Pubdate: Thu, 18 Aug 2011 Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL) Copyright: 2011sPeoria Journal Star Contact: http://pjstar.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/338 Author: Dave Haney, The Journal Star ILLINI BLUFFS TEACHERS STAND FIRM AGAINST DRUG TESTING POLICY Illini Bluffs Posts Openings for Temporary Jobs GLASFORD -- For the second time in the past decade, classes at Illini Bluffs Community Unit District 327 have been canceled after talks between the administration and the teachers union failed to produce a new contract. About a dozen teachers stood outside the entrance of the school district's administrative offices Wednesday morning during what was to be the first day of classes for students following the summer break. "We're here to show the community we're there for them," said Keith Brown, a high school history teacher and lead negotiator for the Illini Bluffs Federation of Teachers union, which represents 63 full-time teachers in the rural Peoria County school district. "We want to be in the classroom, not in the street." The reason for the strike is a disagreement about random drug testing. The administration is pushing for the practice, similar to what the support staff in the district agreed to a year ago and have been following, and what bus drivers are mandated by law to follow. The School Board, superintendent and principals are willing to undergo monthly urinalysis testing, as well, said district attorney, Karl Meurlot. The union says its members are not opposed to the measure, as long as there's a reason. "We don't have a problem with it, if there is cause," Brown said. Meurlot says a drug-related accident involving two students - one was killed - got the School Board's attention. Teachers are "kind of role models for students," he said. According to the district's final offer, posted on the school district's website, "The public has a right to expect persons employed by the Illini Bluffs School District to be free from the effects of drugs and alcohol . . . The Board of Education has a right to expect its employees to report for work fit and able for duty." The union's last offer also is posted on the website. Both proposals detail wage and health care benefits as well as the drug testing issue. Meanwhile, school is canceled for the remainder of the week. No new negotiations were scheduled as of Wednesday. The School Board met Tuesday night, but with no agreement with the union. Whether the teachers will be replaced in the classroom remains to be seen. The district posted on its website that it has "openings for Illinois certified teachers, grades K-12, to temporarily replace teachers who are on strike." Salary was listed at $187 per day for teachers with a bachelor's degree and $204 per day for teachers with a master's degree. Reaction from the community about the strike appears somewhat mixed. Marc Bohanan of Glasford, a member of the local carpenter's union, said their group has been required to undergo random drug testing the past 15 years. "Everybody else already has to do it . . . they just need to get this settled," Bohanan said. Gloria Taylor of Glasford agreed, saying others at the school district also already undergo random testing, "so I think it's equally fair." Amber Moore of Glasford took her 5-year-old son, Nathan, to a kindergarten orientation Tuesday. "He's upset," Moore said Wednesday, noting she sees both sides of the issue. "They said 'we'll see you tomorrow,' then this. It's the kids they're hurting. I'd just rather him be in school." Others, like Valerie Bussell, say they have not followed the most recent issue closely but said she would just like it to be resolved. "I hear both sides of it," Bussell said. "Every year, it's always something. I think everybody would just like it to be resolved." The school district neared a strike last year as well. In 2001, a strike forced the district to cancel the first three days of school. Talks then stalled on a variety of issues, the most notable being a disagreement about teachers' insurance benefits. The strike this week is the sixth since the district was formed in 1969, according to Journal Star archives. A strike by support personnel closed down the schools for five days in 1991, when teachers refused to cross the picket lines. In 1990, teachers went on strike for eight days. The district also has fallen under a negative light in recent years from other occurrences. In 2007, Ian McDonald, a former Illini Bluffs teacher, agreed to give up his teacher's license and spend four years on probation for having a months-long sexual relationship with one of his students the year before. Also in 2007, the district agreed to pay their former elementary school principal, John Walker, $32,000 to resign amid allegations he assaulted a 20-year-old at a drinking party, though Walker was later acquitted of those criminal charges. The Illini Bluffs school district has about 1,000 students from Glasford, Kingston Mines and Mapleton. According to the Illinois State Board of Education, District 327 teachers were paid an average of $42,418 last year, more than $20,000 less than the statewide average of $63,296. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.