BOE hold your ground.

@Al - The overwhelming majority of the taxpayers are in 100% agreement. If the BOE gives on any of the key issues (lengthening of time to reach top pay grade or salary increases for next three years) the BOE will be disgraced in the community. The BOE's offer is fair and by most interpretations overly generous. Enough is enough.

Thank you, Al. Well summarized.
Yes, Board of 115: do not budge. Replace if you have to.

With all due respect, I'm curious where you get your information regarding the "vast majority of tax payers support your position"... I do not, and I am not alone. The LFHS web site states that the teacher union continues to demand pay increases of more than double the Consumer Price Index. Well, the consumer price index is at ZERO. It was in July and in June of 2012, and in May it was -0.3. No one on the Board of Education has a child currently attending LFHS. It is time to clean house. This is the same board that approved the ex-Superintendant's outrageous pension package. Hmmmm. Who are we rewarding here? The teacher union and the BOE have to BOTH compromise.

Bureau of Labor Statistics web site: www.bls.gov/news.release

The teachers claim to have had a salary freeze last year. http://www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php

Rnk Name 2011 Incr Salary 2010 Incr Salary 2009 Salary
1 Filippo___ 3.14% 168740 8.94% 163605 150178
2 Richards_ 6.00% 153016 6.00% 144355 136184
3 Benson__ 6.00% 151701 4.92% 143115 136405
4 Clark____ 6.00% 151530 6.00% 142953 134861
5 Gress___ 6.00% 149852 6.00% 141370 133367
6 Papp____ 6.00% 146724 6.00% 138419 130584
7 Brandes_ 4.94% 142452 5.85% 135751 128247
8 Gibson__ 6.00% 142201 6.00% 134152 126559
9 Straus___ 6.00% 140166 5.96% 132232 124792
10 Spagnoli 5.37% 137607 2.14% 130589 127856
11 Kuhl____ 3.41% 136593 1.82% 132084 129720
12 Gantt___ 4.10% 135403 2.92% 130072 126381
13 Kopriva_ 3.84% 134449 2.07% 129472 126846
14 Cooney_ 7.41% 134325 3.19% 125064 121203
15 Jerch___ 6.00% 134242 6.00% 126643 119474
16 Clegg___ 6.47% 133945 7.01% 125803 117566
17 Mueller__ 6.00% 132581 3.88% 125077 120406
18 Antrim_ -10.28% 132483 1.30% 147660 145768
19 Naughton 7.23% 132076 -4.59% 123166 129098
20 Littel____ 8.65% 131418 12.04% 120959 107956
21 Johnson_ 6.00% 131344 1.48% 123909 122098
22 Heroux__ 6.00% 130695 5.09% 123297 117324
23 Coad___ 3.71% 130594 2.45% 125922 122908
24 Haskett_ -0.48% 130099 6.85% 130732 122346
25 Nawor__ 5.76% 129965 6.15% 122888 115770

The teachers and their union aren't satisfied with those salaries and those pay increases, and have taken their $40 million dollar ball and gone home. They have shown everyone what their priorities are, and now we need to show our children what our priorities are.

It's time to focus on rebuilding the school and getting our kids back in the classroom and on the playing field as fast as possible so that they can have the high school experience they deserve.

There are a lot of online educational tools, so I thought I'd bring some of them to your attention:

www.k12.com - clearing house for online schools
www.k12.com/cvcs - Chicago virtual charter school

www.kahnacademy.com - Quirky, but can be very effective

www.youtube.com - There are a large number of courses of every variety, and quality on youtube. I have done lots of professional training uses courses available on youtube.

There are many others that can be added to this list.

A quick core curriculum can be created from these resources, the kids can be brought into school and set up on computers, and school can be considered "in session" so extra-curricular activity can move on while the teaching staff is rebuilt.

When I see these salaries & the increases over the last 3 years, I am OUTRAGED! Particularly since my children have had some of these teachers in the classroom and they have been far less than what their website is promoting them as. Has your household income increased as such? Not mine. Just because, as they say in their video, they attended "...the schools to which your children aspire..." does not mean they are good teachers! One can be well educated & know their subject matter, but that does not a good teacher make! Some of these teachers have been negligent and abusive. But, tenure protects them.
(Gary - you and I have disagreed in the past; but, we are together on this one! Thank you for enlightening everyone.)

As an HR consultant and seeing the impact of the economy to employees in many companies locally and nationally....I'm shocked at the salaries for the jobs they hold!! I'm not minimizing the responsiblity but comparing these broadly, I can't find a single industry today (or even Pharma 10yrs ago) that would have offered these types of increases and benefits packages. The increases appear to be a gimme and not performance based but I could be wrong as I don't have that info. I would like to be on the side of the teachers as they have a tremendous responsibility and I've been grateful but this is a complete disappointment. There is a line of fair and very fair which in this case appears both lines have been crossed significantly towards absurd.

The school is recruiting helpers: www.lfhs.org

"Important Information - Strike is Announced and begins effective Wednesday, September 12, 2012

LFHS Seeks Help for Support Roles

If you would like to serve in a support role at Lake Forest High School during the teachers’ strike, please contact Gail Moesta at 847-582-7388 for more information or to set up a time to complete the application process."

@P.J. ... ???? If the rate of CPI change was zero, that would actually strengthen the BOE argument not weaken it. - I'll pause for a moment while you think about this - Now, FWIW...the CPI was actually up 1.4% during past 12 months ending July (however to find this, you actually had to have to read the BLS news release and not just the headlines!)...please make an attempt to read/think/educate before you write.

To our BOE: Please hold your ground!

This is just insanity that these teachers are holding the community hostage. It's why labor unions have no place in the public sector and should be outlawed in our state.

These teachers are compensated at the highest levels in the country against their peers with retirement benefits that nobody has in the private sector. Also they only work 75% of a normal private sector work year. They get automatic annual salary increases just for showing up and tenure after 2-3 years on the job. We even gross up their salary ahead or retirement to increase their pension which costs all of us even more. Yet we probably get 1000's of applicants wanting to teach here every year.

It is irresponsible to pay them any more! Enough is enough. Let's hire replacements and get our kids back on school ASAP.

Unadjusted CPI for the 12 months ended July 2012 was 1.4%. Citing 3 months of CPI while ignoring the other 9 months is flawed. (But I suspect P Jocelyn was smart enough to know that already).

The percent change in CPI from 2010 to 2011 was 3.2%. Looking at the salary numbers posted above, it seems that most teachers received increases in pay well in excess CPI. Wages for most Americans have lagged CPI, but that is the real world where compensation can go down and does not always go up.

the lfhs average salary was 106k and that puts them in the top ten percent of ALL incomes in the USA and for only working 9 months of the year. as the rest of the us struggle with the economy, job loss, foreclosures and taxes maybe the teachers should be thankful our tax dollars are paying them what they are getting. this sense of entitlement to regular increases is not reflective of the times and reminds me of the housing bubble where prices have to automatically go up.

notice how chuck gress avoids answering the question on the average pay for lfhs teachers and the exasperation of the anchors reaction. wgn video below.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/09/11/lake-forest-h-s-teachers-might-also-go-on-strike/

a health wellness teacher/driver ed teacher making 168k. shouldnt have any problem filling that spot.

Just view the union website http://lakeforestteachers.com/ to get their side of the story, I think everyone that has something to say should too.

I'm taking the liberty and copying part of the comment posted in the Tribune by a LFHS alum, Moira Toner:

You are and always have been a profoundly privileged and wealthy community. Start acting like it... Most teachers were graced with the personal and professional means to conjure individual and collective bests from we students—the willing and unwilling alike...
Many of my LFHS teachers were priceless: Al Pimontese, whose presence still plays in my head as I drive; Joe Occhipinti, whose innovative style immersed us in cultures outside our safe and familiar world; ... the ancient and indomitable Alva Lowey, who applauded my poetry as wonderful, and gave me a C anyways because I would not conform; ... and David Strain, who saw through my complacency and challenged me so sharply and so well that ignited my own motivation. LF, only you can say if your investment in your children’s public education is sufficient to yield the return you expect. Today, why not re-invest your education, experience and money in your children’s future. Contribute to the dialogue, and set a new standard for innovation and excellence. You do it every day in between commutes. With collaboration, perhaps LFHS can be the first to offer teachers a Pay for Performance compensation plan that factors school administrator and parent accountability into student performance before teacher performance is evaluated. Dig deeper...

Wages certainly haven't been stagnant for LFHS teachers. Using Gary's numbers above, on average, the top 25 teachers earned a nice increase in pay in both 2010 (+4.77%) and 2011 (+4.62%). On average, the top 25 paid teachers earn $12K more per year today than they did two years ago. So much for a claimed freeze in pay.

Please also keep in mind that our LFHS Dist covers LF, LB, Knollwood etc. Not every taxpayer lives on Lake Road. Some live in very modest homes and are paid by the hour. We've got seniors on fixed incomes who are being crushed by the weight of property taxes.

We've got young families in $120K townhomes who struggle to pay the bills (and property taxes which have been rising faster than their incomes). We've got a fair number of families living in 2 bed homes in our Dist. Many families have seen their property tax bill increase 15%+ in just the last two years.

Don't tell these folks that yet another property tax increase is no big deal. It very well might be the straw which breaks the back.

Most of you argue that LFHS teachers make too much money. So if you were king, how much should a LFHS teacher make? Consider a math teacher with 20 years of experience. How much should he or she make?

Answers that are not acceptable:
(1) Less than what he or she is making today. Show some courage. Give us an actual number. You may need to do a little research instead of just looking up the salaries of LFHS teachers (which include coaching stipends, by the way).
(2) Less than what I'm making. You may laugh, but someone has actually made this argument in one of these threads. How arrogant!

Please keep in mind that LFHS must compete with other North Shore schools, many of which already pay more than LFHS. Look at the pay scales. I have. In fact, I actually work in one of these schools, and I make 12% more than the equivalent teacher at LFHS.

Most of you are staunch capitalists, right? Have you considered that teachers' salaries are a result of capitalism? These are affluent communities with high expectations. LFHS must compete with the other top-flight schools in the area.

For Pete's sake, many of you pay $80-$100 per hour for your kid's tutors. Why don't you demand lower rates from your tutors? The answer: capitalism!

Is it true that district 115 teachers averaged over 5% increases anually for the 5 yr
Period preceeding last years "freeze".???

Teachers salaries are not a result of capitalism. Give me a break. In what reality do Drivers Ed teachers make more than an AP Calc teacher just because the Drivers Ed teacher has been at a school longer than the AP Calc teacher? In what reality do Drivers Ed teachers make $120K per year, get free healthcare & collect a $70K a yr life pension at age 55? The pension alone might $2.1 mil, a 3% annual increase might mean $3.2 mil in total pension benefits. I'm sure the LFHS Drivers Ed teachers are nice people, nothing against them. Just don't tell me they are paid a wage set by supply and demand.

In what capitalist reality does most everyone get a 4.7% raise without regard to student results, economy, expenses, enrollment, etc. In what reality does an employee get 100% free healthcare & reject a proposal to pay 10%?

To answer your question -- I might pay $100 an hr for a Calc tutor but not drivers ed. $500 gets a kid 30 hrs of drivers ed class & 6 hrs on the road training. The capitalist system says that drivers ed is worth $13.89 an hr with $0 pension or helthcare, with $0 for a car or a classroom or parkig lot. You work in a school, you should be able to do the math.

Are you telling me that if LFHS advertised open drivers Ed positions for $75K plus healthcare, a pension, a winter break, spring break, holiday breaks, summers off etc that LFHS wouldn't receive any applications?

What These teachers are demanding is an outrage. Dont they realize we are in the midst of what their president obama calls the worst recession since 1929. Glad they were big enough to "take one for the team" with no raise last year .raises in 5 of the last 6 years. Highest salaries in the state,ridiculos pensions,,9 month work year.health care we all dream of...seems like a perfect scenario to strike..get real or leave