One of D300's negotiators, Stevens estimated a plan to hire 32 new elementary teachers was worth $1.4 million by itself. He said a package including changes in salary, retirement incentives, professional certification and adjustments to health benefits had also been offered.
"In the past two meetings we have moved ahead," said Stevens but not as far as he'd hoped. According to Stevens, LEAD negotiators didn't respond Tuesday to the district's offers nor provide cost estimates for their own counteroffers. "I'm a little disappointed," he said.
Stevens, asked twice where the money would come from to pay for the increases he'd described, said "adjustments" could be made to offset some of the cost adding, "we'll be getting about $3 million more in 3 years from the Sears deal."
In the pic: D300 Board member and teachers' contract negotiator Joe Stevens
12 comments:
Love how the public can be held hostage by greedy unions.
UNBELIEVABLE IN THIS AGE OF ECONOMIC UNREST. "Adjustments could be made" to pay for this. Yeah right out of taxpayer pockets, once again!
It looks like the low life teachers win again. When will the school boards do their job correctly? They were not elected to allow teachers to take the last dollar out of the taxpayers pockets.Do any of these board members have spouses that are part of the thiefs like in D158?
Previous poster, what would you consider to be the "correct" way for the board to do their jobs? Would it be to simply say "no" which result in a strike? And if so, how long of a strike is considered "correct?"
NO!!!!!! "correct"
You know school boards are "doing their jobs" when teachers go on strike. They are trying to say "no", and the unions just want more. Mr Steven's acknowledged that they got no counteroffer, which means that the district is forced into bidding against itself.
Read up!
http://educationnext.org/strikephobia/
http://theunionlabelblog.com/2012/01/27/exposed-michigan-teachers-unions-troubling-playbook/
Teaching is about the kids; getting paid is about using kids.
one percent raises for anyone under 50k zero percent for anyone above 50k.
NO is the answer and then when they strike fire all of them. There are many that would take these jobs for the outlandish salaries and benefits for 9 months work.
Apparently none of you seem to know anything. If the teachers go on strike, they cannot be fired. A strike is allowed, under law, according to the IELRB. I think an informed person would seek both sides of the story - taking the side of just the board of education seems lazy and clearly shows ignorance.
Not at all ignorant or lazy. Unions don't strike for more work or less pay or fewer benefits. Rather they choose to walk away their jobs of educating kids for more pay more benefits, or less work - or any combination of the three.
PLEASE call me the next time a union strikes for less money or less benefits or more uncompensated time teaching kids.
Care to make a guess at how many of the 2012 teacher strikes were for lower compensation packages? Try a big fat ZERO!!
@Anonymous 4:52PM
Us taxpayers know more then you think. Beginning with the fact the LEAD300 teachers union is not accountable to the taxpayers of D300, the D300 school board is. And come April 9th, D300 Board Members Alessio, Roeckner and Board President Miller will face the voters if they want to keep their seats (whether Miller will run for a 5th term, Roeckner a 3rd term, and Alessio a 2nd elected term at this point is unknown).
And next, it appears D300 is being open with their contract negotiations as far as informing the taxpayers they are being generous. Going by this article alone, looks like LEAD300 is not being as transparent with the community. Understandable, since LEAD300 does not answer to the community, but only their membership.
The days of negotiating teacher contracts in the dark of night and obscured from the public ended back in 2006, when the D300 board said the last referendum would be the last one we taxpayers would see. Since teacher pay was an issue opponents raised back in 06, the D300 board has responded by shining the light of transparency on their negotiations with the teacher's union.
If LEAD300 union leadership are emboldened by the Chicago Teachers Union in their successful strike last month and are getting too uppish, I expect the D300 board to show more backbone and muscle to keep them in their place. Taking a strike vote back on October 14th after Board President Anne Miller levelled not only with LEAD300 but the public about what is at stake in the negotiations did not make a lot of friends in the D300 community for LEAD300.
We are watching very carefully, and I would advise LEAD300 leaders to take the latest offer from D300 and have their membership approve the new contract by mid-November.
The first day of their strike should be their last day of employment. Give me two months a year off and I promise I want complain. Enough is enough, if the don't like their working conditions then they can go find another job like everyone else has to do. These are not oppressed workers being denied a living wage, these are spoiled government employees.
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