LESS THAN SATISFACTORY CONCLUSION TO ILLINI BLUFFS TEACHER STRIKE

As is often the case the whole thing ended not with a bang but a
whimper, with the union and the School Board at Illini Bluffs District
327 each giving a little on the contract dispute over random drug
testing, bringing teachers back to work after eight days on strike.

It's good to see the teachers back in the classroom with students,
where they belong, but on the constitutional question that had kept
them out, well, this is not the most satisfactory resolution.

As it stands the 58 teachers currently in the Illini Bluffs Federation
of Teachers will not be subject to mandatory, arbitrary testing,
though they're free to volunteer a urine sample, which borders on
funny for all the participation that will encourage. However, any
teachers hired after Aug. 15 of this year - no one has been so far -
will be obligated to hand over a body fluid on the whim of the
administration, which may very well make them unique among the more
than 130,000 teachers who toil in Illinois. Alas, they always eat
their young. The school district also can test for cause, the
legitimacy of which no one really questions.

Beyond that, the three-year contract contains raises of 2, 1 and 2
percent, respectively, which had been previously agreed upon.

As far as this page was concerned the issue was never about
compensation but civil liberties, specifically the Fourth Amendment
protection against "unreasonable" search and seizure, which is
priceless and which suspicionless testing arguably would have
violated. Alas, that has been negotiated away, for now. What's done is
done.

Interestingly, in something of a statement, all 58 teachers were
tested, with their permission, for the presence of illegal drugs a
little more than a week ago, and according to the union all of them
passed. Apparently the School Board's concern here was much ado about
nothing. The district did succeed, however, in sowing doubt about the
sobriety of its staff to the public at large. A number of letter
writers to this newspaper have already concluded that drug addicts
populate the place. Hey, if it wasn't a problem, then why would the
School Board have insisted upon testing? Hard to unring that bell. Job
well done.

One does not wish to be too hard on the teachers. Indeed, it's easy to
say they should have continued taking a stand and walking the picket
line when you're not the one with a paycheck at risk. As it is
teachers will pay something of a strike penalty costing each of them
between $400 and $1,000.

It's just that when you compromise on constitutional rights, the side
that wants to erode them inevitably comes back for more, while
encouraging others to come aboard. As such Illini Bluffs should
consider itself a pioneer. It may be the first here but it will not be
the last. The School Board's attorney had earlier indicated that
testing students would be "the next step," and so it snowballs.

Over time teachers in Illini Bluffs will retire, and the school
district will seek to replace them, likely with those fresh out of
college. It would serve Illini Bluffs right if young teachers with
options gave the district a double take where employment is concerned,
on principle alone. Why work there if you can work someplace else that
respects the Constitution? It's unfortunate that there are kids in the
middle of all this.

As indicated in this space before, it all depends on what kind of
country you want to live in. Too many Americans just don't get what a
special place this nation is - or was - anymore.