Posted on 09/14/2012 7:41:53 AM PDT by Uncle Chip
Two days into a teachers strike at Lake Forest High School, the two sides have agreed to meet for a bargaining session this afternoon, union officials say.
“After waiting for more than 39 hours to hear the board’s response to our last offer, the (Lake Forest Education Association) looks forward to substantial negotiations,” Tom Gigiano, the union’s lead negotiator, said in a statement on the teachers website. “We will continue to work toward a fair and equitable contract agreement."
Teachers walked out Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement over salaries and benefits during talks that ended just before midnight Tuesday. The strike affects about 1,700 students and about 150 teachers and staff members.
The board has offered pay increases of 2.6 percent in fiscal year 2013, 3.4 percent in 2014 and 3.4 percent in 2015, according to the district. It has also asked teachers to start paying for a percentage of their insurance coverage.
The union maintains that since teacher pay was frozen last year in a one-year contract, that should be taken into consideration in the new pact. The union proposed raises equal to 5.6 percent in 2013, 6.5 percent in 2014 and 5.6 percent in 2015, according to district figures.
The average teacher in the district makes $106,500, compared with a statewide average of about $65,000, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.chicagotribune.com ...
$106,500. Absolutely incredible.
And in Lake Forest, the teachers are not exactly dealing with gangs, crime, and shootings. This is one of the most prestigious towns in the United States. The public high school is amazingly posh, very much like a costly private school.
They’re not getting the press coverage they wanted, so might as well quit.
close the schools down as is... and fire the teachers....consolidate with other districts....end all sports and music since the teachers think they are the only important thing....
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