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Cairo to consolidate school sites, reduce staff

By Adam Testa, The southern

CAIRO — Cairo Unit School District #1 board members voted last week to consolidate facilities and lay off 15 certified employees, but the district’s leader said Thursday several of those employees could be called back to duty.

Superintendent Leotis Swopes said the district will close Bennett Elementary, which houses third through sixth grades, and the old junior high school building, which houses the district’s central office.

Students who attend Bennett will be moved to Emerson School and join their kindergarten through second grade peers.

“We have two very aging buildings and a combination of declining enrollment and declining property values, and the state is unsure whether it’s going to be able to fund our pre-school program,” Swopes said of the need for consolidation.

Class sizes will grow from an average size of 14 to about 18. Teachers will be moved around to accommodate the new arrangements, and Swopes said when the dust settles, he expects about half the laid off teachers to be called back to duty.

A section of the high school will be rehabilitated to house the central offices and a few classrooms there will be available if last-minute funding from the state becomes available for the pre-school program. Swopes said the district simply could not absolve the costs of that program, which has been completely state-funded.

While it’s never an easy decision to cut jobs, especially in a tough economy, Swopes said he believes the changes and consolidation of buildings will be best for the district, the staff and the students.