I just received a call from Special Olympics soliciting money; in the past, I have made some small donations. I listened patiently to the seemingly nice person, then proceeded to tell her I could not donate because of a recent pay cut...she HUNG UP on me in mid-sentence.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the teachers' contracts that Fayette County has offered teachers for the 09-10 school year appear to state that the board of education can adjust salary, can assign and reassign employees to various work locations, can require employees to submit to physical examinations to assess fitness for their jobs, and can release from employment those with inadequate certification. Yet, employees receive no guarantees from the school system. Thus, employees are indentured to the board of education, under these contingencies, but the board of education bears no responsibility or accountability to its employees!? Theoretically, then, let us say a principal takes a disliking to a particular teacher and reassigns her to a school or a position for which she does not have certification or fails to meet the physical requirements for the assignment. Is this teacher now in violation of her contract, and does she now present grounds for contactual dismissal? We would certainly hope such nastiness would not prevail, but be assured the shady side of politics rears its ugly head even in the public school system.