Schools

District 155 Teachers, Supporters Pack Board of Education Meeting

Hundreds turn out to District 155 Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night in Crystal Lake.

Teachers and their supporters packed the District 155 School Board meeting Tuesday night at Crystal Lake Central High School.

District 155 moved the regularly scheduled board meeting to the Central High School auditorium, at 45 W. Franklin Ave., in anticipation of a larger audience.

Members of the District 155 Education Association held an informational picket outside the school from 6 to 7 p.m. in the cold, dark night. By the start of the meeting at 7:30 p.m., it was difficult to find a parking space at the school due to the large turnout. 

Supporters Speak on Behalf of Teachers

After the board's regular business was conducted, 14 members of the community addressed the board. Twelve of the speakers - who included parents, former students, former teachers and current District 155 teacher - spoke on behalf of the teachers' cause.

"When you value something, you support it," Patricia Theodore, a District 155 graduate told the board. "The board is sending contradicting messages regarding its finances."

Michael Williamson, a Crystal Lake Central graduate from the 1990s and current employee of Community Unit School District 300, warned board members they were traveling the same course as District 300 last year when its teachers opted to strike.

"You are moving toward a strike," Williamson said. "It is my view that this board is being disingenuous....Don't send your teachers out to strike. Work with them. It is your obligation, and we as taxpayers demand it."

Cary Resident Urges Caution

Cary resident and former Cary Elementary District 26 board member Christopher Spoerl was one of only two people speaking on the other side of the issue.

Spoerl pointed out similarities between District 26's troubled financial status only a few years ago when it found itself on the brink of being taken over by the state.

"You must avoid making the same mistake that District 26 made," Spoerl said. "Do not agree to an unaffordable contract. If you feel you need to, you need to have a plan. How are you going to get out of it? ....You don't want to have to make the same type of cuts District 26 did. Balanced budgets are for the students of tomorrow."

One speaker at the Tuesday night meeting noted the eroding trust and rising resentment between the District 155 Board and the teachers union. 

Board President Ted Wagner stressed to the teachers - most of whom were wearing red District 155 Teachers Association t-shirts in a show of solidarity - that the board is appreciative and proud of its staff and schools.

Board member Dave Secrest added to that sentiment, and stressed that the board can't lose sight of serving the students, not only in the present, but in the future.

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"We have to not only look at the students who have been here, who are here, but who will be here in the future," Secrest said. 

"This board has always been as generous as it can be....But we don't know what the future holds. Those nice reserves can be eaten up in heart beat... and we want to make sure we can maintain the same standards. At the end of the day, we're all in this together." 

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Both sides will hold another negotiations session this week. 

Teachers Approved Strike Vote

The 440 members of the District 155 Education Association have been working without a contract since July 1. Both the school district and the teachers union have filed their own impasse offers with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB). 

Those offers will be made public on the IELRB website in a few days. However, District 155 has posted both proposals on its website for the community's viewing. To see the site, click here:  www.d155.org/negotiations.

The teachers union has created its own informational website, as well. To visit that site, click here: District 155 Education Association website. 

Both proposals include step increases (pay raises given to teachers based on years of service) for the next three years. 

Contract Dispute: Difference in TRS Contribution 

However, District 155's final contract offer includes considerable changes to its contribution to the teachers' retirement plans. The district wants to give 74 percent to the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) the first year in the contract, 53 percent the second year, and only 32 percent the third year. 

The teachers argue a contribution decrease means they would be getting less money on their paychecks - a cut in pay, if you will - as they would have to make up the difference. 

The union is asking to maintain TRS terms of the current contract, with District 155 paying the majority of the TRS contribution. 

Earlier this month, 99.4 percent of union members voted in favor of a strike authorization vote. The strike authorization allows the teachers' negotiating team to call a strike - if teachers opt to - once the requirements of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act are met. 


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