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CAT Tracks for May 28, 2010
CHA-CHA-CHA |
Opened up the local newspaper yesterday and there it was...FRONT PAGE!
An article that I'm sure will bring a song to the heart of Robbers All.
Okay, THAT is debatable!
Heart? Robbers All?? Oxymoron!!!
However...
I'm sure it will set their feet to dancing!
And...
Considering the sound that is music to the ears of that Merry Band of Robbers, I've gotta believe that the dance of choice will be the Cha-Cha-Cha-Ching!
Yep, front page news...
The "financially strapped" Cairo School District Number One received word last week from U.S. Congressman Jerry Costello that it was going to receive "new money"...$831,733 of Title I formula funds through the Department of Education.
If Robbers All were the religious types, they might break out with a chorus of "Oh Happy Day".
Hell...maybe this story explains why the Cairo Board of Education called a Special Board Meeting for next week..."for the purpose of discussing pending litigation."
Just think how much litigation $831,733 will buy!
Oh, District officials would deny such speculation and editorializing on my part...catty comments clearly designed to heighten emotion.
And, I'll admit...even I don't think the District would spend the whole $831,733 on lawyers. Of course, I didn't think they would spend $12,000 last month to appeal the James Gibson decision either. With Robbers All, the sky is the limit...
The article clearly states what the money has to be used for:
So THEY say...
One thing you learn very quickly in the world of finance..."Money is Money".
Remember the push to sell the lottery in Illinois (and other states.) To get around those voters who believed gambling to be morally wrong and addictive (like that old "demon rum"), the pro-lottery folks launched a successful public relations campaign stressing that the lottery money would go to fund education. Pass the lottery...for the children!
Did they lie? NO...they just didn't tell the truth.
They DID take the lottery proceeds and put them in the education fund. However, with their other hand, they took non-lottery money out of the education fund and spent it on other projects. (Saw a big billboard over in Cape Girardeau last week urging support for gambling, proclaiming that "Children Win!")
So...
The new $831,733...
Since CSD #1 has a student population that fully qualifies for free lunch, almost any "services" to Cairo students can be funded with the new $831,733. CSD #1 could then take an equal amount of money - such as local property taxes - and use THAT money to hire the services of Robbers All, take fancy trips, pay golf fees, whatever!
The opportunities for irresponsible spending are endless...
You don't think this happens?
I have some prime real estate just north of Cairo that I would like to sell you. You know, out by the traffic light. Right on the water...
From the May 27th edition of The Cairo Citizen
"These funds provide financial assistance to school districts for services that improve the teaching and learning of children at risk of not meeting challenging academic standards, especially those children who reside in areas with high concentrations of children from low-income families."
