McHenry County Blog

Larry Snow

“While Democrats say Teachers ‘Have Kept Their Part of the Deal?’“

is the title of an April 5, 2011, article by former Huntley School District 158 Board member Larry Snow.  (The quote was in the Chicago Tribune Marcy 31, 2011.  It is from Executive Director Dick Ingram of Teachers’ Retirement System.)

The article was published in “The Champion” with this teaser:

“82,981 of 132,502 Illinois Teachers Pay Nothing or Little into Their Pensions“

That’s 63% of all teachers in Illinois.

The State Journal-Register is reporting that State Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-Orland Park) is promoting a bill where state and local governments would all pay six percent of payroll toward employee pensions.

In a revealing sentence in reporter Chris Wetterich’s article, he writes,

“What’s unclear is how much more employees themselves would have to pay.“

Because no one has done the research except, I believe, the Illinois Education Association and Snow, how much extra teachers would have to pay if their so-called contribution rate was raised from 9.4% to 13.77% is a really good question.

While not covering every school district in Illinois, Snow did research the teachers’ contracts for all of the large school districts (by law all are supposed to be on the internet) in order to find out how much teachers pay in order to get a “full 75 percent pension after working only 27 years.” He points out, “Most adults work for 27 years before they turn age 50.”

As way of background, Snow notes that teachers are not in the Social Security System and, therefore, are not forced to pay Social Security taxes.

“Ordinary workers get hit with a 6.2 percent deduction for Social Security,” Snow writes. “It’s a deduction they have to pay federal and state income taxes on.

“Democrats gave teachers a huge loophole of not paying income taxes on any of their pension deductions” he continues. “This enormous no-tax handout to teachers amounts to billions of dollars each year.”

Snow’s research leads him to this conclusion:

“Over 51,000 of the total 132,502 teachers in Illinois contribute nothing from their K-12 paychecks into their pensions. Illinois law says it is to be 9.4 percent.

“About an additional 32,000 teachers pay little into their pensions. It is 1.81 percent to be precise for these 31,956 teachers.“

How many teachers pay not a dime toward their retirement?

51,025 teachers in 186 school districts pay nothing for retirement benefits.

They “don’t pay a penny into the 9.4 percent called out by Illinois law.

“There are a total of 868 districts in Illinois.

“The pay-zero teachers listed are 39 percent of all teachers in Illinois,” Snow reveals.

No agency in state government seems to keep track of this information.

Not the Downstate Teachers Retirement Fund, which boldly and incorrectly claims,

“Active TRS members are required to contribute 9.4 percent of their creditable earnings each year…”

The State Board of Education doesn’t keep track either.

My guess is that only the Illinois Education Association has a matrix showing what school districts have given what benefits in contract negotiations.

Snow discovered this about Lockport:

“…on page 14 of the Lockport Township HS 205 teachers contract it reads:

1. The Board will pay the current level of retirement contribution to the Teachers Retirement System of Illinois.”
2. It is expressly understood that figures appearing on this salary schedule include a sum equal to the current level of TRS contribution of the base salary of each Teacher which is, in fact, payable to the Teachers’ Retirement System on the Teacher’s behalf.”

“The ISBE report shows this board paying nothing. A Democrat bureaucracy doesn’t check the teachers contracts to see if what is reported, matches what’s in writing.”

And, if legislation is passed requiring 4.37 percentage points more, how long do you think it will take Lockport taxpayers to pick up the difference?

Given that local teachers’ unions pretty much control school boards wherever they are elected (read everywhere but Chicago), my guess is will be on the top of the collective bargaining list.

Do you wonder if Rep. McCarthy knows that?

Is his proposal just a setting up local taxpayers for an even bigger fall?

Five years from now will 39% of teachers still be paying nothing for their pensions?

Even better for teachers is that this pension payment ups their pension payments.

Take a look at the chart below.  Chances are your school district is on it.

Chart of Pension Contributions by 82,981 District Teachers of 132,502 Total Illinois K-12 Teachers

Name of District	No. of Teachers	Percent of Pension Contributed by Teachers
Thornton Twp 205	428	Zero
Proviso 209	281	Zero
Waukegan 60	1,098	Zero
Morton 201	455	Zero
Kankakee 111	348	Zero
Joliet 204	340	Zero
Round Lake 116	387	Zero
Rockford	1,843	Zero
Decatur 61	454	Zero
Crete Monee	340	Zero
Danville 118	382	Zero
Valley View 365	1,068	Zero
Aurora West 129	706	Zero
East Peoria 309	69	Zero
Galesburg	281	Zero
Bremen 228	313	Zero
Freeport	317	Zero
Leyden 212	219	Zero
Elgin U-46	2,332	Zero
Rock Island	388	Zero
Mattoon	225	Zero
Collinsville	394	Zero
Massac 1	143	Zero
Sterling	219	Zero
Belvidere	531	Zero
Quincy	436	Zero
Dixon	179	Zero
West Chicago	248	Zero
Cook County 130	289	Zero
Cicero 99	738	Zero
Joliet 86	617	Zero
Harvey 152	163	Zero
Crystal Lake 155	412	Zero
Crystal Lake 47	564	Zero
Wheeling 21	489	Zero
Champaign 4	717	Zero
United CUSD 304	68	Zero
Riverdale 100	76	Zero
Reed Custer 255	114	Zero
Wilmington 209U	84	Zero
United Township 30	90	Zero
Summit Hill 161	213	Zero
Plainfield	1,695	Zero
Schiller Park 81	98	Zero
Dolton 149	176	Zero
Township 211 Palatine	799	Zero
Ball Chatham 5	248	Zero
Taylorville 3	152	Zero
Williamsville 15	81	Zero
Harrisburg 3	130	Zero
Belleville 201	281	Zero
Dupo 196	76	Zero
O’Fallon 203	145	Zero
O’Fallon 90	207	Zero
Rochester 3A	142	Zero
Pekin 108	248	Zero
Morton 709	175	Zero
New Lenox 122	287	Zero
Frankfort 157	158	Zero
Marion 2	219	Zero
Carterville 5	110	Zero
Kinnikinnick 131	122	Zero
Tolono 7	116	Zero
Mahomet-Seymour 3	161	Zero
Champaign 4	717	Zero
Urbana	346	Zero
Charleston 1	180	Zero
Park Ridge 64	319	Zero
Evanston 202	222	Zero
Maine HSD 207	508	Zero
Arlington Heights 214	753	Zero
Niles 219	350	Zero
Berkeley 87	165	Zero
Berwyn South	263	Zero
Lyons 204	239	Zero
Lemont 113	144	Zero
Palatine 15	713	Zero
Schaumburg 54	1,003	Zero
Oak Lawn 123	203	Zero
Oak Lawn 229	114	Zero
CHSD 230 Orland Park	519	Zero
Argo 217	111	Zero
Homewood 233	174	Zero
Genoa 424	137	Zero
Sycamore 427	231	Zero
Dekalb 428	362	Zero
Lombard 44	216	Zero
Downers Grove 58	277	Zero
Hinsdale 86	296	Zero
Elmhurst 205	538	Zero
Naperville 203	1,063	Zero
Effingham 40	176	Zero
Canton Union 66	175	Zero
Morris 54	61	Zero
Morris 101	50	Zero
Coal City 1	138	Zero
Jersey 100	164	Zero
Central CUSD 301	224	Zero
Kaneland 302	275	Zero
St. Charles 303	880	Zero
Cahokia	298	0.4
Chicago Public Schools	23,219	2
Peoria 150	988	0.4
Springfield	1,105	0.4
Moline 40	461	0.4
Harvard	149	0.87
Dolton 148	236	1.4
Belleville 118	228	0.4
Pekin 303	125	0.4
Hononegah 207	118	0.4
Arlington Heights 59	444	3
Leyden 212	219	0.4
Summit 104	103	0.4
Palos 118	130	0.4
CHSD 219 Orland Park	519	0.4
Bensenville 2	145	1.4
DuPage 88	266	0.4
CHSD 94	122	0.9
CUSD 300	1,189	4.4
Hawthorn 73	253	1.4
Lake Forest 115	132	0.4
Wauconda 118	273	0.4
Johnsburg 12	158	0.4
Cary 26	192	4.9
Woodstock 200	385	1.4
Keeneyville 20	107	0.4
Winnebago 323	117	0.4
LaSalle-Peru Twp. 120	88	0.7
Prairie-Hills 144	187	0.4
Geneva 304	367	Zero
Herscher 2	126	Zero
Manteno 5	160	Zero
Bourbonnais 53	160	Zero
Bradley 61	103	Zero
Bradley Bourbonnais 307	114	Zero
Momence 1	88	Zero
Yorkville 115	329	Zero
Plano 88	154	Zero
Oswego 308	827	Zero
Streator 44	132	Zero
Ottawa 141	140	Zero
Ottawa 140	102	Zero
Glenview 34	343	Zero
Zion 6	177	Zero
Grayslake 46	266	Zero
Elmwood Park 401	181	Zero
Libertyville 70	159	Zero
North Shore 112	374	Zero
HSD 113 Highland Park	249	Zero
Grant 124	91	Zero
Zion-Benton 126	156	Zero
Evanston 65	547	Zero
Grayslake 127	187	Zero
Meridian 15	64	Zero
Mt. Zion 3	133	Zero
Edwardsville 7	480	Zero
Alton 11	467	Zero
Macomb 185	130	Zero
McHenry 15	282	Zero
McHenry 156	158	Zero
Nippersink 2	92	Zero
Columbia 4	111	Zero
Waterloo 5	166	Zero
Hillsboro 3	114	Zero
Meridian 223	113	Zero
Illinois Valley Central 321	139	Zero
Carbondale 165	76	Zero
Carbondale 95	105	Zero
Riverton 14	85	Zero
Auburn 10	90	Zero
Pawnee 11	47	Zero
Panhandle 2	35	Zero
Sullivan 300	75	Zero
Centralia 135	93	Zero
Litchfield 12	83	Zero
Harlem 122	505	Zero
Granite City 9	617	Zero
Princeton 115	86	Zero
Princeton 500	43	Zero
Bond County 2	120	Zero
Duquoin CUSD 300	101	Zero
Rocton 140	102	Zero
Rochelle Twp. HSD 212	71	Zero
Rochelle CCSD 231	131	Zero
Byron 226	127	Zero
Oregon 220	104	Zero
Farmington Central 265	85	Zero
Porta 202	75	Zero
River Bend 2	71	Zero
Red Bud 132	73	Zero
Sparta 140	105	Zero
Southwestern 9	107	Zero
Staunton 6	87	Zero
Gillespie 7	81	Zero
Hamilton County 10	83	Zero
Midwest Central 191	85	Zero
Tuscola 301	86	Zero
West Carroll 314	99	Zero
Oakwood 76	64	Zero
Hoopeston 11	94	Zero
Westville 2	80	Zero
Beardstown 15	98	Zero
El Paso-Gridley 11	99	Zero
Murphysboro 186	137	Zero
Monticello 25	111	Zero
Paris-Union 95	74	Zero
Mt. Vernon Twp. 210	80	Zero
Mt. Vernon 80	109	Zero
Jasper County 1	101	Zero
Steger 194	128	Zero
Calumet City 155	77	Zero
North Boone 200	116	Zero
CCSD 93 Carol Stream	294	Zero
East Maine SD 63	254	Zero
Lockport Township HS 205	205	Zero
Above Teachers Total	82,981

Although they are not going to be put in the mail until Friday, McHenry County Treasurer Bill LeFew’s web site has tax bills on the internet already.

At least they were when I tried about an hour ago.

I’m getting nothing when I try now.

The first screen on the McHenry County Treasurer's web site. One is supposed to be able to click on the top center button and get to a page where one can type in a person's name or address or Property Identification number and pull up the tax bill. I am told that once one reaches that page to put in less information than is requested. The zip code isn't needed, for example. I live on Meridian Street, but just typed the number and "Mer" and it worked. Must be too many people trying to access their tax bills now.

Here’s the place to go.

From the 2010 4th of July Parade in Crystal Lake.

I have done some Crystal Lake area comparisons and found two tax districts which bit the bullet and asked for the same amount of money this year as they got last year.

Drum roll, please.

Calculating from a neighbor’s tax bill, the tax districts worthy of praise in this trying economy are

• Crystal Lake High School District 155
• Crystal Lake Park District
• City of Crystal Lake

Their bills this year are about as close as one can come. All three are with hundredths of a percent of last year’s bills.

On the bill I examined, District 155 amounted to 25% of the total, while the park district was 4.6%.

From a percentage point of view, the booby prizes go to

• Lakewood for sticking its hands in taxpayers’ pockets to take an extra 10.7%
• Algonquin Township Road District, with an increase of 8.2%
• Crystal Lake Grade School District 47, which increased its tax take by 6.6%

Lakewood takes almost 14% of its Algonquin Township’s residents tax dollars.

The Algonquin Township Road District takes little in dollars, less than 2%. Excluding pensions half of the amount collected within municipal boundaries goes for city and village streets.

The Crystal Lake Grade School District, on the other hand, is the biggest part local ta bills.

Over 38% of the total. A six percent high is real money. $328 on the real estate tax bill from which the calculations in this article are based.

There was no election competition for the park district and high school boards. Maybe if there had been campaigns, the incumbents on the ballot would have bragged about being in tune with the economic times.

The high school board did have a citizens’ group looking at it, however. It’s called GAND Community Advocates. The “GAND” stands for the Grafton, Algonquin, Nunda and Dorr Townships in which most of District 155 lies). District 47 covers parts of the same townships. The group is now trying to bird dog the high school teachers’ union contract negotiations, but the school board is unwilling to make any details public.

No one running for the grade school board had any literature. If anyone was paying attention to what that taxing entity does besides its employees, it would be hard to document. One candidate lost; the others on the ballot won.

In Lakewood, an appointed incumbent lost for a two-year term. Taxes did seem to be an issue.

There are three types of school districts in Illinois--Unit Districts, which educate K-12, Grade School Districts (K-8), and High School Districts (9-12).

School districts take most of our property tax dollars.

It is fair to compare unit districts to unit districts.

These are how all schools were originally.

During the run-up to the 1870 Constitutional Convention, there was tremendous borrowing by local and state governments. It was the era of canals, but the railroads came quickly and made them unprofitable.

And that left lots of debt.

There were two reactions embodied in the 1870 State Constitution:

• state government was prohibited from selling bonds without passage of a statewide referendum
• local governments were prohibiting from borrowing more than 5% of their assessed valuation

Eventually, local tax districts like schools decided that 5% limit was too strict.

They asked the General Assembly to allow them to create more tax districts so they could borrow more.

By splitting unit districts into dual districts–grade and high school districts–an area could borrow twice as much money.

You can see what parts of McHenry County took advantage of that end run around the 1870 Constitution.

If you add a grade school rate to its high school rate, you will generally see a higher total tax rate than for surrounding unit school districts.

Because a high school teacher, State Rep. Gene Hoffman (R-DuPage County) pretty much wrote the 1973 Resource Equalizer State Aid to Education legislation, high schools ended up with a larger share of the financial assistance from state government than elementary schools.

That pretty much explains why high school teachers are paid more than grade school teachers…unless the elementary school teachers are in unit districts. In the latter case, the pay is equalized across grades.

If you look at the changes in the tax rates above and realize that probably all school districts are under their statutory tax rate limit, the reason comes to light.

Tax districts are limited by the Property Tax Cap (PRELL, as the professional tax folks call it) in what they can take from taxpayers.

They can get what they got last year, plus any increase in the Consumer Price Index, plus assessed valuation resulting from new growth or the end of a Tax Increment Financing district.

Virtually all tax districts levy to the max, arguing that, if they don’t they will “lose” that money forever.

By their very use of that rhetoric, one can see that they are not on the taxpayers’ side.

If they retained a taxpayers’ viewpoint, the “lost” tax dollars would be described as money the taxpayers would “save.”

So, most follow the taxeaters’ primal urge and tax to the max.

You will note that of the high school district that increased its rate the least was Crystal Lake’s.  Thanks might be offered to the Grafton-Algonquin-Nunda-Dorr Community Advocates. (GAND for short).  They pushed for not taking the max.

And the District 155 School Board actually listened and followed GAND’s advice.

The district whose rate increased the most was Huntley School District 158.  That’s because its board took as much as was possible.

Grafton Township, where most of the district’s assessed valuation is located, saw property values plunge more than anywhere else in McHenry County.  The housing bubble of the 1990′s and beyond just burst.

This is an interactive map in the original. (See link below.) Just click on an area and you will see how property values fared over the last year.

According to a Chicago Tribune analysis, prices decreased 14% in just the last year.  Note that the Barrington area had a similar drop in home values and its tax rate jumped almost as much as Huntley’s

Remembering the reciprocal formula, when assessed valuation goes down, tax rates must go up to raise the same amount of money.

Districts used to brag that their rates were going down.  What they didn’t tell you was that was not because of any local decision.  It was mandated by the 1992 Property Tax Cap legislation.

You will see no press releases from school districts or municipalities this year, just as you didn’t last year.  As was reported yesterday, the tax rates for all cities and villages in McHenry County, but Richmond, went up.

As far as grade school rates go, Crystal Lake’s increased the most–13.9%.

Richmond-Burton High School District 157 won the “prize” for increasing its tax rate more than any other high school district.

The Northwest Herald’s Brett Rowland wrote a thought-provoking article published Sunday about how Crystal Lake Grade School District 47 has had fewer and fewer students after 2007.

Down from 9,124 to 8,359. Down 765 students.

So, there seems to be excess capacity. Looks like at least one school too much from the grade school sizes listed below this article. They run from 438 students at South to 714 at Glacier Ridge.

Cary faced a similar situation and has closed one school already. District 26 is also considering closing a second.

Let’s think about what school might be closed in Crystal Lake.

We’re talking elementary schools here.

Without comparing capacity with enrollment, I’ve been thinking about what school might be the most advantageous to be closed.

Age has to be one factor considered.

Husmann Elementary School from McHenry Avenue

The oldest is Husmann Elementary School.

Husmann Grade School and the Crystal Lake Library from Paddock Street.

That’s the school across from the library.

South Elementary School

The second oldest is South Elementary School. It was built it the 1950′s.

As I thought about how the schools could be re-used, the best senior citizen project I have ever seen came to mind.

Parkside Manor in Belvidere

It’s Parkside Manor in Belvidere. I found it in 1972 when I was going door-to-door for state representative. The units were efficiencies and each one faced on green space.

South School wouldn’t match the bucolic setting, but Cress Creek, which goes through pipes under the playgrounds of South Grade and Lundahl Middle School could be uncovered and naturalized, as was a stream flowing through the farm where Sun City was constructed.

Cress Creek as it leaves Crystal Lake has quite a flow in this picture.

Taking it out of the pipe might help the periodic flooding problem, too.

And, part of the school overlooks the Dole Mansion grounds.

As an added bonus, the Crystal Lake Park District’s Main Beach is within easy walking distance.

In short, the building could be renovated for efficiency apartments. A number of the rooms already have running water.

After parents' cars have filled the parking places at South, the only place to wait is on Nash Road. District 47 has spent no money to improve the problem, unlike improvements made to Husmann and West Grade Schools.

South also is the least parent pick-up friendly. It is the only grade school were parents picking up or dropping off kids must do so on the street. Undoubtedly, a apartment developer would figure out a way to put a circular driveway, complete with parking, in front of the school similar to West School’s.

Husmann as seen from the entrance to the Crystal Lake Library.

Historic Husmann, the original high school which is named after grade school principal John Husmann who refused promotion to superintendent because he wanted to stay with the children, should be saved for historic reasons.

Besides possibilities for parking spaces on lots of the asphalt playground area, there is a lot and drive -through to the east and a separate lot across Franklin Street.

It has had major additions constructed, has adequate parking possibilities (including the lot across the street where the old, architecturally unique pump house was leveled to provide more spaces).

The front entrance also has a sloping sidewalk, where it was accessible only up steps before.

Because there are numerous people my age in town who grew up here, this location’s walking distance proximity to Downtown Crystal Lake might prove appealing.

The Bluesniks played at Duke O'Brien's one recent April Saturday night. The band consists of Tony Biell, Piano & Hammond organ; Mike Bakalar, vocals and harp; Joe Kay, guitar; Jim Cheatle, drums; Mitch Goldman, tumptet; Robb Calabro, saxophone. They are worth hearing. The next public venue is June 19th at Kiefs Reef in McHenry.

It might even prove appealing to younger folks, given the entertainment district that has taken root downtown.

There is another possibility for part or all of the building.

Its basement was the first Crystal Lake Library.

The north side of Crystal Lake's Public Library with newest addition on right.

Could some or all of the other floors be strong enough to hold books?

Could parts of the library occupy Husmann?

The other grade schools are not located where immediate adaptive re-use comes to mind.

Maybe readers will have some thoughts.
= = = = =
The population of each of District 47′s schools follow:

• Canterberry – 500
• Coventry- 519
• Glacier Ridge – 714
• Husmann- 641
• Indian Prairie – 606
• North – 679
• South – 438
• West – 697
• Woods Creek – 634
• Hannah Beardsley Middle School – 980
• Lundahl Middle School – 1001
• Richard Bernotas Middle School – 1012

That headline is not quite correct.

I found but one yard sign for the losing candidate for the Crystal Lake Grade School District School Board.

I did see a yard sign for Carlo Anello after I voted.

In any event, the top three were convincing winners were

• Robert Fetzner – 1987
• Nancy Gonsiorek – 1958
• Ryan Farrell – 1862
• Carlo Agnello – 850

I was told the top two on the list were endorsed by the Crystal Lake Elementary Education Association (CLETA).

District 47 Sample Ballot.

The people on the ballot for the Crystal Lake Grade School District 47 School Board number four:

• Robert Fetzner
• Nancy Gonsiorek
• Ryan Farrel
• Carlo Agnello

There are three to be elected.

I’m ashamed to tell you that my level of knowledge about the candidates and where they stand is about as low as in any election in my experience.

I see yard signs in people’s yards that I know and respect for all of the candidates, except Agnello, who doesn’t seem to have yard signs.

No literature has reached me, even my subdivision of Country Club Additions has over 420 homes that can be covered by two people in a car.

Four years ago Gonsiorek ran on a platform of saving music and art and was informally endorsed by elementary school teachers.

This year I’ve been told that CLETA, the Crystal Lake Elementary Teachers Association, interviewed candidates. Further that they favor Gonsiorek and Fetzner. Whether that is an official or unofficial endorsement, my source did not know.

Larry Snow

Former Huntley School Board member Larry Snow has done a prodigious amount of research about school districts where teachers pay nothing for their pensions.

Those employed in the private sector pay into Social Security. But they also pay the entire cost of teachers’ pensions in many, many Illinois school districts.

Snow asks the following question:

“How loud would teachers howl if
they had to pay for other peoples’ Social Security?” (emphasis in the original)

Entitled,

“Illinois is Proof “Investing in Education” is Democrat Lipstick on Legalized Looting,”

Snow’s piece is published in The Champion today.

The guts of his column is summarized below:

“Two thirds of all of the teachers in the worst and poorly performing school districts either don’t pay a penny, or pay very little for their pensions…

“This pattern of abuse by teachers and union officials in the worst school districts is clear.

“The chart shows how a third of all teachers in Illinois, all in the bottom half of lousy to poorly performing districts, pay next to nothing or literally zero for their luxury-benefit pensions.”

A major goal of teacher union collective bargaining is to shift the required employee payment from teachers' pockets to those of the taxpaying public.

His thesis is “teachers unions systematically drain education resources.”

He points to “work rules” as “a polite way of depicting work tourniquets. They are designed to limit the normal flow of instruction to students.”

Then, he moves on to health insurance premiums, challenging readers to

“Try finding a teachers contract in Illinois where the teacher is paying 15% of his or her own individual health care premium.”

He returns to pensions, pointing out,

“Illinois School Code says teachers are to pay 9.4 % of their salary into the state’s pension. The chart below shows what is actually happening. And this is just among the bottom half of school districts.”

Pension Contributions by Teachers in Some Bottom-Half-Performing School Districts

Snow adds this local tidbit:

“Crystal Lake is served by two, above-average-performing districts, 155 and 47 with about a thousand (976) teachers. None contribute a penny for their pensions.

“You can add more districts such as this one to easily count over a third of all teachers in Illinois paying little to nothing.”

McHenry County Blog has surveyed school districts with major presences in McHenry County and discovered that union employees paid $3.8 million in dues during calendar year 2010.

The total amount was $3,825,572.

Contracts are typically for more than one year and most expenses would in contract negotiation year.

Most are from dues paid by teachers, but there are also office worker and school bus drivers.

Most go to the Illinois Education Association-National Education Association.

Part of the collective bargaining proposal made by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is to end mandatory union membership.

Illinois, of course, has laws that force all employees of a bargaining unit to pay dues.

The legislation would require that teacher union officials collect their own dues, rather than having as a payroll deduction, as is the case in all of the districts below.

To no one’s surprise, employees of the largest district examined, Carpentersville Unit District 300, paid the most dues.  The total was over $1.1 million.

• Barrington Unit District 220 – $554,555
• Alden-Hebron Unit District 19 – $22,427
• Cary Grade School District 26 – $52,254
• Crystal Lake Grade School District 47 – 315,342
• Crystal Lake High School District 155 – $287,202
• Carpentersville Unit District 300 – $1,122,392
• Fox River Grove Grade School District 3 – $23,599
• Harvard Unit School District 50 – $96,745
• Huntley Unit School District 158 – $356,047
• Johnsburg Unit District 12 – $106,055
• Marengo-Union Grade School District 165 – $48,778
• Marengo High School District 154 – $30,005
• McHenry Grade School District 15 – $207,111
• McHenry High School District 156 – $109,331
• Prairie Grove Grade School District 46 – $10,863
• Richmond-Burton (Nippersink) Grade School District 2 – $59,429
• Richmond-Burton High School District 157 – $37,592
• Riley Grade School District 18 – $9,161
• Wonder Lake (Harrison) School District 36 – $13,249
• Woodstock Unit School District 200 – $372,595

Teachers walk picket line outside Huntley High School in 2008.

Governor Pat Quinn thinks that consolidating schools will save big money because fewer administrators would be required.

The average Crystal Lake High School District 155 teacher salary is $91,573.

Reading the Daily Herald article, I notice that no mention is made of equalizing up elementary school teacher salaries to the level paid by the overlying high school districts.

$68,489 is the average teacher salary in the Cary Grade School District, the one is such financial trouble recently.

All Quinn mentions is saving $100 million in administrative costs. That’s well under one-half of one percentage of what’s spent on schools in Illinois.

In Fox River Grove the average grade school teacher makes $60,507.

Pretty much peanuts, in other words.

In the Prairie Grove Elementary School District underlying Crystal Lake High School District the average salary is $59,840.

The Northwest Herald has bought into the argument, also incorrectly assume that consolidating hundreds of school districts in Illinois will save big money.

The largest of the District 155 feeder schools, Crystal Lake District 47, pays its teachers $57,788 on the average, according to the 2010 School Report Card.

“… there’s no good reason why towns such as Cary, Crystal Lake and McHenry should have separate elementary and high school districts.”

That’s what the Northwest Herald wrote Thursday.  (Look quickly.  Soon you will have to pay to see it.)

Might I suggest that a salary comparison be made?

Look what took me less than ten minutes to find.

High school salaries in District 155 are higher than those in Crystal Lake Grade School District 47, Cary Grade School District 26 and Prairie Grade School District 46.

Let me list them:

• Crystal Lake District 155 – $91,573 (412 teachers)
• Cary District 26 – $68,489 (198 teachers)
• Fox River Grove 3 – $60,507 (41 teachers)
• Prairie Grove District 46 – $59,840 (68 teachers)
• Crystal Lake District 47 – $57,788 (564 teachers)

The weighted average of grade school teachers in the three districts is $60,505.

The difference between the average weighted elementary school salary and the District 155 High School teacher’s average salary of $91,573 is $31,066.

Let’s do some multiplication.

First, let’s estimate. You know, what grade school students are taught to do.

What’s $31,000 times 900?

Hey, that’s over $25 million.

The exact figure is $27,058,486 my calculator says and it didn’t take tens of thousands of dollars paid to some Northern Illinois professors to figure that out.

So, let’s be rational and assume no teacher would be willing to take a pay cut and all grade school teachers would want to be put on the same salary schedule now enjoyed by area high school teachers.

Looking at these figures, it is hard to believe they would not expect an average raise of $31,000 if consolidation were to occur.

Now, I’ll admit that I have not made detailed comparisons to take into account the longevity bonus that high and grade school teachers get.

Maybe after making such adjustments the raise for unifying the pay schedules wouldn’t average over $31,000 a grade school teacher.

Pick your number and multiply it by 871.

Then, compare that mid-$20-some million number with the $100 million statewide savings that Quinn projects in savings from unneeded administrators.

Anyone think the savings by getting rid of redundant administrators within the Crystal Lake-Cary-Fox River Grove-Prairie Grove area would approach $25 million?

So why is the Governor proposing something that is going to cost every part of the state with both high and grade school districts big money?

Would I be being too cynical to suggest that Quinn may be trying to reward Illinois Education Association members who supported his re-election?

Would anyone think Illinois union leaders would let teachers in the same unified district be on two different pay scales?

The IEA Uniserve Directors would be knocking at school administrators’ doors the day after a merger.  Maybe before.

The entrance to Disney World's Fantasy Land looks so enticing, but what's beyond looks like a carnvial to me.

Proof is how teacher unions won’t allow a consolidated school district to use even two different pay scales.

The elementary physical education teacher that teaches kindergarten P.E. classes is on the same pay scale as the high school math and science teachers.

Only in editorial and Quinn Fantasy Land unions would be helping to save money.

The result would be teachers hearing the sound of “Ca Ching!”

Years later you would likely read editors bemoaning how this couldn’t have been foreseen.

But that’s what collective bargaining will bring if all school districts are shoved into the unit district mold.

It will be the result of collective bargaining. You know, what the fight in Madison, Wisconsin, is all about.

Today, Crystal Lake elementary school students had the day off because of the blizzard.

The buses could have gotten through to our home in Lakewood, but kids would have had to trudge through deep snow to reach a bus stop.

Thursday, the blizzard is the excuse, too.

Superintendent Donn Mendoza sent out a robo-call about 2:30 that indicated that there were snow-related problems at some of the schools. The way he put is was, “Due to several weather related factors associated with yesterday’s storm…”