Teacher Union Candidates Win in CL District 155

Here the results for the Crystal Lake District 155 High School Board race.

The top four on the ballot are those supported by the teacher union.

They all won.


From a taxpayer’s viewpoint, there is good news and bad news.

The bad news is that the teacher union will have people on both sides of the contract negotiating table.

The good news is that McHenry County Board member Donna Kurtz will remain on the County Board.


Comments

Teacher Union Candidates Win in CL District 155 — 24 Comments

  1. That stinks!

    When I last checked Donna was up 50 votes.

    I hoped that she would at least be a voice of reason.

  2. ugh. well, it was bound to happen.

    it takes a lot to stand up to an established, royally-funded teachers union.

    the school board is meant as a balance of power for the district, and it’s a shame to see it not function as intended.

    instead, they keep the power to keep doing what they’ve always done… bleachers… salaries higher than all districts around us… pay increases… uber pensions…

    i pray that they think a little bit about the #2 thing they touted in all of their propaganda… FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY.

    it’s likely all a lie (time will tell), but we have to keep reminding them of that.

  3. Again DA citizens love to pay pay and pay, instead of Voting out these types… we are all in trouble now.

    Time to move on to a town that cares… who is handling their $$…

  4. Time for a forensic audit of the Crystal Lake School Districts.

  5. It doesn’t matter who was elected. The problem in American politics is our false belief That all we have to do is show up and fill in the right oval every few years and everything will be fine.

    A democratic system of government by the people and for the people means that the PEOPLE have to be engaged ALL the time.

    I’m guilty of being complacent but far too many people are guilty of all out ignorance.

    This isn’t the end.

    Show up at school board meetings, demand a line item audit, and throw away the non-essentials.

    That includes excess property, excess admin, excess staff, programs, bloated salaries, pet projects, renovations, bleachers, and other spending that doesn’t support the mission of a school.

    WE pay the salaries and upkeep on 155, and WE can Make life hard until the powers that be fall in line, regardless of who they are.

  6. That is exactly right FreeSpeech2017 it will take a good number of people to stand up to them.

    One word of caution though, if you have children in the district, it will be very likely to see retaliation, one way or another, will come their way.

  7. Boy, all of you complainers crack me up.

    “Retaliation coming their way”?

    Paranoid, much?

    If the people commenting in this thread spent half as much time getting involved as they do whining, maybe things would be different.

    Maybe the “anti-tax” slate should have spent a few minutes (literally that’s all it would have taken) vetting Vetter and the outcome may have been different.

    Maybe if they did not choose a bunch of fools (notwithstanding Kurtz, who would have made a good pick), things would have been different.

    Let’s be real: the public saw the loser slate for what it was: inept on their best day.

    The best candidates won, hands down, and fairly.

    Let’s keep it up with the “poor me’s.”

    It cracks me up!

  8. Glad to see common sense won out in the end and that “tax fighter/cutter” smoke screen is in the rear window.

    Between multiple family members and a Twitter blowhard, I’m glad that a good block of voters saw through the shenanigans.

  9. Or maybe voters rejected disingenuous candidates with no real solutions

  10. Or maybe teacher unions, administrators, other school union employees, other school employees, their friends, and family disproportionately vote in spring “off year” school board / municipal elections, as those elections feature no Governor or Presidential contests.

    ++++++++++

    In school board elections, the teacher unions are the dominant player, not the Republican party, or the Democrat party for that matter.

    Teacher unions disproportionately support Democrats at the State and Federal level.

  11. As long as the unions have the upper hand on striking for more pay, school boards are screwed. And cutting a budget by 10% doesn’t do any magical good. The district still has to pay per the contract. Immediate 10% cuts only harm kids programs and opportunities to excel, which is a dumb solution.

  12. Do you own property that you pay property taxes on, Chico? Are you worried about the disproportionate amount of property taxes that are levied by district 155?

  13. There are various counters to a strike.

    If the union takes a strike vote, post the annual pay and pensions of the teachers for their entire career.

    ++++++++++++++++

    In a District such as CHSD 155, if one were to scrutinize the budget, there is almost certainly cuts that can be made while not violating the collective bargaining agreement.

    When it comes time to negotiate the agreement, most school district collective bargaining agreement negotiations are not done in a manner that provides adequately represents the taxpayer.

    For example, immediately ending the 6% end of career pay hikes would not harm kids programs and would not harm kids opportunities to excel.

    6$ end of career pay hikes spikes the pension, which is especially egregious given the TRS pension system is around 40% funded (severely underfunded), and the benefits have repeatedly been hiked over the years, and the pension system has always been underfunded.

  14. Yes, I own property in CL, thanks.

    The 6% career sunset provisions are a calamity, I agree. But I suspect that it isn’t a magical wave of the wand to make it disappear in a CBA. There’s got to be a significant giveback. Having bargained other union contracts, that kind of concession is “YUGE”, so how do you propose making it go away? Public shaming doesn’t work.

  15. Explain the situation to the public on a website.

    Post their career salaries so people can see the pay hikes (which taxpayers funded).

    Post for every single employee their projected pensions with and without the 6% through their life expectancy.

    For all the retirees, post the pay and pension history.

    Post the pension is around 40% funded.

    Put it all on a website.

    There does not have to be a give back.

    They are more than well compensated with a Cadillac pension that is severely underfunded.

    Other school districts have already phased out the 6%.

    Home values have declined.

    Property taxes are high.

    Compare their salaries and pensions to surrounding midwest states in “comparable” school districts.

  16. Don’t see a 6% end of career pay hike in the CHSD 155 collective bargaining agreement.

    Seems like it was replaced with a post retirement (non pensionable) bonus.

    There are a few other options including as a modified early retirement option (MERO) where the board picks up the teacher penalty.

    There post retirement bonus is 20% salary bonus to those without any TRS incurred early retirement penalty, provided a few criteria is met.

    There are plenty of other perks in “Article V: Compensation”

    There is board paid trs (pension pickup) of 4.2%.

    The Board contributes .5000% to THIS health insurance.

    etc.

    Also can’t just look at the salary chart.

    The majority of teachers receive some other compensation be it in the form of an athletic stipend, activities stipend, division leadership, internal substitution, etc.

    There is tuition reimbursement up until masters is earned (teachers receive a substantial pay bump upon achieving a masters degree).

    etc.

  17. So 155 has the highest salaries in the area?

    They also have the best test scores, highest college attendance rate and superb extracurricular programs. Ask any realtor.

    Good schools are important.

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