Gress contends that based on student
test scores, Lake Forest teacher salaries should be higher and compete with
those paid at high schools such as Stevenson in Lincolnshire. Documents filed
by the Lake Forest teachers union show total average pay raises this year will
be 4.53 percent at Stevenson District 125.
You
want to compete, teach? See if anyone else will hire you when you get fired.
...How
touching teachers are concerned that the district remain competitive, as they
walk out on the kids, who compete every day, whether it be sports or academics.
http://backyardconservative.blogspot.com/2012/09/lake-forest-school-board-may-replace.html
Now,
that I’ve solved CPS’ problems, let’s look at Lake Forest, home to some of the
wealthiest people in Illinois and the midwest,
if not the nation. I’m a white, midwestern born girl
with a degree from Northwestern and an MBA, too. But on the odd occasion that I
get lost and end up there, I know I’m “not in Kansas anymore.” This is the land
of really, really white, rich people. Their teachers are striking for raises
(they worked a year on a one-year contract that included a salary freeze) and
benefits. Do I feel sorry for Lake Forest homeowners? No. Their school board is
whining about property taxes. Boo hoo. Fork it over,
you 1%ers. They even had the gall to tell their teachers that they should
accept their salary as is because of the posh teaching environments in which
they work. Yes, they have air conditioning, as opposed to many CPS classrooms.
But the Lake Forest teachers also have families to support after they spend the
day teaching the future a-holes of America and dealing with A-hole Sr. and his
trophy wife (or, A-hole and her trophy husband, let’s not be discriminating).
“We’re
going to be here until the board understands that we are serious,” said Chuck Gress of the Lake Forest Education Association union. “We
want a fair and equitable contract.”
And
their war of words is heating up, with the union accusing the board of lying
about which side is holding up negotiations.
The
teachers, whose salaries were frozen last year in a one-year contract, “took
one for the team last year in hopes that the economic climate would improve,
and it did,” said spokesman Chuck
Gress.
http://sync.democraticunderground.com/10021333457
Mollie
Blahunka, 17, of Lake Bluff, brought some cookies to her teachers before
crossing the picket line to go to rehearsal for the play “Wild Dust,” which
runs Oct. 18 through Oct. 20. She is the student director and she said the
teachers knew that she is committed.
“They
understand,” she said and they were very appreciative of the chocolate chip and
vegan oatmeal raisin cookies that she brought to the picket line Wednesday
morning.
Chuck
Gress, spokesman for the Lake Forest Education
Association, said teachers, too, were disappointed.
“We
were willing to stay all night and talk, but they dug in their heels,” he said,
adding that the last contract was hammered out in an all-night session that
ended at 5:30 a.m. a few years ago. Teachers voted 104-33 to go on strike.
The
union has also filed unfair labor practice charges against District 115 for
changing the school calendar, among other issues, that made Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday teacher institute days.
And
while the school administration points out the average teacher salary in
District 115 is more than $100,000, Gress says the
fact that 25 percent of the teachers will retire in the next four years the
average is higher because those teachers are at top of scale.
“Ninety-nine
percent of the teachers have a master’s degree or higher,” he said. “The
average teacher salary is very misleading.”
He
said people can go to Lakeforestteacher.com and see the side by side proposals.
“We
want to get this over. It’s very painful. We could end this if the board would
compromise,” said Gress. “They forced our hand and
that’s why we are here.”
http://lakeforest.suntimes.com/15102922-781/striking-lake-forest-teachers-cheered-jeered.html
Greg
Simmons, co-chairman of the Lake Forest Education Association's action
committee, addressed the teachers Wednesday afternoon as picketing outside the
school was ending for the day. He stood in front of a banner supplied by two
educators from Chicago Public Schools, where teachers have been on strike since
Monday.
"Realistically,
we are going to be here (Thursday). Realistically, we are going to be here
Friday. ... We're going to be here awhile," said Simmons, adding that the
strike -- the first in Lake Forest High School District 115's history -- could
continue next week.
A
spokesman for the Illinois High School Association confirmed that a district
official had inquired about whether this week's school days could be marked as
teacher institute days so that sports matches could go on as scheduled. The
IHSA said that wasn't permissible.
"We
are very disappointed with this decision as we believe it is in the best
interest of our students to continue scheduled activities," said school
board President Sharon Golan.
As
Chicago teachers inch closer to a contract agreement to end their strike,
teachers from Lake Forest high school plan for a second day on picket lines.
No
contract talks are scheduled between the teachers and school board, and
according to Lake Forest Education Association spokesman Chuck Gress, the strike could last into next week.
Despite
nearly seven and a half hours of negotiation, the Lake Forest Education
Association (LFEA) and the District 115 Board of Education failed to reach an
agreement on Thursday to end its two-day strike.
The
Board and the union did agree to submit the two-tiered salary schedule to a
board and faculty committee, and they also agreed to ease in the HMO insurance
change, the board said in a statement. However, the sides could not agree on a
salary increase.
Tom
Gigiano, LFEA lead negotiator, said in a statement
Thursday evening: "We are disappointed in the Board, but hope that we can
come to a fair and equitable contract soon and get back to teaching. We know
that you have heard this before, but again, again, the LFEA made a new
financial offer, and again, the evening ended with no change in the proposal
from the Board."
http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/lfea-and-the-board-of-education-fail-to-reach-an-agreement
The
Lake Forest High School Teacher's Union and School Board will be meeting today
at the West Campus at 2 p.m. to continue the negotiations that led to this
week's strike.
"The
Board is pleased that the Union has agreed to meet with us," said School
Board President Sharon Golan.
"After
waiting for more than 39 hours to hear the Board's response to our last offer,
the LFEA looks foward to substantial negotiations at
2 p.m. today. We will continue to work toward a Fair and Equitable Contract
Agreement," said Tom Gigiano, lead negotiator of
the Lake Forest Education Association, via a statement on the Lake Forest
Teacher website.
http://lakeforest.patch.com/articles/breaking-news-union-and-board-to-meet
"Our
teachers tried to explain all of this to us in their point of view," said
Cecilia Rasgado, a junior at LFHS. "It's very
personal to them. … One of my teachers told us that in the past, his friends
have stood up for something and he was very inspired by them."
"After
hearing a lot of points of views, I feel like I understand why they see [the
strike] as a good thing," Clare Martin, also a junior, added. "But
also, it's our junior year and it's one of the most important years of high
school, academically. It's taken a toll on us as individuals, so it's been
hard."
"I
hope they don't get upset whatever the verdict is, and they don't just pile on
homework," said Farah Hasahim, a sophomore at
LFHS. "I know that [Advanced Placement] classes have a certain amount of
stuff that they have to squeeze in."
LFHS
students will have to make up the time missed during the strike later in the
academic year.
Lizzie
Anderson, a sophomore at LFHS, noted that the strike has already begun to take
a toll on students.
"There's a lot of rumors going around," Anderson said.
"The first day, we were just happy we had a day off. If it goes on awhile,
it will get very stressful to catch up."
Meg
Martin agreed with Anderson, adding: "We haven't had a full week of school
yet. I'm having trouble getting into the swing of things."
Both
sides agreed to meet at 9 a.m. Friday morning to resume talks. There will be no
school.
“We’re
going to keep going until we have that fair contract,” Peter Lubliner said.
For
the first time in school history, high school District 115 teachers walked
picket lines.
The
150 teachers walked out because of a two-tier wage system that union
representatives said would reduce the quality of teachers that get hired, as
well as other salary issues.
Students
and parents are also concerned about the effect on athletic games and other
extracurricular events. A field hockey game Wednesday against North Shore rival
New Trier High School was canceled, and Friday night's football game against
Lake Zurich is among coming events in question.
Lake
Forest High School and its teachers union have broken off contract talks today
with no agreement in sight to end a 3-day-old strike.
That
sets the stage for Lake Forest High School District 115 to move forward with
its plan, announced earlier Friday, to reopen school Monday with administrators
and community volunteers providing instruction – even if teachers remain on
strike.
Signaling
that the sides could be moving farther apart, the district also announced it
has filed unfair labor practice claims against the union over its tactics. Last
Monday, the union filed unfair labor practices claims against the district.
The
school board also said it has offered to defer a two-tiered salary schedule
that’s been a sticking point but that teachers are still holding out for raises
of 5 to 6.5 percent per year.
If
no deal is reached by Monday, the exact nature of the academic program the
district will offer to students on Monday is not clear. District 115 spokeswoman Anne Whipple said district administrators will
provide instruction, while volunteers from the community have been recruited to
help.
The
regional schools superintendent will be on hand to monitor the situation and
determine if the school day can be counted as an official attendance day.
Several
parents have said that the district has reached out to them, asking for volunteers
to help oversee the academic program.
The
strike by teachers in Lake Forest will be heading into its third day Friday.
Sharon
Golan spoke to Bruce Wolf and Dan Proft on the
"Don and Roma Show" on 89 WLS Thursday.
"We
have a contingency plan and we expect our students to be all in attendance come
Monday,” said Golan.
Golan
says every year Lake Forest turns away thousands of people who want to teach
there.
Lake
Forest teachers make an average of $107,000 per year.
Yesterday
a group of parents staged a counter-protest demanding that the teachers return
to work.
After
WLS broke the news this morning that Lake Forest might hire replacement
teachers, Union Spokesman Chuck Gress canceled an
interview he had agreed to with Bruce Wolf and Dan Proft
on "The Don and Roma Show". Greff told a
WLS producer, "we're not doing it", without offering an explanation.
http://www.wlsam.com/Article.asp?id=2532328&spid