McHenry County Blog

District 300 teachers show the public that they are striking by carrying picket signs on Randall Road.

Below is a press release from District 300 about the ratification of the contract that came about after a one-day teachers strike.

If you would like to read highlights I picked out of the over 100-page contract, including salary information in dollar amounts amounts,  you can do so here.

If you would like to delve deeper into the 40,000+ word contract, you can find it here.

Board and Teachers’ Union Approve 3‐Year Contract

The Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education (Board) and Local Education Association District 300 (LEAD 300) have approved a 3‐year contract for the time period from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2015.

The membership of LEAD 300 ratified the contract yesterday (Dec. 19), and the Board voted to approve the contract this evening (Dec. 20).

Contract negotiations focused on several issues that will positively impact the students’ learning environment by lowering class sizes and improving teachers’ working conditions.

The Board and LEAD 300 mutually understand best practices regarding class size and the direct impact these practices have on education.

The Board agrees to make class size a priority and make every effort to keep class sizes at a reasonable number.

To that extent, the Board and LEAD 300 have agreed to form a joint class size committee to monitor class sizes across the district.

Beginning with the 2013‐2014 school year, class sizes will generally be as follows:

The agreement includes a modification of the high school day from eight, 45‐minute periods plus a 30‐minute
lunch, to nine, 45‐minute periods, one of which is a lunch period.

This alteration allows for consistency in both teacher and student schedules, and also makes it possible for students to have greater flexibility in course selection.

Administration and LEAD 300 will create several committees whose representative membership will work
toward creating a collaborative structure for addressing the ongoing needs of District 300 staff and students. The focus of these committees will include:

• A Class Size Committee that will monitor class size and continue to explore options to reduce class sizes in order to create academically sound environments within budgetary and facility constraints
• Collaborative Councils for each instructional level and education services that will help maintain open communication and explore solutions to ongoing issues
• An Insurance Committee that will monitor District‐wide insurance plans and costs in order to ensure fiscal responsibility while maintaining appropriate levels of employee benefits
• A Performance Evaluation Reform Act [PERA] Committee that will create and monitor the procedures for evaluations of certified staff to ensure quality educators for all students in the District
• A joint committee that will help create a more collegial, supportive workplace environment, free from harassment and bullying through policy and procedural changes

The average salary increase for the 3‐year contract will be as follows:

• 2012‐2013: Step plus 1%
• 2013‐2014: Step only
• 2014‐2015: Step plus 1%

“Step” refers to movement on the existing salary schedule and varies depending on employees’ years of service and education, but on average it equals 2%.

Beginning with the 2013‐2014 school year, LEAD 300 retirement benefits will decrease from a 6% adjustment for each of the last four years of service to 3%. The benefit will sunset as of 2015.

Once formatting has been completed for printing purposes, the full contract is anticipated to be available on the Human Resources page of the district website, www.d300.org, by mid‐January 2013.

The instructional day missed on Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012, due to the strike will be made up at the end of the school year.

This means that unless any emergency/snow days are used this school year, the last day of school will be Wednesday, May 22, 2013.

Today, Carpentersville District 300 teachers were voting on whether to ratify the contract recently negotiated by the LEAD300 union folks and the school board.

You can read the entire contract here, complete with red color to indicate last minute changes.

The most interesting last minute change in the contract is seen below:

High school teachers (excluding PE and music) teaching a sixth (6^th) assignment for the 2012-2013 school year shall receive a one-time, extra pay stipend in the amount of $2,200. High school teachers who work a combination of PE and other subjects will receive a prorated stipend based upon their non-PE assignment. The total amount of stipends paid cannot exceed $90,000.

I’m going to skim through it and see what I find interesting.

• Taxpayers will finance “1.16 Full Time Equivalents of member of the bargaining unit time for the purpose of conducting Association business,” minus the cost of hiring a substitute. (President Release Time)
• Maximum students K-2 in 2013-14 will be 27 (28 enrolled), 3rd to 5th 30 (31 enrolled)
• Maximum students K-2 in 2014-15 will be 26 (27 enrolled), 3rd to 5th 28 (29 enrolled)
• PE and music education teachers’ student contact time will decrease from 1575 to 1500 minutes per week.
• Maximum students for middle school in 2013-14 will be 186, average class of 31, paid overload if more
• Maximum students for middle school in 2013-14 will be average class of 31, paid overload if more
• Middle School teachers shall have no more than 300 minutes of student contact per day
• Based on a nine period day, all general education teachers shall teach no more than five class periods plus one ELT per day or six classes. If more, shall be paid one-fifth of base salary
• High School teachers shall have no more than 285 minutes of student classes plus one ASP may be assigned 155 students; high school teachers teaching six (6) classes may be assigned 186 students. If more, overload pay.
• In the 2014-2015 school year, high school teachers may be assigned a cap of 31 students per class. If more, overload pay.
• High school teachers shall not be required to teach in more than two different subject area departments in any given school semester without additional compensation at the rate of $600.00 per semester.
• Instead of coming to school twenty minutes early and staying twenty minutes after school, the new contract says fifteen minutes and five minutes, respectively181 days of work.
• 181 days of work.
• Divers Ed is limited to three students per vehicle.
• There is whistle blowing protection.
• Twelve sick days credited at the beginning of the year; unused sick days may accumulate without limit.
• Two personal days a year which shall be accumulated as sick days if unused.
• No docking for jury, DCFS, court or administrative hearings or testimony.
• There is a sick leave bank
• Early retirement is possible at age 55 without discount provisions under some circumstances. The District will pay the employer share of the early retirement penalty.
• Up to 40 days of unpaid sick leave can be put into an HRA upon retirement.
• Employees notifing the District that one is retiring four years ahead of time shall receive an increase equal to three percent compounded of the teacher’s TRS creditable earnings for the previous school year for a maximum of four years immediately prior to retirement,plus $500 a year for an HRA account.
• Extra pay amounts and schedule will increase by 2%, 1% and 1% over the three years of the contract.
• A goal has been set that health insurance costs not increase more than 14% a year. If they do, the goal is to cut benefits.
• Taxpayers will pay 70% of the cost of family health insurance.
• 80% of the cost of dental insurance shall be paid by the taxpayers.
• Taxpayer-paid life insurance of $50,000 shall be provided.
• 80% of vision insurance shall be paid by the taxpayers.
• $250 a year will be put in each HRA.
• Mileage will be paid traveling from school to school and for district meetings.
• Members on a step that cannot advance on the salary schedule will receive a 3%, 2% and 3% increase over the three-year contract.
• The District shall pay 5% (5 percentage points of the required 9.5% of payroll) of the TRS payment.
• There’s an extra pay for extra work table.
• The name of the Pom-Pom Squad has been changed to Athletics Dance Team.
• The Instructional Rate is typically paid for work that requires planning, instruction, testing, and/or creation of written documents.
• The Non-Instructional Rate is paid for work that requires physical presence but not instruction.
• There is plenty of language about Special Education.
• A member of a protected group is generally one who is older than 40, disabled, a female or a minority. One may not treat a member of a protected group differently than the rest of the employee group without cause. The burden of proof is on the supervisor.

Salary Schedules

Click to enlarge this salary schedule.

Click to enlarge.

Click to enlarge.

Licensed Practical Nurses get paid $22.60 to $33.40 per hour.

If District 300 teachers decide to gather for a meeting outside of some school as these Huntley District 158 ones did in 2008, at least it won’t be in the biting cold.

Here’s the message from the teachers’ union’s bargaining committee:

“LEAD 300 Members,

“As of 3:15 pm this afternoon, LEAD 300 and the Board’s team have not been able to come to a suitable compromise on both Class Size and Compensation issues. The Board’s team is also unwilling to entertain any alternatives or creative methods to compensate members for overload and/or salary.

“95% of the members at our meeting told us that they would not accept the Board’s proposal as presented. And unfortunately we have not made enough movement from that proposal. At this point, their attorney has left for the evening and is not able to come back until 8:00pm. She has made it clear that even if she does return, we should not expect to see any more movement this evening.

“We must, therefore, take the next step in this incredibly difficult process. As of tomorrow morning, LEAD 300 members are on Strike.

“Members will be contacted by their building strike captains with further instructions.

“Together, in unity, we must take this ultimate step. We must finish this contract negotiation.

“The LEAD 300 Bargaining Team”

You can read a good part of the Administration’s “Final Offer” here.

Here is District 300′s response:

Schools closed Tuesday, Dec. 4; Teachers Union will strike

The following voice mail message was sent by the Board of Education to District 300 parents and staff members at 5:25 p.m. this evening (Monday, Dec. 3, 2012):

Joe Stevens

“Hello, this is Joe Stevens, member of the District 300 Board of Education and District spokesperson regarding the ongoing negotiations between the Teachers Union, LEAD 300, and the Board of Education.

“Board of Education and LEAD 300 negotiation teams have been meeting since 8 a.m. this morning with the assistance of a federal mediator to discuss outstanding contractual issues.

“After the Board agreed to LEAD’s latest proposal to further reduce class sizes at all grade levels and create class size caps for middle and high school classes, the LEAD team increased its salary proposal by returning to an earlier salary request.

“At this point, the Board has met LEAD’s expectations regarding class sizes, but we have not reached agreement on salaries.

“The LEAD team has advised the Board that they will be going on strike tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4.

“D300 schools will be closed tomorrow, and all school-sponsored events and activities are cancelled.

“The district will enact its plan tomorrow for Emergency Attendance Centers for students who registered in advance to participate. For more information about today’s collective bargaining efforts, please visit d300.org later this evening.”

Here’s the first twelve pages of the District 300 School Board’s Final Office to it teachers union, called LEAD300.   If you want to read the whole 69-page document, here it is:

Introduction and Summary of Final Offer

The Board of Education of Community Unit School District 300 began bargaining with the Local Education Association of District 300 (LEAD 300) in January 2012. In July, the parties jointly requested mediation, and after eleven mediation sessions, on Monday, November 5, LEAD 300 declared impasse.

By law, each party is required to submit their final offers to each other, the mediator and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board within seven days of a declaration of impasse. Accordingly, the Board is submitting this final offer.

As has been stated by the President of the Board of Education, Anne Miller, “The Board is dedicated to negotiating a contract that is good for students, fair for teachers and fiscally responsible to our community. It is our sincere hope that a strike will be averted. We are fortunate to have a caring, competent and highly qualified staff.”

During the negotiations, LEAD 300 has emphasized that its primary goals are class size and the work environment. The Board listened and responded. For the first time, the Board is committed to including class size limits in its collective bargaining agreement. The Board has committed to lowering class sizes at the elementary schools and to maintaining those lower class sizes.

The Board has also made numerous commitments to address other work environment issues that were raised during negotiations, including flexibility and control over plan time and arrival and departure times. LEAD 300 asked for a bullying policy, and the Board agreed that the two sides should jointly draft one for adoption by the Board. Special Education teachers asked for relief from their ever-increasing paperwork and IEP administration requirements, and the Board responded with five additional compliance assurance days.

LEAD 300 also asked, and the Board agreed, to transition the high schools to a 9-period day, which yields benefits for staff, students and administration. The 9-period day mimics the structure of the current 8- period day by continuing to have 45 minute academic instructional periods of time, something which currently fits all users’ needs. The difference in the 9-period day is that the lunch period for students and staff is extended from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.

Students benefit from this change in that they can utilize the additional time to complete school work.

Staff benefits in the new configuration because more high school teachers have a five class work load accompanied with an assigned supervision.

Central to every negotiation are the economic proposals– salaries and benefits. Given today’s economic environment, the Board has offered a strong salary and benefit package to its employees with the knowledge that the fiscal strength of the District is in the best interests of its students, its employees and its taxpayers.

The Board has asked LEAD 300 to phase out end-of-career salary increases over the life of this contract. It is common knowledge that pension reform is coming to Illinois, and school districts will presumably bear at least some of the cost of that reform. Neither the District nor the State can afford to continue the traditional end-of-career salary and pension enhancements.

The Board’s final offer is summarized in the following pages. There are also other outstanding issues that remain between the parties. A complete copy of the Board’s final offer is attached to this document.

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

General Background Information

The Board’s primary goals for a new contract are:

• Act in a fiscally responsible manner by ensuring that the District’s limited resources are used wisely, that the District’s expenditures do not exceed its revenues, and that taxpayers are not unduly burdened; and
• Attract and retain a quality teaching staff; and
• Provide staff with a fair and competitive salary and benefits package; and
• Provide staff with the support and resources necessary to ensure a positive workplace climate and a successful learning environment; and
• Provide current and future students with a quality education and learning environment by carefully allocating the District’s limited resources in order to avoid reductions in staff, address large class sizes, and avert programmatic cuts.

Past Negotiations

As illustrated in the chart below, the District’s salary increases have averaged 3.2% over the last five years. The average salary increase includes annual step increases, a salary increase based on the length of time a teacher has been employed in the district. The average salary increase does not include annual lane movement increases, a salary increase based on teachers obtaining advanced degrees.
To remain financially stable, it is imperative that the District’s expenditure increases are in alignment with the District’s revenue increases. Increases to property tax revenue, the District’s largest revenue source, are tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For the last five years, the Board’s wage and benefit package for teachers has exceeded the average 2.2% CPI for this same period.

The Board’s proposed contract provides an average salary increase of 2.4% per year for the 2012-2015 3-year contract. Since the inception of the tax cap, CPI has averaged 2.5%. The Board believes that the current proposed contract is fair and fiscally responsible.

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

Comparability Data

The Board believes that teacher compensation for District 300 is competitive with surrounding Kane and McHenry County unit school districts. The chart below illustrates how District 300 beginning and highest teachers’ salaries compare among the 14 unit school districts in Kane and McHenry counties on three major benchmarks.
The 14 unit school districts used for this comparison are

• Alden Hebron SD 19,
• Harvard CUSD 50,
• Johnsburg CUSD 12,
• Kaneland CUSD 302,
• Huntley CUSD 158,
• Aurora East USD 131,
• Elgin SD U-46,
• Central CUSD 301,
• Batavia USD 101,
• Geneva CUSD 304,
• Woodstock CUSD 200,
• St. Charles CUSD 303,
• Aurora West USD 129 and
• Carpentersville CUSD 300.

Staff Retention

The Board is committed to attracting and retaining high quality teachers. The Board believes that the
District’s entry level salary amount and award-winning Induction and Mentoring program for novice
teachers are two factors that address this commitment. The Board’s intention is to bargain a contract
providing for a stable financial environment that will continue to positively impact the retention and
attraction of quality teaching staff. Data for the last three school years indicates an average teacher
retention rate of approximately 98%.

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

Proposals with Financial Impact

SALARY SCHEDULE

Board Salary Schedule Proposal Details

Teachers will be paid according to the following:

2012-2013: Teachers will advance one step on the salary schedule. In addition, the salary schedule will be increased by .75%. Teachers with a Master’s or Doctorate degree on Step 25 of the salary schedule and non-certified nurses will receive an increase of 2.75% in 2012-2013.

2013-2014: Teachers will advance one step on the salary schedule. Teachers with a Master’s or Doctorate degree on Step 25 of the salary schedule and non-certified nurses will receive an increase of 2.00%.

2014-2015: Teachers will advance one step on the salary schedule. In addition, the salary schedule will be increased by .50%. Teachers with a Master’s or Doctorate degree on Step 25 of the salary schedule and non-certified nurses will receive an increase of 2.50%.

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

The salary schedule for the duration of the contract would be as follows:
* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

Rationale for Board Salary Proposal

The Board is dedicated to negotiating a contract that is good for students, fair for teachers and fiscally responsible to our community. Given today’s economic environment, the Board has offered a strong salary and benefit package to its employees with the knowledge that the fiscal strength of the District is in the best interests of its students, its employees and its taxpayers. The District’s projections indicate that to provide salary increases greater than what is currently proposed will either jeopardize the District’s educational program or place an undue burden on our taxpayers during these difficult
economic times. While the Board is willing to provide increases commensurate with the certified LEAD members’ increases to non-certified nurses, they do not agree with placing the non-certified nurses on a salary schedule.

Board Salary Cost Summary

The Board’s proposed total salary costs and annual salary increases without retirees are as follows:

* The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

RETIREMENT

Rationale for Board Retirement Proposal

It is widely reported that the General Assembly is considering legislation that would shift the State’s required contributions to the teachers’ pension system to local school districts, or penalize local school districts for any end-of-career salary increases. Therefore, the Board has proposed that the current retirement plan’s end-of-career salary increases be phased out during the three years of this agreement and that the post-retirement benefit be reduced. This allows teachers at or near retirement age to have a final opportunity to take advantage of end of career salary increases.

Board Retirement Proposal Cost Summary

For the 2012-2013 school year, the salary cost for the 121 staff members currently on the retirement track is $10,627,043. The salary cost for these staff member would be $10,226,023 without the current retirement incentive for an increase of $401,021. The compounding effect of the current retirement benefit is not reflected in this number.

In the collective bargaining agreement that expired on July 1, teachers who submitted a notice of retirement were given a 6% salary increase over their prior year’s creditable earnings for up to four years prior to retirement.

Board:

The Board is also proposing that if retirement legislation is enacted resulting in additional costs to the District, then the parties may reopen and renegotiate this provision. Additionally, the Board is proposing that the retirement incentive ends with this agreement, so after the 2014-2015 school year, future retirees will not receive an end-of-career salary increase. Lastly, the proposal eliminates post-retirement HRA contributions for unused sick leave not reported to the Teachers’ Retirement System.

LEAD 300*:

The Board’s proposal is designed to reduce the overall costs of this benefit, but we are unable to determine the projected future cost savings at this time because the District does not know the number of teachers that will elect to retire under the Board’s proposed plan.

*The union position represented references the most recent LEAD 300 position and does not reflect any changes LEAD 300 may be contemplating for its final offer.

A press release from the District 300 School Board:

BOARD RESPONDS TO TEACHERS UNION IMPASSE

On Monday, November 5, 2012, LEAD 300 declared impasse in collective bargaining.

By definition, the declaration of impasse implies that the teachers union is not moving from their current bargaining position and believes that the parties have exhausted the prospects of reaching an agreement.

The Board of Education and District administration are disappointed that LEAD 300 has reached this conclusion; we believe the parties were making significant progress in the effort to reduce class size and improve teachers’ working environment.

Within seven days after the declaration of impasse, both the Board of Education and LEAD 300 must submit their final offers – including a cost summary – to each other, the mediator, and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board.

Seven days after receipt of those final offers, assuming no settlement has been reached, the IELRB will make the final offers public, including the cost summaries, by posting them on its website.

According to the President of the Board of Education, Anne Miller, “The Board is dedicated to negotiating a contract that is good for students, fair for teachers and fiscally responsible to our community. It is our sincere hope that a strike will be averted.

“We are fortunate to have a caring, competent and highly qualified staff.”

Given today’s economic environment, the Board has offered a strong salary and benefit package to its employees with the knowledge that the fiscal strength of the District is in the best interests of its students, its employees and its taxpayers.

The Board will continue to work within the parameters set forth to achieve an agreement with LEAD 300. Updates on progress will be provided on the district website at www.d300.org.

At 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 7, 2012, the Board forwarded its final offer to LEAD 300.

Major components of the Board’s package proposal include

• salary, insurance, retirement, and extra pay;
• elementary class size;
• high school schedule and teacher load;
• issues related to education services (special education);
• teacher plan time;
• teacher arrival and departure time; and
• other issues related to working conditions.

Joe Stevens

A synopsis of the full Board proposal is available on the district website at www.d300.org.

According to Board of Education Spokesperson, Joe Stevens, “We believe we were making good progress to address the union’s top priorities including class size and working conditions. Now that the union has declared impasse, we are waiting to receive their final proposal to resume future negotiations.”

District 300 explains where things stand in its negotiations with its teachers’ union:

As a means of keeping Community Unit School District 300 families and community members informed, we will post information on our website in the form of Questions and Answers. Regular updates will be provided as information becomes available.

Everything is still normal at the Lake in the Hills Grade School.

Q: The teachers union has declared impasse. What does this mean?

A: On Monday, November 5, 2012, the Board of Education learned that the teachers union, Local Education Association of District 300 (LEAD 300), declared impasse. The fact that the teachers union has declared impasse suggests they have concluded that negotiations are deadlocked.

Q: If the teachers decide to strike, when will that happen?

A: The timeline below is our best estimate based on the information currently available and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act requirements. The Board of Education and D300 Administration are committed to working with the teachers union to come to a fair and financially responsible settlement, which may impact the following dates:

1. Monday, November 5, 2012 – LEAD 300 declared impasse

2. Monday, November 12, 2012 – Final offers to be exchanged
Within seven days after the declaration of impasse, both the Board of Education and LEAD 300 must submit their final offers – including a cost summary – to each other, the mediator, and the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) 115 ILCS 5/12(a-5)(2).

3. Monday, November 19, 2012 – Final offers to be made public
Seven days after receipt of those final offers, assuming no settlement has been reached, the IELRB will make the final offers public, including the cost summaries, by posting them on its website: http://www2.illinois.gov/elrb/Pages/default.aspx 115 ILCS 5/12(a-5)(2).

4. Monday, December 3, 2012 – First day teachers could engage in a strike
Once final offers are posted on the IELRB website, at least fourteen days must elapse before LEAD 300 may engage in a strike. Please note that it is not a requirement that LEAD 300 actually engage in a strike, only that this is the first day that the union may legally do so. 115 ILCS 5/13(b)(2).

*If LEAD 300 does intend to engage in a strike, its leadership would have to provide the District at least 10 days written notice of its intent to strike. 115 ILCS 5/14(b)(3).

A press release from Carpentersville Unit District 300:

Teacher Union Negotiations Update

Negotiations between the Community Unit School District 300 Board of Education and the District 300 teachers’ union are scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 16, and we are hopeful that we will continue to make progress toward resolution.

Things were normal at Lake in the Hills Elementary School this morning.

Listed below are questions that our school community may have regarding a potential teachers’ strike:

What is a strike vote?

When a teachers’ union conducts a strike vote, or ratifies a resolution to authorize a strike, this does not necessarily mean that there will be a teachers strike within the district. A strike authorization vote gives the union’s negotiating team the right to declare a strike if they deem it necessary.

A teachers’ strike can only occur after impasse has been declared, and this has not yet occurred in District 300. We remain optimistic that we will not be forced to implement contingency strike plans that cause disruption not only to the educational process, but to the lives of District 300 families and community members.

How does a strike occur?

After proclaiming negotiations unsuccessful, a teachers’ union may declare impasse. After this, the union notifies the Board of Education and then files a motion with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board [IELRB].

The teachers’ union and the Board of Education then have seven calendar days to submit their last, best offers and the detailed costs associated with proposals to the IELRB. After that, the IELRB has another seven calendar days to review and post these proposals on its web site.

By law, any Illinois teachers’ union must wait a minimum of fourteen days after the final offers have been made public through the IELRB web site before engaging in a strike. In summary, the earliest a teachers’ union strike could occur is twenty-eight calendar days after impasse has been declared.

District officials will make every effort to keep the D300 community informed via web site postings as information becomes available.

The last teachers’ strike in the area was by the Huntley Teachers Association in 2008.

Strike votes are being taken at various schools in Carpentersville Unit School District 300.

Teachers who wish to go on strike seem to be winning.

In preparation, leadership is pointing to Friday, October 19th, as the day the picket lines will go up.

It seems likely that it is not a coincidence that Friday, October 19th is the end of a pay period, the day that pay checks are due.

A press release from District 300.  Note that the Board assumes that the cost of pensions will be forced onto the back of local taxpayers.  In addition, a proposal was submitted to the teachers union in March, but is not being shared with the public.  Generally, about 80% of a school district’s budget goes to pay employees.

Mediator assigned for Board, LEAD negotiations; Board addresses overload pay

The D300 School Board wanted to update staff members and the community that the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) has assigned a mediator to assist in ongoing negotiations with LEAD300, the union of teachers and other certified staff, per the request recently filed by the School Board and LEAD300 in compliance with Senate Bill 7.

D300 leaders are currently working with the mediator and LEAD representatives to schedule a series of mediation sessions beginning September 6, 2012, or soon thereafter.

Updates will be provided to the community when necessary and appropriate.

In the meantime, the Board remains optimistic in its ability to collaborate with LEAD300, so that the district can continue to live within its limited financial means and stay focused on students.

On a related note, the School Board has in no way proposed any increase to class sizes.

It is inaccurate to state that the School Board has proposed increasing class sizes.

The current plan is for elementary class size caps to remain as they have been in recent years, as well as the middle and high school class averages.

What has been discussed, however, is the issue of “overload pay” to teachers and the Board’s desire to reduce this expense for the district.

When a teacher has more students than the number defined in the LEAD300 contract, the school district must provide that teacher with overload pay, which is over and beyond the teacher’s regular salary.

In 2010‐2011, as required by the contract, 340 teachers in D300 received a total of $1.28 million in overload pay from the district beyond their regular salaries; in 2011‐2012, overload pay totaled $800,000.

(Overload may be paid to a teacher even if a class is smaller than the “cap,” which is the maximum number of students allowed in a class before an additional teacher is added to that grade level / area.)

As previously stated, the Board would very much like to lower class sizes.

But if the Board were to reduce the class sizes by an average of one student per class, it would cost the district approximately $1 million to $1.4 million a year.

This annual cost would need to be absorbed either through contract negotiations or elsewhere in the district budget.

The D300 budget is already tight and will only grow tighter in the near future when the state reforms the amount of pension contributions that each district must contribute for its employees.

The School Board looks forward to receiving a specific proposal as to the salary schedule and benefits that LEAD300 would like for its members. The Board would need specifics from LEAD300 before the Board could thoughtfully analyze the affordability of the proposal including its impact on overload pay, “step” increases in salary, class sizes, and student needs.

Should LEAD300 members need additional clarification, the Board encourages them to reach out to their school’s LEAD300 representatives.

The representatives have detailed information regarding when proposals were made (for example, a complete proposal was given by the Board to LEAD300 in early March 2012) and the specifics of those proposals.

The School Board is confident that discussions will move forward positively with LEAD300 in the near future.

A joint statement from District 300 and its teacher union:

Board and LEAD300 jointly request mediator in negotiations

The negotiating teams for the D300 School Board and the D300 teachers’ union, known as LEAD300, have requested a third‐party mediator to assist in their ongoing negotiations.

The School Board and LEAD300 filed the mediation request in keeping with a new state law that was passed last year, called Senate Bill 7.

This law requires that if the parties have not agreed on a new contract in a certain time period prior to the start of the upcoming school year, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) will initiate mediation.

The involvement of a mediator does not mean that the Board and LEAD300 are at an impasse, but rather it reflects compliance with the new law as well as the desire to bring negotiations to a timely conclusion.

The mediator is a neutral, third party, who is appointed by the IELRB to assist the parties in coming to an agreement. There is no cost to the school district for using a mediator.

In spring 2011, the D300 School Board and LEAD300 agreed to a one‐year collective bargaining agreement for D300 teachers and other certified staff, which expired on July 1, 2012 (The terms of this contract will automatically roll forward until/unless both parties agree to a new contract.)

The School Board initiated an invitation to LEAD300 in January 2012 to begin negotiations for a new agreement. That month, the first negotiations session took place for what the School Board hopes will result in a multi‐year contract to give stability to students, teachers, and district taxpayers.

However, in the sessions that have taken place since then, LEAD300 has not presented to the School Board any specific proposal as to the salary schedule and benefits that LEAD300 would like for its members. The School Board has been unable to develop or present a counterproposal because no dollar amounts or percentages have been proposed by LEAD300.

LEAD300 presented, among other concepts, a proposal to substantially lower class sizes.

The School Board very much shares this desire to lower class sizes.

But without knowing specifically how much LEAD300 is seeking in terms of salaries and benefits, the School Board
cannot determine to what extent the district could afford to do so, if at all.

The bigger picture of these negotiations must also be considered by all parties.

D300 inevitably faces increased costs in the near future due to state pension reforms, which will push more pension costs onto school districts.

As early as next year, D300 will likely have to pay at least $1 million to $3 million more a year in increased pension contributions. Furthermore, the district will not see the financial benefits of the renegotiated Sears EDA for another three years.

Even then, at roughly $3.2 million a year, the increased EDA funding will only begin to partially offset the state funding cuts that D300 has recently suffered in transportation and other areas.

The School Board had hoped to be further along in the negotiations process by now, especially in light of the good faith measures it has taken.

Administration had decided this spring not to recommend any budget‐related layoffs of teachers or other certified staff for the upcoming 2012‐2013 school year, despite the additional financial pressure this would place on the district’s already tight budget. The Board supported this recommendation against layoffs as a good faith measure to pave the way for collaboration during negotiations.

The D300 School Board remains deeply committed to working with LEAD300 and optimistically aspires to find a resolution which allows the district to focus on students.

Student achievement and fiscal responsibility are the mutual job of every Board member, educator, and staff member in the district.

Together, all parties must be mutually committed to living within the district’s limited financial means in order to ensure that students have the resources that they need to thrive.

The Board and LEAD300 believe that using a mediator can positively support this goal and allow them to come to a timely agreement.

D300 student attendance begins on Monday, August 13, for the 2012‐2013 school year.