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Health & Fitness

LFHS teacher strike is getting national attention, yet teachers feel no shame

According to Charles Greiss, head of Lake Forest Teacher Union, there is plenty of money in reserve to pay teachers more. Greiss had a base salary of almost $150,000 during 2011-2012 school year.



My concerns lies with how the board is handling replacements.  I assumed that the board was hiring replacements last week when Lake Forest High School students had three days off from school. 

Now it appears that school is in session today (9/17) but not with the usual class instruction.  The board said they will be providing "quality offerings" and giving passports rather than simply attending their scheduled classes. 

If District 115 does not hire replacement teachers, then it will have no choice but to cave, as it stands to reason that kids simply cannot keep missing normal instruction.  I hope the board is presently lining up teachers for jobs and that they are being hired.

News of the LFHS District 115 teacher strike was discussed at WLS-AM 890 this morning (9/17) with Dan Proff and John Kass of the Tribune, when Kass was filling in as a substitute host at WLS-AM during the 9:00-11:00 a.m. time slot.  

Charles Greiss, head of the LF teacher union was interviewed by Dan Proff during his 8:00 a.m. morning gig at WLS-890.  According to Charles Greiss, Lake Forest has plenty of money in reserve to pay teachers more.  Furthermore, since the board hired the teachers that are now on strike the district can afford to honor what the union is requesting.  

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

When Dan asked if the teachers at LFHS are worth $30,000 more than what is the average high school teacher salary in IL, Charles Greiss, whose base salary was almost $150,000 during the 2011-2012 school year, would only say that he had come from business to teach at LFHS and how teachers at LFHS must be paid more so the very best teachers can be hired for our kids.

Kudos to Lisa Black, a reporter at the Tribune, who is likewise doing an excellent job of covering the latest strike activity in her daily Tribune account.

The Chicago and the Lake Forest Teacher strike went national on Sunday (9/16) at the American Thinker, a prestigious website with Thomas Lifson as editor.  Now Lake Forest is know throughout this nation for the absurd nature of its strike. No longer is the Chicago strike taking all the wind out of the sails.  The Lake Forest situation now is getting the attention that it deserves.

The heat must be kept on for LF Board #115 to toe the line.  The powerful influence of the IEA (NEA) must be confronted for who it is or else education in the state of IL will remain controlled by an organization that has become too powerful -- doing little to advance educational standards here in Illinois -- with a platform that vehemently opposes school vouchers and home schooling. 

Education should be in control of local school districts, not vested in the IEA which LFHS teachers are members is.

Following is the very excellent article published on Sunday, Sept. 16 at the American Thinker. 
Page Printed from: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/09/a_tale_of_two_teachers_strikes.html at September 16, 2012 -

08:32:12 AM CDT

September 16, 2012

A tale of two teacher's strikes

Bruce Johnson

Chicago Teachers are on strike.  35 miles north of Chicago there is also a teachers strike, in the tony suburb of Lake Forest.
In Chicago, the teacher's average compensation is circa $71,000 per year.  The average household income in Chicago is around $46,000.

Find out what's happening in Lake Forest-Lake Bluffwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In Lake Forest, the average teacher compensation is around $106,000 per annum.  The average household income in Lake Forest is about $200,000.

In the Chicago instance, the teachers are well above the median income, yet still want more from those who make less.

In Lake Forest, the teachers seem to think that if they are teaching the kids of those who make 200K a year that perhaps they should be making something closer to that number.

Each of these strikes is absurd, but in different ways. 


To expect more taxes to come from those who make less than you so that you may make more money must be questioned.  Chicago is broke. And it is wonderful theatre to watch Rahm Emanuel cross swords with the Teachers Union.  Additionally, these teachers are striking under the following circumstances.

 "Chicago students currently receive 5 hours and 45 minutes per day of teacher instruction - the least of any major city in the nation. To examine the issue, Dr. McQuillan compared the 'pay per hour of instruction for Chicago teachers to public school teachers in the following cities: Charlotte, N.C., Richmond, Va., Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta. These cities were selected because they are major cities in states that do not allow public school teachers to collectively bargain. In these states, teacher salaries are determined more by individual merit and competition than forced collective bargaining. After taking into account Chicago's higher cost of living, Dr. McQuillan determined that Chicago teachers are overpaid by 31 percent." 

Now turn to Lake Forest.  Lake Forest is not broke. Neither are the teachers. At an average of over $100,000 a year, no, for 9 months, they are handsomely compensated.

But it seems this city is going to hold its ground.  Thousands of applicants for teaching in the Lake Forest school system are rejected annually. All presumably willing to work for less than the six figures currently paid. Filling the teacher ranks would be done in short order.
Chicago Tribune:

"The school board also said that it has offered to defer a two-tiered salary schedule that has been a sticking point, but that teachers are still holding out for raises of 5 to 6.5 percent per year.  If no deal is reached by Monday, the North Shore high school (Lake Forest)  is expected to reopen for a mandatory academic program that will be overseen by administrators with the help of community volunteers."  

In Lake Forest, with all the compensation for its teachers, the Football Team has to do fund raisers for helmets and pads. No room in the school's budget apparently.
Curious.

So the Chicago teachers, already compensated beyond the norm, are attempting to get blood from a stone.  And the Lake Forest teachers must be suffering from a delusion that school can't go on without them.  How wrong they both are.

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