NO MOVEMENT IN ILLINI BLUFFS STRIKE

Fourth day of pickets ends without plans for teachers, district to
meet

GLASFORD - Teachers in Illini Bluffs School District 327 remained on
the picket line for the fourth straight day Monday, with no clear
indication of when the school year would begin.

The teachers union went on strike Wednesday over the board's
insistence that random drug test of union members be included in a new
three-year contract.

As of late Monday there were no plans for the two sides to meet.

"We're willing to meet any time, day or night, to get this issue
resolved," said Keith Brown, lead negotiator for the Illini Bluffs
Federation of Teachers. "We really have no idea why the board would
take this hardline stand on drug testing other than it is some kind of
power play on their part."

The union has agreed to submit to drug tests if the administration can
show probable cause.

Also unclear was the success of the administration's plan to staff the
district's three schools with replacement teachers. The district over
the weekend advertised for certified teachers to "temporarily replace
teachers who are on strike." The district offered $187 a day for
teachers with a bachelor's degree and $204 a day for teachers with a
master's degree. By comparison, the LimestoneCommunity High School
District 310 pays its substitutes $85 a day; Farmington School
District 265, $90 a day; and Elmwood School District 322, $80 a day.

District officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

The union called the district's replacement teacher plan a failure.

"The board initially announced school would be closed for three days
and then they would try to open the buildings with strike breakers,"
said Dave Comerford, the media director for the Illinois Federation of
Teachers, in prepared remarks. "They have failed because more than
half of the district's parents have called in and refused to send
their children to school without their real teachers. We have also
heard they are having difficulty finding substitutes who are willing
to go along with their scheme to open the buildings."

A union-sponsored "community rally" will be at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the
Glasford American Legion on the corner of U.S. Route 24 and Glasford
Road. Expected to be in attendance is Daniel Montgomery, president of
the 103,000-member IFT.