McHenry County Blog

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.

The irony in this part of his interview with Governor Pat Quinn is that Neil Steinberg and maybe even the Governor do not know the pension problem is directly attributable to stealing money allocted to pensions in years past to increase State Aid to Education.

Neil Steinberg adds to the pressure to address the public pension mess Monday morning in a column featuring an interview with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn.

There is one part that I found interesting, accurate as far as it goes, but missing the main point.

“The folks who put us in this mess are from both parties,” Quinn said.

He’s got that right.

“Every governor and every session of the legislature, the choice at the end of the year came down to: ‘Do we pay this pensions thing or spend a little bit more money on other things?”

Correct again.

“They always picked now over requiring pension payments. So it got worse and worse.”

The Governor again speaks truth.

But not the whole truth.

Each year I remember the Governor’s budget would allocate so much for education.

It would be broken down into State Aid to Education, university subsidies and pension payments for those employed in higher and lower education.

Each year, the teachers unions–I’m talking the Illinois Education Association and the Illinois Federation of Teachers–would come in and argue that the pension money would be better spent “NOW,” to put it in the Governor’s word, on State Aid to Education.

Tomorrow would take care of itself was the implicit message.

Since those still employed as teachers or professors or support personnel were so much more influential than the retired folks, the money was allocated by General Assembly after General Assembly for current expenditures, rather than future pension payments.

Hard to criticize the political sense of the judgment at the time, because most of the representatives and senators voting for the budgets wouldn’t be around to pay the piper, so to speak.

But doing so had more than political advantages for incumbent legislators running for re-election.

Sending extra money to local schools had the unintended effect of increasing the pension burden on state taxpayers.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, higher teacher salaries meant higher teacher pensions.

Having said pointed that out, I remember thinking time and time again that I might be around to have to figure out how to pay for extravagant programs.

That was before I voted, “No.”

Maybe someone can find someone who voted against more budgets than I over the 16 years I served in the General Assembly, but I doubt it.

At this point, it would be appropriate to remind readers that I receive a legislative pension, but one that was not hopped up by having a post-GA job at a higher salary than I received as a state representative. Because of the 3% annual so-called “cost of living” increase–which is a flat rate not based on inflation–my pension is substantially higher than my final salary in the Illinois House of Representatives in 2000.

I remember voting for only two pension bills. One was in the second year of my first term that affected the General Assembly pension system. I remember asking the legendary C.L. McCormick from Vienna what it was all about. He told me not to worry about it and I voted in favor.

That was the favorable last pension vote I remember until a McHenry County Judge called me in the 1990′s about supporting a bill that would put his bifurcated judicial service on an equal footing with those who had only served as a judge. He had been an Associate Judge after serving as Assistant State’s Attorney, gone into private practice and returned to the bench to finish his career.

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

That’s how I read this press release from State Rep. Mike Tryon.

The first one to do systematic research on the subject of school districts paying both the employer and the employee side of teachers’ pensions was former Huntley School Board member Larry Snow. You can read his analysis in the article below:

39% of Illinois Teachers Pay Nothing for Pensions

Tryon’s press release follws:

State Rep. Mike Tryon Files Transparency Legislation for Property Tax Bills

SPRINGFIELD…..Representative Mike Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) has filed a bill to increase transparency on property tax bills.

House Bill 3936 would amend the Illinois Property Tax Code by mandating that any taxing district which pays a percentage of its employees’ contributions to a public pension fund include on tax bills the dollar amount of tax due that would be used to for that purpose.

Mike Tryon

“For the last 30-plus years, units of government have had to list on tax bills the amount of taxes due that represent the employer’s portion of pension benefits,” said Tryon.

“What many people don’t know is that many units of government also pick up a portion of the employee’s share of pension costs.”

According to Tryon, his goal is to see that all pension systems are treated equally with regard to disclosure.

He added that if successful, taxpayers would have a greater understanding of how their tax dollars are being used.

“Employers picking up a portion of employee share of pensions is not an uncommon occurrence, but most people aren’t aware that it’s happening,” Tryon said.

“I think taxpayers have a right to know when their local units of government have negotiated agreements which have them paying for a portion of their employees’ share of pension costs.”

Tryon said he is hopeful the bill will be allowed to be debated on the House floor and that it will ultimately gain wide, bipartisan support.

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.

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.