It really IS all about the kids! Awesome. things would be much better without unions...just think of the money that would be freed up for schools to actually use for education. You know, education? the purpose of schools. Oh wait, education isn't the primary focus anymore. This is the kind of power grabbing that our leadership encourages and actually makes a politically friendly environment for.

Doctors, Lawyers and MBA's don't have union representation.

Let the union lead the teachers into a strike.

If the teachers are truly committed to their profession and our children’s education, they will continue driving to work everyday, cross the lines and continue to teach.

Any teacher, who sides with the union, is not standing with the children.

Any teacher, who sides with the union, will always reach deeper and deeper into the pockets of the community.

Any teacher, who sides with the union, is a bargain basement educator.

wrong. The ABA, the AMA, and the AICPA are the functional equivalent of unions. They control professional standards and salaries/rates, and they control who gets to join. They take dues. And they join with state government to restrict who can practice each profession.

We all stand with the teachers but as public employees their payroll is limited to what we can afford. Perhaps not so many for uniions. BUT it takes 4 years to become certified and it takes 3 to 4 more to become a doctor or lawyer the level of professional training is not the same and neither are details of their work, it is a very bad comparison.

I have a great idea since some people talk a good game and sound like they don't care if their taxes go up and can afford to let D46 deficit spend and risk losing programs and ultimatety laying off teachers later to pay for a D46 deficit that will really impact CHILDREN!!! Remember them, the children, that is what the schools are for and rationing scarce dollars is the goal for them not the teachers.

It seems a few can afford to deficit spend perhaps you might be interested in doubling your tax bill or making a few really big gifts or contributions to your school district. BUT please leave my tax bill alone it is big enough already. We are one of the highest taxed districts in Illinois and it already hurts.

Real teachers can and will cross the picket lines.

When I hear someone say they want to invest in education, I say, "Bravo!". We all do. There isn't a parent, person, or business who doesn't support the best education we all can afford. But that is the key phrase here: we ALL can AFFORD.
We can only invest what we can afford to give. Everyone agrees that the teachers in the district do a fine job. But, this is not an area, because of the burden on the home-owners that can afford to give more right now. It is that simple.
I do not believe this article should be about taking sides but since that is how it is published, I will cast my vote: stand strong board. You did it once with voting to maintain the levy, do it again. The property taxes on homeowners and businesses can only support so much. Right now there isn't enough to support an increase.

One more point, our military, our sons, daughters, husbands, wives, neighbors, who put themselves in harms way so that we all have the freedom to choose our own career path and have this conversation, haven't seen increases in 3 years.
Their retirement options are changing drastically. They deserve every penny they make and most do it without complaint regardless of how many pennies come in.
They accept that their job is not about money. It is about you, me, our children. Much like teachers say it is about our children. Yet you never hear of military going on strike to get more. If anyone deserves increases, it is our troops. But, like here, there isn't enough money to give them more. So they fight another day without. They protect without complaint. They spend months, years, away from families, without getting more. Not one will walk a picket line to get more. THAT'S a public employee!

Patch welcomes reader opinions, but please keep it civilized--no name calling or profanity, or comments will be deleted. Thank you.

I still find it borderline comical that all the vitriol is centered at the easy target - the union. Why haven't any of you naysayers looked closer at the budget and focus on the salaries of administrators as well as those of the teachers. Open your eyes, it's not the teacher making $50K whose 4% raise is breaking the budget, but rather expenses in other areas of district spending which could easily be reigned in.

While we're at it, another question - Hey Patch, what is the salary, if any, of the school board?

It makes me nervous to have a school full of strangers to my kids. Very few faces they will recognize.

A quick question that I have not seen addressed. What is the cost to the district of hiring temporary replacements? It takes time to process applications, do background checks, etc.

Substitutes would not get paid like the current teachers, and background checks are minimal. If the teachers strike they strike without pay, Granted, if no substitutes are hired and the kids miss school to eventually make it up at the end of the year, the teachers end up getting paid then. However, if the subs come in and teach the kids and there are no make up days, then teachers lose the salary permanently so there is no additional costs and we wouldn't be paying both.

Mental midget? Angela isn't that a personal attack? Name calling is quite childish and when one resorts to it, their argument and credibility are less than zero in my book.
Night crawler, thank you for the link. I'm going to politely and respectfully disagree with those numbers though. My son, currently serving, second deployment, has not seen any increase. His combat pay is different than his stateside pay. But his stateside pay remained the same.
He also re-up'd recently and that bonus is gone. Between the changes in retirement, no financial incentive to make it a career, and little to no increases for most (even the meager ones that were given to some), they still go to work every single day. They do it short on supplies, away from their families, and like I've said, mostly without complaint.
The public opinion of soldiers used to be quite negative; through hard-work, little complaint, integrity, and honor, things changed.
Maybe it's time for some OJT (on the job training) in this area for the majority the majority of the public sector.

Pete,

Please thank your son for his service to our country. I also wish to thank you, your wife and your family for the sacrifices you have made while your son is away.

I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas. I wish your family and especially your son a happy, healthy and safe new year.

Best Regards,

A LITTLE RESPECTFUL MATH -- Let's say, and someone can be more specific if they wish, that teachers work 9 month per year or earn about 11.1% of their income each month, and if the teachers go on strike for let's say one month or perhaps just 2 weeks then they will npot be paid either 11.1% of their salary or 5.6% of their salary. It would seem too me that the teachers would want to do the math of this loss to gain a +/-2-3% raise. It might take 3 years to re-earn the loss. JUST SAYING !!!

MY VIEW;
- Teachers should not strike and take the best they can get in these bad tiimes.
- Come back and chase the 3% without losing income with a stirke in better economic times.
- Be there for the children and do what their calling placed them there for.
- Use a little common sense when reviewiing the D46 deficit and ask for things that meet what can be done.

Perhaps the final result, if all else fails, is that the teachers and/or the district could decide to end the union contract in D46 and replace it with either your own individual contracts or an alternate union that is more sensitive to the community, the children, as well as the needs of teachers within the frame of reality.

I say it is time for someone to stand up in the teaching ranks and start working with the reality of a declining economy and say NO TO A STRIKE and negotiate the best that you can. Look at the books and face reality. Teachers need to look at the books not union reps. Teachers must go and confirm the realiity instead of being told what it isn't by union reps.

School board members have a thankless job and are unpaid and I am certain being an X-Board President that each wants to do the best that they can for everyone. However, that must be in view of the big picture and that goes beyond just the demands of the teachers. It may be true that perhaps one or two on the board may be more emotional and perhaps a bit short on reality themselves but that is why there are 7 board members representing the community, schools, and our children. I know it is frustrating but the D46 Board would be wise to continue NOT deficit spending in these uncertain times. Increased taxes are not an easy road to consider with declining property values and I don't expect that will happen any time soon & I don't want to see layoffs next year to pay for your strike.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated. Patch has learned a negotiating session has been scheduled for Jan. 11.

My suggestion to the board and to the superintendent is to set plans in place to hire teachers to get the children educated and keep the classes open. I suggest the board, who are our neighbors and that lives with all of us do their job and not burden our community and D46 with deficit spending. It could be tough but stand tall.

Remember every administrator is a certified teacher who can maintain a classroom. There is also a fairly large list of active & inactive pre-screened subs & there are many retired certtified Grayslake teachers some of which might cross the picket line. Also two full size class days with larger temporary class sizes could be fit into each day if you cut out recess, gym, art, lunch, music and stick to the core key courses. No child needs to miss school or be short of education core classes. Serious teachers who have their prioities straight will teach. A temporary structure could be done with approximately less than half the staff for all of the children. There may also be ways to borrow screened subs from nearby distircts to keep classes open. If they coulld bring me, I spent years as an adult teacher as aides many of us could help. I'd adjust my schedule to try to help as much as I can. I think others with the ability and experience to teach could do so as well. I am not certified but I am U.S. Govt. screened. This strike to me is not reasonable and remember the union bosses won't lose one days pay if the teachers are on strike.

Hal, do you have any kids? Cut out lunch? Great suggestion, not! Last time I checked, which was in the year 2013, my son's school doesn't gabber recess, swing and a miss. Nice to see that people who are so ready to beer rid of Rhett teachers have such a poor idea of what happens in a school day.

But I do love your suggestion of putting administrators to work in the classrooms. Especially since I was told in an earlier post that this wasn't about them. Funny,I thought that the budget was about the entire district's spending. But oh no, we must fight the good fight against the tyrannical evil of unions.

Wow, so teachers shouldn't get raises! Hmmm. They pay close to 100,000 to become highly qualified teachers and yet they should be paid less than the private sector for doing one of the most important jobs around! Wow, people. This is why we need unions. Don't you dare say the district helps pay for the education. They might help up to a masters level, but not the 30+ credit hours after the masters level. Lets face it, it's not the teachers who are the problems NOR the unions. It's the state/federal funding of our educational system, As for the subs, I won't dare cross if they want to become teachers around here. I was told within one day of my employment of all the teachers who crossed in a dist. that went on strike 5 years before I started teaching. Solidarity is important.
As for taxes, we can't tax the public, why not cut administrators and write grants.

A few points to consider...
We should be concerned about the charges for doctors, lawyers and MBA's (i.e. the businesses they work for) because they cost us money just as our property taxes cost us money. Do you tell your doctor when he/she raises their fee that they can't because you can't afford it? Or how about the highly paid computer engineers who work for Apple (resulting in the high cost of Apple products)? Of course not, you find another way to afford it. If we didn't have to pay such high prices for other services and for products, then it wouldn't hurt so much to pay property taxes. Bottom line - we need to be concerned with all costs and not just pick on one sector.

Just because our military personnel aren't given the increases they deserve, it doesn't follow to choose another sector and try to hold them down. Given that line of reasoning we'll all soon be back to the terrible labor practices of the early 19th century.

According to Wikipedia, in 2007 the average median income in Grayslake is $87,900 ($100,746 for a family of 4). According to the Illinois State Board of Education, in 2007 (to compare apples to apples as much as possible) the average teacher salary in District 46 was $51,613. Keep in mind that teachers must have a 4 year degree to start as a teacher; thereafter, the only way to advance is to earn a master’s degree. Of the average teacher salary, in 2007 almost 50% of the teachers included in that average had a master’s degree.

points to consider - part 2
It is not accurate that the district does not have money - the district has several million dollars (I've heard anywhere from $8 million to $26 million - we need to press the board to be open about the actual amount).

We need to be concerned about our property values decreasing if we don't strive to have a high-quality school district.

A more productive use of everyone's time would be to email their representatives - local to encourage them to work on bringing business to the community and state to encourage them to adequately fund our schools. This is the way to seek long-term solutions.

Teachers caring about students doesn't equate to teachers not having their own lives. They do care but they also have families and bills to pay.

Also wikipedia data is provided by anyone who wants to add something on the internet. Although interesting, it may not be a fact at all.

You're right about Wikipedia. I went back and checked the U.S. Census and it shows Grayslake's median income as $95,067 (rather than the lower figure of $87,900 listed in Wikipedia).

Common Sense - that median figure is household income, which in many cases means there are two income earners. Also, the $51,613 average teacher salary is for 190 days worked. Most folks work 260 days, so the teachers average salary, if it adjusted to 260 days, would be $70,628, which is more than "average" for many single workers. I know many hard working, college educated folks who make much less than $70,628, and they are not able to hold their employers hostage for more money.

I am not anti-teacher, but I am a realist. Our home values have plummeted while our taxes continue to rise. Real incomes for everyone have declined. At some point, this house of cards we call our economy will collapse unless some very difficult choices are made. Everyone says cuts must be made, but no one wants those cuts to touch things they hold dear. Well, cuts must be made for all - we will all "suffer" a little now, or face more dire cirumstances later. Teachers included. Every homeowner in Grayslake suffers each year our property taxes rise. Our teachers are not underpaid, and they have not gone a year without a raise for decades. The time for shared sacrifice is now. If not now, when? If this union gets its way, how will all of you feel about teacher layoffs and increased class sizes? We can not have it all. Keep in mind that there is a very good liklihood that the district will soon have to cover the state's unfunded pensions - then what? We are already defecit spending.

The argument that teachers only work 9.5 months a year is old and tired. The work 50-70 hours a week for those months. The take home work is huge.

I am disgusted at most of the short sighted people who post here. Our children's education is the most important investment we make as a community. Not only does a good school system with well compensated teachers and fully funded programs create better future citizens of this country, it increases the worth of our homes.. Bad schools equals low home values. The education of my community's children is something I am willing to invest in, knowing that it pays dividends down the road.

The real problem is the way we fund schools, but for now it is what it is. We can't fix it today. We can only work within the system we have been given. Maybe if we all worked together to solve that problem we could stop blaming teachers. We need more business in Grayslake, to take the burden off of the home owners. We need to push our Villiage Trustees to find a way to solve that. But I can guarantee that a failing school system is not the way to attract business to our town.

Julie - most people who work year round also put in lots of hours, and work weekends and at home, so it's really a wash in my eyes.

You are correct that the problem is how we fund schools. I am not blaming teachers. But we can not keep spending money we don't have. While your priority is schools, there are countless people in our community who have other priorities, and no one wants anything cut. However, at some point, we have to face reality, and that reality is not just in Grayslake, but in many communities in Illinois. How long can we spend what we don't have? What will the long term effects of this carelessness be? How much of this mess do you want to take care of now, and how much do you want to pass on to your children and grandchildren? If you let the union get whatever they demand, how will you feel about fewer teachers? Larger class sizes? Fewer extracurriculars? That is the reality of deficit spending now - cuts will get deeper and deeper, and homeowners will continue to get hit hard. Look around at home values. Houses that were worth over $300,000 are being sold on short sale for $175,000. It's rampant in Grayslake. People are hurting, losing their homes, and unable to afford the outrageous taxes. Is it better that folks lose their homes so teachers get their raises every year? How is this helping the community? What will we do when we have to pay the pensions because the state failed so miserably? Where does this end?

Most people who work that many hours a week are compensated better than teachers for those hours. Most people with Masters degrees earn much higher salaries and have better benefits that teachers. (my husband and I included) You are only paying teachers for the hours they are in school. The extra time they spend is on their dime to make sure your kids get the best education they can provide.

Nice to see the bias is still so strong. I guess Nightcrawler NEVER takes a vacation day. 52 weeks a year, wow! Good for you, maybe a union would get you a day off eery now and then. If everyone worked as hard as he did, we wouldn't even need teachers. Our kids could simply teach themselves. Please insert sarcasm liberally.

The trite teacher bashing is reflective of our society as a whole. We whine that America is slipping in technology, manufacturing, and almost all indicators for growth, while at the same time speak out against our teachers getting paid. We get what we pay for, and right now we aren't paying for education nearly as well as we should be.

I volunteer at my son's school once a week, and see the value he gets from quality teachers. If more of you put forth the effort to see what the teachers do, it wouldn't be as easy to discard them as over-payed trash.

Nice comment Sandra, way to stay on topic by making personal attacks. Maybe if you read all the posts, you would see that a large amount of these comments are indeed diminishing the actual achievements of the teachers they are purporting to support. I guess it's easier and snarkier to attack a spelling error than to make a strong argument. Thank yew for beeing my personal spell Czech.

Ralf - most of us are not bashing the teachers. I appreciate the hard work many of our teachers put forth. I also realize that we, as a society, can not continue to spend money we don't have, in the hopes that we will have more money down the road. The economic realities we are facing are quite grim, and we in Illinois are worse off than many other states. While it is not the teacher's fault, it is also not my fault, nor most of the hard working people in our town. None of us want to be in this position. I do fault the union with pushing an unrealistic agenda given the economic reality. The union does not care if teachers get laid off, only that their demands, no matter how unfounded, are met. If those demands are not met, they punish the students by making the teachers strike. Then, if their demands do get met after their temper tantrum, the students will likely get hurt more because of the layoffs that will be inevitable. There are likely to be layoffs whether or not the raises become a reality. Add in the raises, and there is less money to keep teachers employed. How is this good?

It's unfortunate that the Patch is letting someone with an obvious fake name - Bend Over, thank you Bart Simpson, make posts.

Julie with all due respect that is not true. The pension benfits of teachers far exceed most private sector companies that have no pension. Let me say there are masters degrees and there are masters degrees and they are not all equal and neither are the total responsibilities of those who have them in any career position.

The comparison is just not apples and apples and many corporate people work a 52 week year and most private sector managers and school administrators probably also work a 50 hour week. I think teachers are incredibly important in our society but as public sector employees they are sadly limited by the reality of the communities ability to pay. If they wanted the bigger bucks, or wish to keep comparing to the private sector perhaps they shoulld join the private sector?

They would then take on at 52 week 52 hour a week job in a truely alternate reality that many are trying to compare a teacher to. A great theatrical statement was made long ago --- "Perhaps, thou doest protest too much!!!"

The board has made it clear that should they agree to the unions requests, non-tenured teachers and support staff will have to be eliminated to cover the costs.
Can someone please tell me how anyone benefits from having positions and programs eliminated so others can have increases?
As HM said, the staff in d46 has seen increases every year for decades; the economy is bad and now the district is asking for everyone to keep doing their job for the same today that they had yesterday. Why is this unreasonable? One last question, what profession, public or private, guarantees increases every year?
Ralf, before you deem most of the posts diminishing the actual achievements of the teachers, go back and read the posts from every article on this topic. The majority of us feel the teachers in the district do a very good job. We would all like to be rewarded and see our neighrbors reward for the acheivements of our labors; the quality of the teachers isn't the issue. The lack of funds to support increases is.

I notice that the board makes it clear that the lowest salaried people will be hurt by lay-offs, the non-tenured teachers and support staff. When Jose Cuervo says "the staff has seen increases every year for decades, does that mean across the board increases? If so, why not more anger at the entire system? But yet again, a blind eye is cast at the the salaries of the administrators. That's right, I keep forgetting, I can't bring up the bloated salaries of the administrators, because they aren't in a union. They're just average Americans trying to get by on 6 figure salaries.

Just so my math is correct, laying off people making $30,000 per year is going to close a budget gap? is that correct?

The issue is basic it is simple yet this site has lost it to nonsense petty attacks against each other. It is about outrageous taxation, deficit spending in D46, and a strike on schedule that no one can afford to give in to because it would hurt not only the district, the teachers, the schildren, and the community as a whole.

The argument is simple, there is no money to give to the teachers without long term hurting D46 and the children. Deficit spending is not an option, and taxpayers are hurting. We can debate how much we love teachers, or what other jobs compare to theirs but so what? We all appreciate the teachers, but that isn't the issue, it is an absurd union strike that could cripple D46 for years to come. Folks it is about living withiin what we have not within what we wish we had and don't.

Minimum 8 hours at school. 2-4 hours take home work. Extracurricular advisors add another 5 or so hours a week. Add in required continuing education hours. You have 50-70 hours a week. Maybe the teachers I know are just super altruistic, but I don't know one teacher who isn't doing prep work at home. My mother, my father and my brother are all teachers. My best friend and her husband are teachers. many of myneighbors ate teschers right here in Gratslake. i teach extracurricular music classes and see it all around me when I am in the school.

My husband, a professional in the private sector works the same amount of time and he is paid 3 times as much as a teacher and he doesn't have Masters.

50-70 is easy to rack up in almost any profession, but most others jobs factor that into the compensation.

Instead of treating teachers like the professionals they are we try to prentend they are hourly employees who slack and get tons of time off.

Oh Julie....here you go again. No reason on why they deserve a raise. Now your true colors come to light....you're a teacher, parents are teacher, brother's a teacher, best friend and her spouse a teacher. I have no doubt they are all excellent teachers, like many others in D46. But that does not qualify them for an automatic pay raise for the 31st consecutive year.

What is your justification for this pay raise? Also, where you gonna get the money, many, many taxpayers have no more to give.

Come on. I don't think anyone is making this against teachers. It is about the funds of this district. The only ones who are making this about the teachers are the people who are teachers are Union representatives in this district. By the way, if there is a teacher on here that thinks we are all against the teachers, you have been misinformed. There are many other government agencies in the area who have frozen their salaries for good reason. None of them are about "getting the teachers". So people like Terri, just need to pipe down and stop making a war that isn't there.

"Angela Sykora
11:34 am on Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Hi Ralf. School board members are not paid."

Why would Sue Facklam incur the out of pocket expense of purchasing gift cards, which she handed out to students in exchange for votes, in an attempt to retain a position which is unpaid?

Did she use district funds to perpetrate this unethical and inappropriate behavior?

Things that make you go hmmmmm.

One person said to me they would gladly pay more in taxes. Look I don't mean to be obtuse but that is absurd considering the economy and the incredibly high tax burden in our community today.

Again this is not about teachers hard work, they do work hard, and like most people who work hard in society and face tough times today we care about them. This is about the financial reality of the public sector and the private sector.

NO MONEY MEANS NO ABILITY TO PAY WITHOUT DEBT !!! In my view we have hit the end of the gravy train times. Public sector employees are now and will contiinue to be limited to a communitiees ability to pay. Yes, teachers might push through a costly agreement but that would be in the face of the reality that it is very unlikely the community will vote for a tax increase to pay for it. So the reality is that some teachers will get a raise and some teachers will be laid off to pay for it and other teachers will face increased class sizes. We might actually retain some good teachers, and perhaps a few of the bad teachers, and with low seniority we will probably lose the young energetic teachers that are still very excited about teaching.

This is the nightmare of public service in a terrible economy.

Melissa, it's comments like this that will only get you mocked and ridiculed, but I still think you are spot on.

Can't give what you don't have! To argue the merits of why they should get increases or compare to other districts/occupations has no bearing here. I'll repeat: there isn't any money! The district has a million dollar deficit! You can't tax enough to cover the cost of these increases. The law only allows up to a certain amount (CPI or 5% whichever is lower). So those who are willing to pay more taxes and think others should pay more dont get that the law doesn't allow for it through the levy.
The only place to take money to give as increases is from somewhere else in the budget ie someone else's income.