D180 Teachers Call for More Contract Negotiations

Once again teachers filled the band room at Burr Ridge Middle School, asking the District 180 Board of Education to continue working with them on contract negotiations instead of going back to mediation.

Most recently the two sides met for nearly seven hours Feb. 1, followed by a six-hour session on Feb. 8. Teachers of Palisades - the teachers’ union - and the district were still unable to reach an agreement.

Kristen Drain, TOP Vice President and kindergarten teacher, said the teachers extended another date for the to meet with board and superintendent.
“They have said to us the next step is mediation with their lawyer, Robb Cooper,” Drain said. “We have not heard anything yet.”

More than 100 days have now passed since the teachers in District 180 have had a contract - the longest time period of time ever in the district. The 59 teachers at Anne M. Jeans Elementary and Burr Ridge Middle School have been working without a contract since the end of August. Negotiations for a new contract began in July. Since that time the talks have involved formal mediation and informal discussions between board members and the teachers’ union, Teachers Organization of Palisades.

“Unfortunately the board believes the unions’ proposals have been neither realistic or fair and the board is unwilling to agree to an unfair contract which doesn’t protect and expand students’ educational opportunities now and in the future,” Board President Paula Dupont said Monday.

During Monday’s meeting, Dupont outlined the district’s position and read a newsletter that will be made available to the community on the district’s website starting Tuesday. The newsletter details what both sides are asking for in the contract. According to Dupont, the union’s proposal includes the following: teachers at Anne Jeans work with students 20 minutes less per day than at the middle school and still receive the same pay; a decrease the amount of time that teachers spend in school; a salary increase by nearly 6 percent for each of the next three years; and that part of the teacher salary be paid for from Impact Aid Funds.
Impact Aid Funds are used to pay for programs such as fine and performing arts, Dupont said. She said the board thinks it is unfair elementary students would have less of an opportunity to learn than others, and board members “absolutely think” its unfair to take money that is supposed to go to other programs. In addition, the union’s proposed salary increase “in this current economy is beyond reasonable.”

The district, she said, has proposed what the board believes is “a fair offer.” The district’s contract offer include providing teachers with insurance and retirement benefits during the length of the contract as well as a salary increase which is tied to the rate of inflation and the amount of tax dollars the district is allowed to collect; an increase in the district’s contribution toward insurance by 30 percent over the three year contract; a guaranteed salary increase of at least 7.5 percent over three years, with the possibility of as much as 10.5 percent. Salary increases would be tied to the rate of inflation; and all students at both Anne Jeans and Burr Ridge Middle schools receive the same number of instruction minutes.

“The bottom line is that we think our teachers are talented and caring and valuable, wonderful teachers who want our students to do well academically,” Dupont said. “We remain confident that we’re still going be able to reach an agreement, which recognizes our student need for academic success, contributes to the fiscal solvency of our district - because after all, that’s one of the main reasons we’re here - and is fair to all of the teachers in the district.”

Diana Brann, second grade teacher at Anne Jeans, said union members were polled on the district’s most recent offer as to whether or not they would accept it.
“Nearly 95 percent said no,” she said.

The district’s characterization of the union’s proposal, teachers said, puts an “unfair spin” on a lot of items that were discussed in the informal bargaining sessions.
Dupont said the newsletter comes in response to the union been much more proactive in speaking about negotiations, while the district has been more reactive. Prior to last months board meeting, the teachers demonstrated outside with signs. The teachers have also visited the surrounding neighborhoods to explain their position.

Over the last two days they went out for two hours and got 138 signatures in support of a fair financial contract for the teachers, Drain said. While the district wants to add more instructional time, it doesn’t want to attach any type of financial incentive for that, teachers said.

“Our teachers work the longest day for the lowest pay in this region. We do not consider adding more time without much financial change fair,” said Jennifer Elder, eighth grade teacher at Burr Ridge Middle School. “We are pursuing fair compensation for the work we do to serve our students and community. We know the board of education has a commitment to put students first, as do the teachers of Palisades... You can not put students first if you put the teachers last.”

Candy Tupane, third grade teacher at Anne Jeans, said adding more instructional time will increase the amount of work teachers bring home with them as well.
“These people go home, and then they work four hours a night,” she said. “These teachers deserve to take care of their own children. How can they help other kids when they’re not taking care of their own?”

Ultimately more instructional time means “you will get less, because you can be stretched so far,” she said.
Superintendent Tom Schneider said the district is just looking to have equal instruction time at the two schools.

“It’s not an additional 20 minutes. We’re not extending the work day by 20 minutes,” board Vice President Eric Schroeder said. “What we’re doing is looking to equalize the time between the two schools. So you have an equivalent work day, and we’re looking to equalize the instruction time between the two schools.”
Tupane said 20 additional instructional minutes means 20 less minutes to plan.
No date has been set yet for the next mediation session, but both sides would like to see the matter quickly resolved.

“We’d really love to see this brought to an end,” Schneider said.