this year.

"We understand that everybody has to tighten their belts," said Turner, a math teacher at the junior high school.

Despite a smaller increase in starting pay, she said their wage is still competitive.

"We think that our starting salary is a comparable salary because of the quality of the school district," she said.

Starting salaries increased more in the past because there was more of a focus on raising base salaries, which is changing, she said.

"We kind of fought the larger jumps in the past," Turner said. She said the increases are starting to filter through to teachers with more experience.

Other action

In other business the board approved bids for services and supplies for the upcoming school year. The district will purchase bread products from Earthgrains Baking Company. It previously used Interstate Brands.

The district will continue to purchase milk products from Prairie Farms. Tires will be bought and serviced through Raben Tire; the district previously contracted with Ozarko. MFA Oil will continue to supply grease, oil, transmission fluid, antifreeze, gasoline and diesel.

The Jackson school board.

No surprises there...

The "economic climate" that CATs had to deal with in the recently completed negotiations. Even when Cairo has a $3 million treasure chest - more money than it has ever had before...and the Superintendent finally announced (less than a week after ratification) at the "going away party" on June 2nd that the District was going to receive another $350,000 of stimulus funds - well, you just can't get away from the screaming headlines of the country's, yea, the world's financial meltdown!

So...I can deal with Jackson, Missouri.

NO..the school board of Cape Girardeau is the one that sucks!

Did you catch the key lines in the above story...

The district is taking steps to make its starting salaries comparable to other area schools. It raised salaries for beginning teachers by $93 to $29,463 this year.

Stranger than Cairo School District Number One!