McHenry County Blog

Here’s the summary for McHenry Elementary School District #15 new Five-Year Teacher’s Contract:

Compensation changes for the life of the contract include the following;

• New compensation increase = 0.47%
• Investment in professional learning communities = 2.20%
• Total compensation increase = 2.67%

Other parts of the contract with financial implications:

• Tuition savings
• Retirement savings
• Reduction in lane changes
• Stipend savings and health screenings

Here’s the press release about the teachers’ contract which the Cary School Board ratified last night:

Cary Junior High and elementary school students will get a shorted school day after Thanksgiving.

District 26 Board Ratifies Teacher Contract
November 1, 2011

The Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 announced today that they have ratified a tentative agreement with the Cary Education Association (CEA) addressing all issues related to a new collective bargaining agreement.

The new three-year agreement calls for:

• Reduction in teacher compensation by 3% in the 2011-2012 school year and a pay freeze in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years.  Teachers will be permitted to change lanes and “move horizontally” on the salary schedule by taking additional course work during the contract but will not receive automatic “step” or longevity increases.
• A change in the employee insurance program. Previously, the Board paid 100% of single coverage and between 20% and 50% of family coverage depending on a teacher’s years of service in the district. Under the new agreement, the Board will pay 50% of single coverage, and between 10% and 40% of family coverage depending upon a teacher’s experience in the district.
• The school day for students has been lengthened from 5 hours and 45 minutes last year to 6 hours and 15 minutes under this new agreement. Student instructional time will be increased by 30 minutes a day over last year’s amounts. The parties expect to transition to a new daily schedule corresponding to the change in the school day after the Thanksgiving holiday.
• The tuition reimbursement program under the previous collective bargaining agreement has been eliminated from the new contract.
• The retirement program under previous contract has been eliminated. Under previous agreements, eligible employees could receive up to four years of 6% increases in their last years of employment; up to $20,000 in lump sum payments following retirement; and up to $10 a day for unused sick leave.

At the start of this school year the Board had imposed contract terms for the 2011-2012 school year which provided for reductions in pay and in the insurance program greater than those agreed to as outlined above.

Through a series of meetings with a federal mediator after the start of the school year, however, the parties were able to reach agreement on all economic and language issues for a three-year contract.

The parties expect to finalize the contract language and execute an agreement as soon as possible.

Chris Spoerl, the Board President, said,

“These negotiations have taken a long time to complete — since November 2010 in fact – in large measure because of the very serious financial challenges faced by the district. These were not easy labor talks but the board is confident that the new agreement will help put the district on a more stable financial ground for the next three years.”

The Cary School District's Administrative Office.

A press release from Cary Elementary School District 26:

Board and CEA Reach Tentative Agreement on All Issues

The Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 and the Cary Education Association, which represents the teachers in labor negotiations, announced today that on Wednesday evening they reached a
tentative agreement on all outstanding issues.

The parties have been in negotiations since November in an effort to reach agreement on a new contract.

The previous collective bargaining agreement expired at the start of the 2011‐2012 school years.

The terms of the contract will be presented to the teachers for ratification next week and the Board of Education soon after. Details of the agreement will be released after ratification.

= = = = =

Unlike McHenry County College, which released a summary of the contract its board will approve tonight, local school boards, such as Cary’s, won’t let taxpayers know how the bulk of their taxes will be spent.  Typically, 80% of a school district’s operating expenditures go for salaries.  Some, of course, are for non-teachers, but faculty salaries make up most of that 80%.

I cannot understand why this does not disturb more people.

CORRECTION

When this article was posted, I misread the document below.  It does not apply to McHenry County College faculty.  It applies to the non-certified staff.

I have made the corrections.

= = = = =

Unlike almost all local school districts over the last five years, McHenry County College President Vicki Smith is giving the taxpayers an indication of what’s in the contract that will presumably receive Board approval Thursday night.

Kudos for the transparency.

Here’s the summary of the McHenry County College contact for  employees who don’t teach, which is being presented to the MCC Board.

I see I cannot copy and paste it, so downgrade the transparency kudos above.

What you see below is an image of the report which is not searchable over the internet:

Click to enlarge.

Here’s what’s on the web site:

The signed copy of the press release.

Joint Press Release Cary BOE and CEA
posted 5 hours ago by Caryil d26

The Board of Education of Cary Community Consolidated School District 26 and The Cary Education Association which represents the teachers announced tonight that they have reached a tentative agreement to resolve the significant financial issues between the parties and are optimistic that they can reach full agreement on all remaining issues.

The parties are set to meet next week in an effort to reach an agreement on all remaining issues.

The details of the tentative agreement will be made after the board of education and association members have ratified it.

= = = = =

Again, I would point out that taxpayers should be able to read proposed contracts before they are ratified by thr elected representatives.  In my memory only Huntley School District 158 did so and that was for the contract before last.  That was when Larry Snow was on the school board.

Marshall Lowe put political messates on his sign on Route 14. Last week's was in support of the Distrit 26 School Board.

The teachers in Cary Grade Schools are teaching.

They could be striking as the School Board imposed a contract on them.

But, they’re not striking.

They want to talk more.

The meeting is at the Cary Junior High.

= = = = =
The message on Marshall Lowe’s sign says,

DIST 26 BOARD

FOR SOME ITS A HARD

PILL TO SWALLOW BUT

STAY THE COURSE

Wednesday was the first day of school and teachers were not striking.

They were asking for more negotiations.

Here's the entrance to the Cary Grade School District's Administration Center.

Maybe there will be a meeting next week.

In what is labeled a “Joint Press Release,” the Huntley School Board and teachers union announce agreement has been reached on a one-year teachers’ contract.

District 158 teachers will not be walking picket lines this year.

Algonquin, IL – After a collaborative and constructive process, the Board of Education of Consolidated School District 158 and the Huntley Education Association have come to a tentative agreement on a contract for 2011-2012. Contract language is now being finalized.

Both sides understand the current economic reality facing the District, and the agreement is within the constraints of the tentative budget that the Board approved in June.

Both sides have agreed to a “hard freeze” contract that does not add additional total compensation over the 2010-2011 year.

= = = = =
The First Electric Newspaper asks the relevant question concerning what a “hard freeze” means. Here’s what Pete Gonigan discovered:

“[Tony] Quagliano told FEN the tentative terms don’t actually freeze the last contract’s steps and lanes by which teachers can increase their salaries.

“They’ve been adjusted, he said, so they’ll result in ‘no net increase’ in total expenditures.”

I was disappointed, but not surprised, when District 300 did not reveal the details of its teachers’ contract prior to its early June public vote.

The 2008 Huntley School Board allowed taxpayers to read the document before it was approved.

I figured the teachers’ contract approved at an official open meeting of the District 300 Board of Education would be posted immediately after the meeting. It wasn’t.

Details were released, but not the document that was voted upon.

Just a summary.

I had been told that District 300′s teacher contract would be made available by July 15th.

When that date came and went, I emailed asking where the contract was.

Communications Director Allison Strupeck replied yesterday,

“We had anticipated the document would be completed by mid-July.

“There are numerous parties involved in finalizing all of the wording and details.

“We have a legal obligation to ensure that all parties have been able to thoroughly vet the document before it is finalized and published.

“A very conservative estimate of the remaining steps in this process would be another couple of months.”

Undoubtedly those who are teachers in this school board budget meeting audience from 2006 know what is being changed in the contract after agreement was reportedly reached.

The taxpayers in this shot of the interested public and District 300 employees are being kept in the dark about the details in the teachers' contract approved the first week of June.

Taxpayers do not.

A press release from McHenry’s District 15 Grade School District concerning the replacement of Patrick Miller, who was forced to resign because he did not file his Statement of Economic Interest in a timely fashion:

Vacancy on District 15 School Board

McHENRY – Residents interested in serving on the McHenry Elementary District 15 school board have until July 7, 2011 to apply.

Board member Patrick Miller resigned his position on June 20, 2011. Any resident of the school district who is 18 or older is eligible to fill the vacancy. The appointee will serve until the remainder of the term which ends in April, 2013.

Superintendent Alan Hoffman said those interested should send a cover letter and résumé to him, in care of Cindee Nootbaar, at McHenry Elementary District 15, 1011 N. Green St., McHenry, IL, 60050. Or, interested candidates can send the information by e-mail to cnootbaar@d15.org.

The board has 45 days from the date of the resignation to fill the post.

This is an significant time for the McHenry Grade School District because this board will negotiate the next teachers’ contract.

Below is Miller’s resignation letter:

McHenry County Grade School District 15 Board member Patrick Miller's resignation letter.