12
Lake
Forest Education Association spokesman Chuck Gress
say the union is disappointed the district didn't respond to the association's
last salary proposal. Gress didn't give details about
the proposal.
But
in a statement, the school district says that proposal asked for pay increases
that are more than double the Consumer Price Index.
"You
make three times more than the average citizen in Chicagoland,"
a woman yelled. "What is the lesson for all the students today?"
A
man joined the picket line -- but carried a sign telling the teachers to get
back to work.
Mollie
Blahunka, 17, a senior from Lake Bluff, handed out homemade cookies to teachers
and hugged them.
The
Lake Forest school board released information on its offer to teachers Tuesday
night, with about 75 people packing the board room.
Michael
Hernandez, an attorney negotiating for the district, presented information on
salary scales and benefits on a big screen. He described the union as being
unreasonable during a time when the community has been "affected by
foreclosures by people who lost their jobs."
He
criticized the union's calculations on the district's future reserves, saying,
"We see these projections and don't know where they came from."
The
board has offered pay increases of 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2013, 3.4 percent
in 2014 and 3.4 percent in 2015, according to the district. It also has asked
teachers to start paying for a percentage of their insurance coverage.
The
union maintains that, since teachers' pay was frozen last year in a one-year
contract, the raises should be bumped up to the level they would have been if
not for the freeze. The union proposed raises equal to 5.6 percent in 2013, 6.5
percent in 2014 and 5.6 percent in 2015, according to district figures.
Asked
whether the fact that this is the first strike in the school's history has
particular meaning with teachers, Gress said:
"It resonates that this is a turning point in our school's history."
Gress said teachers recognize that the
national economy is still recovering, but they want a contract that allows the
district to attract the best teachers.
He
said a high percentage of teachers in the district have a master's or
higher-level degree, and ACT scores have never been higher.
Potential
changes in teacher evaluations haven't factored into contract negotiations -- a
major sticking point among striking Chicago teachers -- because teachers and
school board members are still working on an evaluation method based on the
state's plan, Gress said. That work is independent of
the contract negotiations, he said.
School
officials complained that teachers came late to the bargaining table. The board
said it offered to meet with teachers Monday evening, but the union did not to
attend this meeting.
http://myblacknews.net/lake-forest-high-school-sees-first-teachers-strike/
“The
lesson today is greed,” one woman said as she confronted picketing teachers.
The
teachers disagree, saying their walkout shows students how important it is to
stand up for what you believe in.
About
80 Lake Forest teachers earn more than $100,000 a year, in a town with a median
household income that’s about twice that. But Chuck Gress,
union spokesperson for the Lake Forest Education Association, said new new hires start at $50,000, and have much less opportunity
for big pay raises.
He
said a two-tiered payment system was a major sticking point for the union.
“A
two-tiered system would basically tell new teachers coming into our school that
they would be paid at a much slower rate,” Gress
said.
Sophomore
Patrick Casey said, if there are replacement teachers in his classroom, it
won’t be the same, because his current teachers are irreplaceable in his view.
“My
community, it’s like a family to me. All the teachers are like my moms, and
dads, and my uncles, and aunts,” he said.
The
two sides have been unable to agree on where or when to meet, and have been
working through a federal mediator.
Gress said the school district had
failed to return a call from the union.
“Last
night, we made what we felt was, again, a reasonable proposal on salary, and
the board did not respond to it, and we waited around for an hour and expected
a call back from the board, and they decided not to respond. At that point, we
called it a night,” Gress said in an interview on the
CBS 2 Morning News on Wednesday.
He
said teachers took a pay freeze last year – which meant no pay hikes of any
kind, whether raises or cost-of-living increases. But
the district did not consider that in hammering out a deal for the teachers
this year, Gress said.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/11/lake-forest-h-s-teachers-might-also-go-on-strike/
Megan
Stoll, a science teacher at Lake Forest High School told ABC the board of
education’s contract offer “would be money out of my pocket. It would be a step
back, and I would be earning less this year than I did last year.”
The
Board offered a system of pay increases over the next three years which would
be 2.6 percent for 2013 and then 3.4 percent for the subsequent two years
following. The union proposed a pay increase of 5.6 percent for two of the
three years and one 6.5 percent increase on account of a pay freeze in last
year’s contract. Those would have been the levels of pay increases had there
not been a freeze.
http://chicagoist.com/2012/09/12/lake_forest_high_school_teachers_no.php
The
school has offered a three-percent raise for teachers over three years. The
teachers want double that amount - and higher starting salaries for new
teachers.
"I
think teachers have it great and they may look at me and smile, but the private
sector does not make as much as public sector in this country," parent
Brad Kunde said.
The
school said the teachers are already among the highest two-percent in the
state. Some make $100,000 a year or more.
Lake
Forest Education Association spokesman Chuck Gress
said he is paid a fair wage, but teachers did not get a raise last year.
"Last
year, we took a hard freeze, which means that our teachers took no raise,"
Gress explained.
The
union spokesman said the cost of health insurance is another point of
contention in the Lake Forest strike.
"I
am vested in the school because I feel very passionately about the quality of
education," Gress said, when asked about his
main complaint.
Statement
from the Lake Forest Education Association, received at 11 p.m. Sept. 12:
The
Lake Forest Education Association (LFEA) is disappointed that the Board of
Education (BOE) did not respond to the LFEA’s last salary submission. Although
it was only 10:00 PM (on Tuesday, Sept. 11), and the LFEA was prepared to
negotiate to settlement, the BOE chose not to counter. The teachers of Lake
Forest High School will be on the Strike line at 7:30 AM (Wednesday, Sept. 12).
Statement
from the LFHS District 115 administration, received 11:50 p.m. Sept. 12:
Monday
evening, the (District 115) Board of Education offered to meet with the Union
to continue negotiations. The Union chose not to attend this meeting. Through
this action the Union made it clear that they only wished to negotiate
following the Board meeting tonight (Tuesday, Sept. 11).
After
a very brief mediation session, following tonight’s Board of Education meeting,
school officials and union leaders did not come to an agreement. The Union’s
final proposal continued to request compensation increases of more than double
the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The Board remains committed to offering highly
competitive salary and benefit packages to attract and retain employees, while
remaining fiscally responsible to the community it serves.
http://gazebonews.com/2012/09/12/teacher-strike-is-on-at-lake-forest-high-school/
The
Board of Education has and remains open to meeting with the Union, but
unfortunately the Union has not agreed to meet again.
If
you would like to serve in a support role at Lake Forest High School during the
teachers’ strike, please contact Gail Moesta at
847-582-7388 for more information or to set up a time to complete the
application process. Candidates will be asked to bring a current form of
identification (driver’s license, passport, etc.) and will be asked to sign a
series of agreements including a background check.
The
building will remain open as a safe, supervised, and supportive environment for
all students. On Thursday and Friday, buses will not run nor will students be
required to attend school. Our doors, however, will remain open to students
between 7:50am and 3:10pm. Students should enter through the circle drive and
will need to show their student ID. Lunch will also be available each day.
CROYA, Lake Forest Recreation staff members and nurses from Northwestern/Lake
Forest Hospital will assist our administrative and support staff in the
building.
The
resource center will be staffed for students needing academic support. We were
recently informed that the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will
strictly enforce the rules regarding interscholastic contests. This ruling
prohibits us from participating in athletic competition if teachers are on
strike. Every attempt is being made to reschedule any contests missed due to a
work stoppage. We are very disappointed with this decision, as we believe it is
in the best interest of our students to continue scheduled activities. Please
check the athletic homepage for the practice schedules daily for the duration
of the strike.
http://gazebonews.com/2012/09/12/lake-forest-high-school-seeks-volunteers-to-help-during-strike/
In
one way the strike by LF District 115 teachers can be linked to the make-up of
the District 115 Board over the years in having agreed to the demands of the local teacher
union, the LFEA, which, in a large part, takes its marching orders from the
IEA, of which LFHS teachers are members.
In
regard to Health Insurance, LFEA is asking that existing employees continue to
receive, without charge, HMO Single and Family Premiums and PPO 750 Single and
Family Premiums. This would mean that
the Board would have to pay more for 5 of the 10 health insurance plans offered
to LFHS teachers. Four plans are already
100% Board paid.
Not
to be forgotten is that teachers can retire at age 55, and many do. In ten years teachers making over $100,000 a
year at LFHS will be drawing at age 65 the same pension as the salaries they
were making during their last year of teaching.
Additionally, their pensions will be automatically adjusted each year to
reflect the COLA increase of 3% for the rest of their lives. This isn't even true for SS recipients.
What
happens when a union in a private sector business insists on a pay scale and
other benefits for its members that cannot be supported financially by the
company? The company will eventually go
out of business. It may even end up
going overseas to save the company, where workers can be employed who are not
demanding "the store."
In
a free enterprise system there is competition.
Businesses who are obligated to increase the
cost of their products to cover the cost of increased union-negotiated wages
and benefits for its employees, do not fare all that well in Illinois. .
But
what happens, if through teacher union bargaining, teacher demands become too
rich to support existing conditions?
Schools certainly do not go out of business!
If
teacher unions are permitted to continue their heavy-handed bargaining as in
the past, Illinois, an already financially challenged state, will continue to
go further and further into debt, a debt that is now unsustainable and approaching
financial Armageddon.
Lake
Forest High School teachers are on strike less than a month after an impasse
was publicly declared for contract negotiations.
Instructors
at Lake Forest District 115 began their walkout Wednesday as teachers at the
Chicago Public Schools spent a third day on strike.
District
115 is offering the teachers an average estimated
total salary hike of 2.6 percent for the 2012-13 academic year, while the Lake
Forest Education Association union seeks 5.6 percent.
Teachers,
through various formulas, want a total average raise of about 6.5 percent in
2013-14, documents show. The school board is offering an average of 3.4 percent.
For
the 2014-15 academic year, the board is proposing a
total average pay hike of 3.4 percent. The union wants total raises of 5.6
percent.
“This
isn’t about greed, it’s just about being fair,” said Gress,
a 20-year math teacher and coach for the girls basketball team. “We will be out
here two days or three weeks, however long we need to be to get a fair
contract.”
In
a statement issued on behalf of the administration by spokeswoman Anne Whipple,
District 115 contends the teachers’ salary demands are unreasonable in a shaky
economy.
“The
teachers received no increase in compensation for the last school year,” the
statement says. “That freeze, however, followed a five-year period over which
salaries increased — in unprecedented financial times — by an average of 5.5
percent annually, elevating our salary schedule to one of the highest in the
state.”
In
addition, he said, the board is attempting to cut compensation packages for new
hires to such a degree that a teacher would have to work 45 years to achieve
the same benefits a 25-year instructor receives today.
“The
whole concept is unfortunate,” Gress said.
On
the benefits side, the teachers union wants HMO family premiums to remain 100
percent funded by taxpayers, according to documents filed with the state. The
school board seeks to have the instructors pay 10 percent toward those
premiums.
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120912/news/709129658/
And
while protests in Lake Forest coincide with the strikes in Chicago, the
predominant issues on the table for the two converge less than their timing. As
Lake Forest's educators are largely fighting for benefits and an agreeable pay
structure, the issues at the forefront of Chicago's strike emphasize teacher
evaluations and a principal's role in selecting teachers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/teachers-strike-in-lake-f_n_1877335.html
Over
150 teachers and other certificated professionals at Lake Forest High School
(Lake County) went on strike Wednesday, seeking to protect the quality of the
one of the finest school districts in the state.
The
teachers are standing firm in opposition to the school board’s demands for a
two-tier salary schedule that would require new teachers to teach for 45 years
in order to reach top pay. Additionally,
the school board has demanded concessions in insurance and contract re-openers
which would negate the salary schedule if the General Assembly were to change
pension law.
http://www.ieanea.org/featured/lake-forest-teachers-strike-for-quality/
No
new mediation had been set as of 11 p.m. Tuesday, according to Gress.
While
the teachers accuse the District of unwillingness to alter their position, the
Board said in a statement late Tuesday it had an obligation to be fiscally responsible
in light of a position by the LFEA it considers too high for the times.
Lake
Bluff resident Gail Gamrath, a 1987 Lake Forest High
School graduate and current New Trier High School Junior Girls Adviser Chair,
offered support for the union’s position and took issue with Hernandez.
“Your
numbers for New Trier are inaccurate. It makes me doubt your entire
presentation,” Gamrath said. “When we tried to send
(people we could not hire) to Lake Forest, they said ‘we have to do it on the
cheap.’ They used that word.”
A
majority of the people speaking shared the opinion of Peter Acker of Lake Bluff
who wanted the Board to remain firm in its position and not give higher raises
than are currently being offered in the business world.
“Things
are much different than they were five years ago,” Acker said. “People are
losing their homes. Private sector increases averaged three percent last year.
The school board’s offer will keep the teachers very well compensated.”
http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/teachers-strike-as-negotiations-fail
The
building remains open for students and many services, including college
counseling and lunch, will still be provided, and some athletic practices will
continue. However, Wednesday night's Parent Open House activities have been
canceled.
Lake
Forest High School will not be shuttered during the strike, which began at
12:01 a.m. today.
http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/what-is-open-at-lake-forest-high-school-during-the-strike
Lake
Forest Education Association spokesman Chuck Gress
says the union is disappointed the district didn't respond to the association's
last salary proposal. Gress didn't give details about
the proposal.
But
in a statement, the school district says that proposal asked for pay increases
that are more than double the Consumer Price Index.
http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=607881
Despite
the presence of a federal mediator, the school board and union have struggled
to hash out a new teacher salary structure. This is the first strike in the
district's history.
http://progressillinois.com/news/content/2012/09/12/lake-forest-high-school-teachers-go-strike
Whether
or not the strike is resolved, classes, as well as regular bus service, will
resume Monday, Sept. 17, the school board has said.
The
Lake Forest Education Association’s 150 teachers started picketing this morning
after no agreement was reached at Tuesday night’s negotiation session. As a
result of the walkout, the district’s 1,718 students from Lake Forest, Lake
Bluff and Knollwood will have no classes and there
will be no sports practices or competitions until contract differences are
resolved.
The
LFEA was prepared to negotiate a settlement but the school board “chose not to
counter,” Gress said. He would not say what the union
offered.
For
its part, the board issued a statement just before midnight saying that “the
union’s final proposal continued to request compensation increases of more than
double the Consumer Price Index,” which they said is 1.5 percent for fiscal
year 2013 and 2.7 percent for fiscal year 2014.
“The
board is very disappointed,” the statement continued. “We feel that leaving
negotiations until the final hour is unfair to our students, parents and
community.”
The
union did not attend a Monday evening negotiation session.
LFEA
and school board negotiators went back to the bargaining table Tuesday night
following the regular District 115 Board of Education meeting. It was the first
negotiation session since Sept. 6.
A
standing-room-only crowd of parents, student athletes and community members
packed the District 115 Board of Education meeting. Several parents cited job
losses, pay cuts and foreclosures that have hit residents of the district as
reasons for their concern about pay increases the LFEA was requesting.
Negotiations
have been tense, sometimes nonexistent. Disgruntled taxpayers are fed up.
Parents are anxious about whether their kids will be in class.
Sound
like Chicago Public Schools?
Try
north suburban Lake Forest High School District 115, where teachers were headed
toward a possible walkout Wednesday, though the school board and union
representatives were still trying late Tuesday to come to terms to avert the
threatened strike.
"It's
the educational equivalent of 'War of the Roses' — and that didn't turn out so
well for anybody, did it?" said Peg Determan, a
Lake Forest mother of three.
"It's
a very difficult bargaining environment right now," said Tom Summers, a
director for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Hinsdale, which
helps districts and unions when they reach an impasse. "Everyone is being
very careful about what they agree to."
Federal
mediators have been called to Lake Forest, where the two sides have had trouble
agreeing on matters as small as which dates to meet, and to North Shore School
District 112, which covers Highland Park and Highwood. There, teachers have
been working without a contract since Aug. 21.
The
Lake Forest dispute has centered on pay, including a proposed two-tiered salary
structure. The average teacher in the district makes $106,500, compared with a
statewide average of about $65,000, but the union says new hires would make
less money over time than teachers already in the system.
While
the talks have been heated, Michael Petrilli of the
Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington-based advocacy group that favors
school choice, says the conspicuous absence of teacher evaluations and job
security as bargaining items in the suburbs highlights the vast difference
between circumstances there and in the city.
"In
Chicago, you have dwindling enrollment," he said. "You've got a
system with too much capacity, having to close buildings, kids leaving for
charter schools. There's a real possibility that teachers will lose their jobs.
That puts job security at the top of the list.
"Suburban
districts have been able to cherry-pick the best applicants for many years.
Chances are they have very strong teaching staffs. It's probably not a big
worry that they have to weed out the weak performers."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-teachers-strike-suburbs-20120912,0,3276944.story
A
standing-room-only crowd of parents, student athletes and community members
packed the District 115 Board of Education meeting. Several parents cited job
losses, pay cuts and foreclosures that have hit residents of the district as
reasons for their concern about pay increases the LFEA was requesting.
http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2531430&spid