The LF School Board is going to bust the strike with replacement teachers. They receive thousands of applications every year from highly qualified teachers looking to teach on LF's bucolic campus. All of those applications are sitting in a computer system and easily accessible. The board would be wise to send out a mass email to all in the system saying "If you are still interested in teaching at LFHS, even on a temporary to potentially permanent basis, click here to reapply."

The kids will still receive a great education because you will have highly qualified teachers who are working to keep their job. The temps will know that they are being evaluated and judge every day. That will bring out the very best in them. Possibly a better result than the tenured teachers who just fall into a rut of complacency and indifference.

Do the teachers know the details of the last offer made by the Board Monday? If not, why not? Why would the union leaders want to keep the teachers in the dark? Would the teachers be embarrassed to know their leaders rejected a reasonable compromise?

If you dig a little deeper into the union demands, they are trying to claw back the "hard freeze" that they love to publicize. They claim that they took no raise at all last year (neither did many of the taxpayers but that is a nuance clearly missed by the union spokesman). However, a freeze is not a freeze when you extort above market raises in future years by holding children's education hostage by walking out and striking.

I would like to propose a compromise on the "two tiered" pay scale. All existing teachers should convert to the pay scale for the new teachers. If you are above scale you get your COLA until the scale catches up to you. If you don't like it, you are welcome to seek employment elsewhere. If you do like it, get back to work and show that you are truly in it for the kids. If you are not in it for the kids, stop lying to them and to yourselves.

The truth is, this strike only spotlights how outdated the unions really are. If these people were picketing to stop hazardous working conditions or abusive bosses they might get some sympathy. They should be decertified, Ms. Golan should call their bluff.

The entire Board of Education needs to be replaced. They are lousy. The teachers union is lousy, too. Both sides are being terrible. And who loses here? And if there are all these teachers in the woodwork waiting to teach at LFHS, why is the high school asking for "helpers" to run the school next week? That is the lamest thing I've ever heard. Let's get parent volunteers to run the classrooms. OMG. GIve me a break. Sharon Golan and the rest of the BOE, why don't you get in there and "help"!!! And the teachers are losing my respect by the minute. The only decent thing I've heard is the football coach who crossed picket lines to hold practice.

I've heard that the average salary is over $100k with pension benefits and so forth. How many days per year do they work for that 100K? Do some make over $1000 a day?

Quick question - I know the SC ruled that replacement workers don't have to be replaced by the strikers when the strikers come back - does that mean that some of the teachers could be out of jobs? Or will the BOE cave on this issue?

http://iirc.niu.edu/School.aspx?source=AYP_Information&source2=AYP_Report&schoolID=340491150160001&level=S

EVALUATE THE TEACHERS!!!! They want a raise? Look at the report....I don't think they deserve one

@ Joe I believe the LFEA negotiation team has the sole power to accept or deny any BOE offer without presenting it to its members. We do know they never shared the original offer in June when the teachers voted to strike.
The LFEA drew the line in the sand that has put us in this situation. With that said, whatever the BOE offer was Tuesday night, the taxpayer and the LFEA members are both in the dark.
I am sure the hard core union members are using old school bullying methods to pressure the younger teachers.
The kids have learned from emotional wellness initiative. Maybe LFEA members need to stop talking and start listening.

GET RID OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION. THEY ARE CAREER BOARD MEMBERS WHO NEED TO GET OUT. NOT ONE OF THEM HAS A CHILD ATTENDING LFHS. ENOUGH ALREADY. THE TEACHER'S UNION CAN LEAVE, TOO.

@ Dave R. Yes you are close on your math. $120,000/182= $659.34 a day.
So everyday = 1/2% of pay lost! (If I am correct on my math and pending the BOE doesn't give the retro pay back)
Also factor in the Health cost per day they LFEA members should owe back as well.

This is quite simple to resolve. BOE needs to start interviewing for replacement teachers. Give the strikers a deadline of Friday. If they are not back on the job then they will be forced to reapply and compete with any replacement teachers. Even though it is overly generous, BOE needs to do the honorable thing and stick to the pay scale that was proposed to the Union.

Just get on with it though. Sitting here waiting for the other side to blink is not a good negotiating strategy. If you think that your offer and your position is a good one then act on it.

TO THE TEACHERS AND UNIONISTS READING THIS:

Community fully supports Coach Spagnoli, the comments section in the Tribune and Sun-Times articles overwhelmingly supports the LF taxpayer, the commenters on LF Patch overwhelmingly supports the LF taxpayer, my Facebook feed of former LFHS graduates is making fun of you and your ridiculous stance.

YOU ARE LOSING THIS BATTLE & YOUR REPUTATION BY THE MINUTE...

Illinois state laws show that union members can't be fired for exercising their legal right to strike. The school is not looking to fill classrooms with ad hoc teachers,just room monitors to continue to provide a safe location for students. Teachers will not be replaced during the strike and after when they return to work, their positions will be there waiting for them. This is Illinois law, not some union perk, and not something the board can change.Unfortunate as it may seem, there will be no clearing house of striking teachers or of board members until the next election.
@Dave R. Teachers work 185 school days for a contractual 7:30 - 3:30 school day. A teacher making $100,000/year, divided by 185, divided by 8 makes approximately $67.57/hr. A teacher at $150,000 makes $101.35. And a new teacher at $50,000 makes $33.78/hr. Leave out time spent outside of work preparing or grading (as all professionals spend large amounts of time off the clock doing work for their jobs), compare these salaries to other professions. It's then up to your opinion as to whether these wages are fair. To some posters on this board, a bachelors degree is worth $34/hr and a master's with 30 years experience is worth $100 or more. This is not the case for other posters.
@many of you: Illinois law states that current teachers will not receive a full pension until they complete 34 years of service, 43 years for new teachers. Anyone who claims that teachers can retire at 50 should count backward.

@ interested. I agree with the info you have provided but you are now comparing a teacher to the non educational proffessions. If that is the case then should the hourly employees at a wage of $101.35 in todays economy be seeking a 3 year increase in excess of what the boards offer was or now is?

My hourly wage statement was a response to Dave, not a statement of my opinion in the matter. Many other comments here describe the similarities and differences between the private sector and teachers, so I posed the comparison question to that end. I strongly believe that the particular issues in question here could have been resolved by continued negotiations while the school remained open and staffed with these teachers. None of the issues on the table seem to me to warrant a strike.

Someone answer this:
Are the teachers in fact going to lose the per day wages and have to pay the cost of health care back per day?

It is outrageous that no talks between the two sides are scheduled.

So if there is no financial consequence for their actions what stops them from striking everytime a contract issue arrises in future years?

At first I thought that it was odd that the BOE was asking for volunteers to man the school, but it makes sense that right now the school is open in a non-instructive capacity. The students can attend and study or do research, but will not get instruction. Why waste money on paid substitutes at this point? Strike laws are in place, and after so many days, the law will allow for some kind of resolution. The teachers cannot stay on strike forever at the cost of the students! At that point, the BOE will be able to order a back to work demand with the consequence of being able to fire those who do not comply, and re-hire replacements. Such a pity that teachers who have been at the high school for so many years are now in a situation to lose their six figure employment! It was so comfortable for them--I wonder why they didn't see how the community has changed? Lake Forest has the highest number of foreclosures on the North Shore!

I just ran some numbers on the cost of pensions. Here are the assumptions: 35 years of employment with annual contributions; after year 35 there is a beginning pension payment of $120,000 per annum; annuity payments increase by 2% per annum; the annuity runs for 25 years. This puts the life expectancy at about 85 years.

Can I have a drum roll for the value of this pension plan???? The employer would need to have contributed approximately $30,000 in the teacher's first year of employment and increased the contribution amount by 3% per annum. The contribution in the final year of employment would be $83,000. Look at those numbers and tell me that the deal on the table is not fair.

Interested Parent:

I have one comment:

First, regardless of what side any of us are on (the BOE or Teacher's Union), nothing will get resolve if the two sides don't sit down an talk. It has now been two days and no talks are scheduled. The Teacher's Union says they made a proposal on Tuesday night and the BOE ignored it. The BOE says they rejected it. It DOESN'T matter. Both Sharon Golan and Chuck Gress are elected leaders of their respective groups, now step up and LEAD!!!! Get to the table and work this out.

They are at 2 pm today

Most of us only know what we hear from the two sides in articles such as this. What I see is the city of Chicago teachers striking for the right to have schools with working heat in the middle of winter, calculators for its students and for the right to a teachers aid for classrooms that have 36 kids in them. They are striking for the benefit of their students. Its sad that this is not what the Lake Forest strike is about.

Solution for everyone. . .the teachers should vote to get rid of their union, and then rise and fall, like the rest of us, based on job performance. Each teacher, like the rest of us, should negotiate his or her own pay and benefits package. Please don't tell me that high school teachers need tenure to somehow protect themselves from an unjust firing. No matter how well I do in the private sector, there is always the chance I will be fired for no reason at all. It's called employment "at will." They can't see they are an unjustly overcompensated, protected subset of the American worker and that their union doesn't work for them, but for politicians with agendas having nothing whatsoever to do with education. So decertify the LFEA and let each teacher have the dignity and freedom to enter into a contract with the Board and negotiate his or her own deal, and then rise and fall by his or her own job performance or lack thereof. It's the American Way! I guarantee, thousands of highly qualified folks who love kids and love to teach and actually have mastered their own subject matter. . .unlike a FEW TOO MANY at LFHS. . .will line the sidewalks and wait in the wind, rain and snow to snag one of those 10 month a year jobs with many paid vacation days and very little pressure compared with the real world, where a screw up could cost a person life, limb or property.

Jen,
I appreciate the logic, but it just doesn't work that way in education.
It is impossible to quantify with CERTAINTY the worth of an individual teacher. There are so many variable. And teachers do so many different things. As a result, a pay scale is needed.
Individual salaries would change the culture of trust and collaboration amongst peers.
The "American Way" is about collective success and sacrifice.
The teachers at LFHS are on a level different than most schools. Most residents don't understand how many scholars, brilliant people are in there. There are great teachers at other schools, but this is a highly intellectual group of teachers.
And tell me there is no pressure when performing in front of hundreds of teenagers everyday, being entrusted with an incredibly important responsibility.

Regarding your argument about teacher "pay"-- just substitute lawyer, doctor, nurse, accountant, sales rep, private school teacher, etc. for "teacher" and you'll see you still just don't get it, which leads me to believe you have never worked in a job without a union set pay scale. The fact is, every day the free market is making decisions about who should be paid what, and it works better than any system ever devised for the rest of us, so why not for public school teachers? Is there injustice in some cases? Of course! But that is no reason to shield an entire subset of the American workforce from individual scrutiny and evaluation, with a wage based thereon, just like the rest of us! And the bit about pressure? Admittedly, it can be highly subjective. But pleasing a boss who is generally more experienced than you and could firre you for any reason or no reason is real pressure. Pleasing a bunch of children with your presentation that day is not...try the private sector in a $100,000 plus job whose term is 12 months, without your generous vacation day package and you'll know what I mean.

I think we need to bring in the, "Frat Boys," I can have my people call their people ;-)

Hey me, why don't you do something intelligent and read up on the laws in Illinois regarding strikes. Then you will understand why the board can't run out and hire replacements. Bascially, its against the law. I know you think you have all the answers. But honestly, the board can't use any of the tactics you describe because they would be violating the law. Stop blaming them. You obviously are not smart enought to understand that no matter what community you live in or how powerful you are you are not allowed to break the law. Well in your case I wouldn't be surprised to find that you probably have at some point!

For all of you who are so upset about the pay for only ten months and the schedule teachers have. You should have become a teacher then. The schedule has always been what it is and will not change. Stop complaining about stuff you wish you have, you had the opportunity to become a teacher yourself

Law, I'd like to believe what you say is true. Perhaps you're a lawyer but the immaturity with the insult hurling lowers the intelligence & credibilty of your post as well. Best to just stay with the facts.

@Go Scouts, Oh God no do I wish I had gone into teaching. Unions would drive me nuts. I'm way too independent for that and I prefer efficient systems.

Teachers do not stop working, even when the school day ends. They stay up late preparing assignments, they keep the troubles of their fledgling and emotionally troubled students at the forefront of their minds. Some of them have large families, some of them are the only breadwinner in their house. Some of them have children with a chronic illness, (or two children), but find it in their emotional reserve to give their full attention and care to the children of our nation's most privileged citizens.

Whenever I hear people labeling teachers as greedy, or bemoaning their merit increases, I hear the sound of people threatened by the courage and emotional fortitude teachers have. I hear the sound of someone who doesn't have the guts to stand up for his own salary the way teachers stand together.

Are there problems with unions? Yes. There should be a sensible way to replace bad teachers. But, in Lake Forest there are very few, if any, "bad" teachers. The privileged citizens of this town demand the absolute best quality education from the teachers at LFHS, but then savage those same teachers when they demand pay at a level equal to the value of what they provide. That's hypocrisy. It's also shameful.

My teachers in high school were tremendous. I count several of them as life-changing, supportive figures in my life. I would pay them more than the CEO of Chase if I could. Because, see, they don't gamble away livelihoods, they build them up. That's invaluable.

Peace.

in many ways the taxpayers should thank Chuck Gress for bringing the issue to the forefront. Had the teachers simply accepted the uber-generous offer made by the BOE, this all would have flown under the radar screen and the union would have scored a coup in the form of above average raises in a stagnant economy. Instead, he rallied the troops to hold out for more and to wring the taxpayers for the last drop of goodwill. They squeezed a little too tight, broke the comfortable bond with the generous taxpayers and they got more than they bargained for. Now, the genie is out of the bottle and it will take many years to stuff it back in. The silver lining for the taxpayer is that we will be more vigilant. We will continue to be generous when it comes to education but we will always remember that the the union sold out our kids for a few extra Shekels in their pension. Well done union boss, well done.

@Jen, you're correct. Teachers need to work within the free market for employment that the rest of us work in. @Louis, you're misguided. My wife is a teacher. My best friend is a teacher. When we go to parties, they are filled with teachers. Believe me, I know lots of teachers and they do not work any more hours than the rest of us that are conscientious and work hard at our jobs. @ Go Scouts! Your logic is flawed. You would normally want to fix the problem, not suggest that someone take a job with a flawed compensation scale. My wife is a teacher and she knows that she is overcompensated. As I've said in other posts here on this subject, my family is grateful for all the the teaching profession has provided to us. We are also embarrassed at the outrageous pension that will be provided to our family. The big problem with the Lake Forest teachers as a whole is that while we are grateful for what teaching has provided to our family, they (the LFEA) are ungrateful. That's UNGRATEFUL, all in caps, on purpose :)

According to the BOE's statement they have agreed to remove the 2 Tier system and phase in the HMO contributions. Accoring to the LFEA websie they were opposed to those items. So with those items addressed isn't it time we all speak the truth that it was about the money all along?