You guys are so golly gee close - one needs to give a little and the other needs to take a little. Meet in the middle.

Since both sides are so close, I will be very disappointed if no one makes one final compromise in order to keep our children in school!

http://grayslake.patch.com/events/grayslake-d46-teacher-strike-townhall

Just in from the D46 e-Newsletter alert system:

An initial School Reach phone call by will go out Tuesday night if an agreement cannot be reached and school is cancelled. Additional information will be available at that time.

There will be no updates sent through our e-News email system, the District Facebook account, or Twitter account. Please bookmark and watch the website for updates and additional information.

I do not see how the difference is "close". There is a difference of almost $800,000 on the table here. Take that number and divide by the # of property tax-paying households to see how much taxes will be bumped to pay for that "difference". Let em walk. Guaranteed raises are never a good thing, they breed incompetence and apathy.

What is this Union doing for anyone besides creating animosity? I say go on strike and may all the teachers cross the line and break up the union...We all need jobs and raises..look around...How many businesses are suffering? Seriously get a clue!...

The only reason the negotiations are as close as they are is because the teachers have continued to compromise. Sooner or later the BOE has to be held accountable for their incompetence in managing this situation. The financial situation has only declined since this board has been in place. Having BOE members who are currently receiving a Teacher's Pension and another who is part of the Woodland School District Union as a bus driver only magnifies the fact that they turned a blind eye to the upcoming negotiations prior to the contract expiring. This BOE was fully aware that these negotiations would require diligent financial planning. They ignored this and instead banked on the Union continuing to give ground to avoid a work stoppage. Now the community is facing the consequences because the BOE was too passive.

Grayslake parent - this board, while completely dysfunctional, is not wholly responsible for the state of the finances. Brad Goldstein warned us about this very situation (deficit spending) years ago, when the state funding was starting to dry up. Prior to that, under the leadership of Dr. Anderson (former superintendent prior to Ellen Correll), the district had to cut art/music/PE due to financial woes. We have not been in a strong financial position since the late 1990s. This is not new.

Please outline what compromises the teachers have made to date. I would be quite interested in knowing. They agreed to a lesser raise a little over a year ago, and the board and Ellen made them more than whole by giving everyone a $1000 bonus from stimulus funds. If you feel they have "compromised" by paying more in healthcare, I find that to be irrelevant - everyone pays more for healthcare.

Look at what the bump in pay during thier last 4 years does not only to district payroll, but to the pension burden of the public. I find it repulsive that they feel entitled to significangly boost their pay their last four years so they will make considerably more in retirement, when they contribute nothing to the schools. It is not sustainable to pay a teacher a pension when they are 55 years old, and will live an average of 20 more years. They contribute about 4 years worth of funds - the rest comes from taxpayers. As I said already - not sustainable.

There are many things I could write, but I’m going with the net-net . . . Stand firm, BOE members! Let them strike.

Many parents are saying the same thing, but they are intimidated to post due to concern over retribution.

I truly appreciate and value teachers for all they do, but I do not support them in their quest this time. When things improve and we can be fiscally responsible, then I’ll support you for raises. Meanwhile, struggle through like the rest of us are doing.

Annual Pay Raises for the Past 13 years:

D46 Teachers - Everybody Else
99-00 9.98% - Average US Worker raise in '99 - 5.3%
00-01 6.54% - Average US Worker raise in '00 - 5.2%
01-02 5.78% - Average US Worker raise in '01 - 2.3%
02-03 5.84% - Average US Worker raise in '02 - 1.0%
03-04 5.39% - Average US Worker raise in '03 - 2.4%
04-05 6.37% - Average US Worker raise in '04 - 4.4%
05-06 5.20% - Average US Worker raise in '05 - 3.5%
06-07 5.21% - Average US Worker raise in '06 - 4.4%
07-08 5.20% - Average US Worker raise in '07 - 4.3%
08-09 3.96% - Average US Worker raise in '08 - 2.2%
09-10 3.96% - Average US Worker raise in '09 - (-1.5%)
10-11 2.75% - Average US Worker raise in '10 - 2.3%
11-12 3.96% - Average US Worker raise in '11 - 3.0%
(source for Average US Worker raise - National Average Wage Index)

To put that in perspective...A D46 teacher who started in 1999 at $35,000 would now be earning $69,189, not including step or lane changes.

The same average US Worker starting at the same time at $35,000 would now be earning $51,196, not including any promotions.

Seems teachers have been on a pretty good ride...pay raises that outpace the average American for at least the past 13 years and a pay raise every year for 30 consecutive years.

While they do a good job (and in some cases an outstanding job) it is very hard to be supportive of them going on strike over money...money the taxpayers just don't have.

@ Terri & Swanson, you continually preach that the teachers are united. This afternoon my son has several friends over. Two of their teachers told every class that they did not care about the money and did not want to strike. You think those are the only two in the district who feel that way? These two said it to classrooms filled with students who are old enough to relay that to their parents.
Now I imagine that those teachers didn't say that to the kids just to make them feel better! For those two who were vocal there are a lot more who are quietly saying the same thing.

@Jose ...and the support for the BOE isn't as strong as you think. Do you know how many teachers live within the district, have talked to the members in the community and received their support? I doubt you know but I can tell you that there are many.

Reminder - 7pm at State Bank of the Lakes, 50 Commerce Dr, Grayslake.

Townhall meeting to discuss the strike. Hosted by For Our Children's Future.

Since when did our children's education become not so important? They are our future. They will be running this country. It made me sad to take my son to his school (Prairie View) yesterday so he could get his gymshoes from his classroom. The halls were dark, the classrooms were empty and sad. Even my son noticed. The secretary was almost in tears about this. She told me that the teachers were in tears over this. Try having your child go to a school where all the teachers really do care about is that paycheck. I've been there and so has my son.

350 people showed up Sunday in the freezing cold to support the teachers of their district. That’s:
• 10 times the number that showed up for either of the For Our Children’s Future town halls.
• 10 times the number, on average, that shows up to BOE meetings.
• 5 times the number that have ever shown up for a BOE meeting (in recent history).
30 local business showed their support for the teachers by supplying food, providing parking, providing warming shelters, allowing access to their bathrooms, and donating cash to help teachers that might need it in a prolonged strike. Residual benefits went to local food banks through excess donations. That’s:
• 10 times the number of local business’s that spoke at any levy hearing.
• Equal to the number of attendants at any For Our Children’s Future town Hall.
• Equal to or greater than the average attendance at a BOE meeting.
Actions speak louder than words. I applaud the board for listening to the public. I only wish the silent majority had been more vocal at the levy hearings. It’s too late to do what the public really wanted.