Students shouldn't even try to pull one over on Jane Moore.

As attendance secretary at Granite City High School, she takes attendance, takes calls from students who are sick, signs students out and talks to hundreds of people.

On busy days, the 46-year-old Granite City resident estimates she talks to 300 people. She's been the attendance secretary for 25 years.

With all that experience, she knows when a student's lying to her.

"I have a sixth sense. I can just tell, by the tone of their voice. They get nervous," she said. "Their stories usually don't pan out because I ask a lot of questions. By the time they get done, they've changed it three times and then I know."

We caught up with Moore at the high school office and asked her about her job.

QUESTION: How much of your job is dealing with students?

ANSWER: I'd say 100 percent of it.

Q: What's the strangest call you've ever gotten from a parent?

A: "My student can't come in today because they woke up in a coma." That's probably the best one. I had another one say they woke up and decided they were Elvis Presley.

Q: Do students confide in you about anything, and what kinds of things do they confide in you about?

A: My office workers do and students that I've gotten to know. Kids that they're upset with or teachers that made them angry. Sometimes home life, but not a whole lot.

Q: Does anything they say make you sad?

A: There's several kids that get to you that they can't get clothes or don't know where they're going home that night.

Q: What do you like about this job?

A: It's never dull. There's always something going on. And I like being with the kids and all the people I work with.

Q: What's the worst day and the best day of the week for attendance?

A: The worst day is Monday. Kids get sick over the weekend or stay out of town. Our best attendance is usually on Wednesday.

Q: You just became president of a union?

A: Of Local 4956, the secretaries' union. There's 33 secretaries in the district. I just took over three weeks ago. We'll negotiate our contracts this spring, and if there's a grievance issue with the contracts, I'll have to deal with that.

Q: Is there any secret to being a union president?

A: I don't know. I guess I'm going to have to find out. My husband says I guess I'll have to get a thicker skin to be president.

Q: Do you say anything to students before they have to go in to see the principal?

A: I see them all day long. Usually, we have to tell them to be quiet out there, because they all want to talk and tell everybody their story. It's not their fault. It's never their fault.

Contact reporter Jim Merkel at 618-344-0264, ext, 138