New superintendent for District 64
At a special Board meeting April 19th, Dr. Philip Bender was introduced as the new superintendent for District 64.


New Issue of Teacher Talk
http://www.preateachertalk.wordpress.com



January Issue of Teacher Talk http://www.preateachertalk.wordpress.com



Carpenter PREA Members,

Ottawa Township High School settled their contract this morning and are back in school. Thank you for all of your messages/letters of support. Check out the IEA website for specific details.

Erin Breen



PREA goes to Ottawa 10/06

In Ottawa’s downtown park, the very spot where the first Lincoln-Douglas debate took place, several hundred people gathered. Teachers, local union members, high school students and town’s people rallied this afternoon in support of striking teachers, members of the Ottawa Township High School Education Association.

At issue is the demand by the board of education that teachers substantially increase what they pay for family health insurance. While the teachers have expressed a willingness to make a greater contribution than they presently do, the board’s demands are out of whack. In the end, teachers would pay an amount for insurance far greater than they would receive as an increase in salary.

My colleague, PREA President Erin Breen, and I drove to Ottawa this afternoon to demonstrate our local’s support. It was only six years ago that our local was also walking the picket line over these very same issues.

“Where is the board?” chanted the teachers, directing their contempt towards the board of education which has flat out refused to meet, even with a federal mediator.

Empty chairs with the board members names sat in a row before the speaker’s mic.

“We drove from Park Ridge,” I said to the crowd. “Erin and I drove through Chicago. We drove through Bollingbrook and Willowbrook. We drove past Minooka, Morris and Marseilles. And we didn’t see the board members in any of those places. Where is the board?”

“When the crisis team called and asked if we would come to Ottawa this afternoon, we said, ‘Of course.’ That’s what a union is for. Teachers all over the state know this fight isn’t just about Ottawa teachers. We have your back, just as you would have ours.”

“Solidarity!” someone yelled from the back of the crowd.

“President Obama has said that nobody should die because they can’t afford health insurance. Nobody who is sick should go broke because they can’t afford health insurance. And I would add, no workers should lose what they gain in salary because of outrageously expensive health insurance.”

Please send words of encouragement to OTHSEA President Glenn Weatherford at othsea@gmail.com.
Donations are being accepted at:
IEA Regional Office
% Stacy Walton
116 E. Washington
Suite #2
Morris, IL 60450



Ottawa teachers on strike

September 30, 2009 by Charles McBarron


A four-hour meeting Tuesday failed to bring a settlement to the contract dispute between members of the Ottawa Township High School Education Association and the school board. School is closed and OTHSEA members are walking picket lines this morning.

Insurance for the teachers is a major sticking point,

The board is asking the teachers to pay 20 percent of the difference between individual and family coverage. For this year, that would be $172 per month for teachers with families.

However, Glenn Weatherford, president of OTHSEA, said that number will fluctuate each year based on recommendations from a third-party administrator that oversees the district’s self-insurance plan.

He said that negotiations broke down Tueday because the board refused to budge from its proposal.

The OTHSEA Website is here. Send words of encouragement to President Glenn Weatherford: othsea@gmail.com



Good morning.

Congratulations to the newly elected officers of the PREA.

President: Erin Breen
Secretary: Franny Keyes
Professional Growth: Lisa Gray and Christy Holtz
Region 36 Rep: Lillian Ludkowski
Negotiations: Yet to be determined.

61% turnout. Thanks to all who voted.

-Fred



Thanks to all the PREA member who voted Wednesday.
The turnout was very good - around 80%.
The vote in favor of ratification was 99.4%.

All the members of the Negotiating Team are gratified that we came back with a contract that met with your overwhelming approval.

-Fred



PREA Opening Day Welcome 8/24
Fred Klonsky


Last Thursday, as the PREA negotiating team and the board team were finishing up a negotiating session, I turned to board president John Heyde and said, “John. Do you want to announce our agreement?” And John said, “No, Fred. I think it would be right for you to do it.”

It is kind of symbolic of the way our negotiations have gone. If you bracket out the wait time that occurred because of board elections and the seating of four new board members, this was the fastest negotiating in my memory.

So it is my great pleasure to announce to you that we begin the year with a tentative agreement with the Board of Education on a new three year bargained agreement.

To say that we appreciate the efforts of the Board in reaching this agreement is an understatement. Following many difficult contract negotiations, and I’m old enough to have been there for all of them, this is the second contract in a row where we have been able to reach a tentative agreement before the start of the school year.

Sitting across the table from us were the Board’s negotiators, Board president John Heyde and Pat Fioretto. Our negotiations were frank, respectful, and civil.

“Civil.” That’s not something we saw much of this summer if you watched too much cable or read a paper. You saw and read screeching and gun toting. Angry people calling people who disagreed with them, “Nazis.”

Park Ridge teachers and board members know how to have a civil discussion even when we disagree. If our negotiating process was any indication, I’m thinking our new board will bring real, positive change to the relationship among all the stakeholders in District 64, including those of us who work directly with students. At least that is my hope.

We have scheduled a presentation of the contract next Monday in the Washington School auditorium. We have scheduled a ratification vote for the Wednesday following that meeting. Our terrific, brilliant, dedicated, hard working team of negotiators, Mark Stefanik, our negotiating chair, Tom Nasshan, our secretary, Carol Zydek, Kris Graack, Steve Senf, Jerry Mulvihill believe it is a good contract and we recommend it to you without reservations.

This is the last time I get to speak from this podium at an Institute Day. As PREA President, time and term limits have put an end to these yearly greetings for me. Your patience, courtesy and comments of support over the years have been appreciated.

So let me do a couple of specifics welcomes.

I want to welcome all the past and new employees of District 64, including teachers, para-professionals, administrators, custodians, administrative assistants and other staff.

And to my colleagues in the Park Ridge Education Association and the Park Ridge Teacher Assistant Association, a special welcome.

This was a summer when educators heard from Education Secretary Arne Duncan about a Race to the Top (an odd metaphor for schools. Racing. Where someone wins and someone loses), and lifting limits on the number of charter schools with no differentiation between good charters and bad. We heard how good it was to hand urban schools over to the direct rule of local politicians (a very scary thought when you live in Illinois and apparently New Jersey, our chief competitor in the Race to the Top when it comes to public corruption).

In California at the union convention, I sat in a coffee shop with a group of teachers from South Central Los Angeles as they described working with their administrators to figure out how the contract guided them as they were laying off teachers with up to 25 years seniority and facing class sizes of 40 to 45.

While banks and other financial institutions got our tax money for the stimulus plan, there was no similar bailout for schools, in spite of 100s of billions that were promised. Like Illinois, state leaders are simply filling budget holes and little of the money is finding its way as new added support for education.

This summer we heard about testing, and linking teacher tenure, evaluations and compensation to test scores, and giving money to school districts based on test scores and test scores and test scores and test scores.

After getting to know our board of education better as a result of negotiating, I think we may have leadership that thinks differently than what has become the conventional educational wisdom. As least I hope so.

Dr. Pryor and staff members will be presenting the district’s strategic plan in a few minutes. But let me share a few personal views on what constitutes some essential ingredients for any successful strategy for improvement.

That good working conditions are good teaching conditions and good learning conditions.

That these are provided by an agreement, collectively bargained and honored by both teachers, administrators and the board of education.

That teacher voice is crucial to a quality school system.

That the best leadership is shared leadership.

That good ideas come from the bottom and from the top.

That the responsibility for good schools doesn’t stop at the school’s front door, but it is also a community, a state and a national responsibility.

I was reminded of this again listening to Linda Darling-Hammond at our NEA convention in San Diego.

Darling-Hammond, the highly regarded professor of education at Stanford, head of President Obama’s education transition team and the one who President Obama should have chosen for Secretary of Education, said,

"You know, when you go to high-achieving nations around the world, they don't have children who are homeless. They don't have children without health care."
"The highest achieving countries in the world not only provide high-quality preschool and health care for children, they also fund their schools centrally and equally with additional funds to the neediest schools."
"If you were entering teaching today in Finland, in Singapore, in Korea, you would have full government support for three or four years of teacher preparation in a high-quality program with a stipend or a salary while you trained to teach."
"…In all of these countries, you would have 15 to 25 hours a week for collaborative planning, for observing other teachers teach, for engaging in research and lesson study, for developing and scoring assessments because teachers manage and control the curriculum and assessment system in high-achieving nations."

Now we have classes to set up. We have students coming in tomorrow. We have building business to organize. A million things, each seemingly small, but which take time and are considered essential.

So, just one final thing: I have an addiction for books by teachers about teaching. And one of the best and one of my favorites is Teacher Man by Frank McCourt who also wrote the wonderful Pulitzer Prize winning Angela’s Ashes. If you haven’t read it, you must. McCourt died this past summer at 78.

A public school teacher in New York for 30 years, McCourt once said about himself:

"I don’t call myself anything. I was more than a teacher. And less. In the classroom you are a drill sergeant, a rabbi, a shoulder to cry on, a disciplinarian, a singer, a low level scholar, a clerk, a referee, a clown, a counselor, a dress-code enforcer, a conductor, an apologist, a philosopher, a collaborator, a tap dancer, a traffic cop, a priest, a mother-father-brother-sister-uncle-aunt, a bookkeeper, a critic, a psychologist, the last straw."

Frank McCourt would tell his students:

“You have to study and learn so that you can make up your own mind about history and everything else but you can’t make up an empty mind. Stock your mind, stock your mind. You might be poor, your shoes might be broken, but your mind is a palace."

So on this opening day I’m thinking about Frank McCourt. I’m thinking about the tough times many teachers, kids, parents and schools districts are facing these days. I’m wishing for all of us a very good year. And I’m thanking you for allowing me to serve these last ten years.



You saved TRS. The fight for fair funding continues.

In the end, the Meeks/Cullerton bill HB 174 couldn’t get enough support in the House to be brought to a vote on the floor. Even the pitiful 1.5% increase proposed by the pitiful Governor Quinn went down to defeat Sunday night. Speaker Mike Madigan, the most powerful politician in the House voted for the Quinn bill but made no effort to rally his forces for any tax increase. Without his active support, the income tax bill was dead before the final vote of 42-74.

Remember: Madigan.

To every PREA member who sent dozens of e-mails and made dozens of calls right through yesterday, a huge thanks.

There is time to check the count and see who stood where when the issues came to a vote. And we will hold all accountable.

As for saving our Teacher Retirement System? Nobody believed we could really beat the Governor, who with the help of editorial writers across the state tried to paint a picture of public employees, particularly teachers, as greedy and self-serving for having the nerve to expect their pensions to be left alone after years of faithful service. No 2% increase. No two-tier. We won that fight for now.

-Fred

From Communications Director Charlie McBarron: http://www.ieanea.org/page319701518.aspx




PREA is Springfield Bound on May 6th

A busload of Park Ridge teachers is heading for Springfield on May 6th to join with hundreds of other IEA members from around the state for Lobby Day.

Two items we want to talk to our legislators about:

Our TRS pensions and fair school funding.

The buses will be leaving from Golf Mill at 6:30 AM arriving in time for a rally at the IEA headquarters. By 11 AM we’ll be heading off to the Capitol and to the offices of Representative Rosemary Mulligan and Senator Dan Kotowski.

At a meeting with Dan Kotowski at his district office this week, the Senator expressed his commitment to seeing the state meet its pension obligations.

When asked about Governor Quinn’s proposals to raise teacher contributions by 21%, the Senator said, “That’s the governor’s proposal, not mine.”

It’s not to late to make reservations for the bus.



Teacher Talk 2009 3/19
Click here for the 2009 issue of Teacher Talk


From: Fred Klonsky <fklonsky@d64.org>
Date: Thu, 05 Mar 2009 15:32:13 -0600
Conversation: Mark your calendar.
Subject: Mark your calendar.

With the state in financial shambles and political opportunists wanting to mess with our pensions and pension system, this year’s IEA Lobby Day on May 6th is probably the most important political action sponsored by the IEA in many years.

Ten percent (that’s 36/4 per building) of our members going to Springfield will nearly fill a bus. Our political action fund will pay for the sub and a seat on the bus and lunch (did you know that Springfield is the home of the corn dog on a stick?). The last few years we have had parents, teachers’ family members and board members (well, actually one board member) join us on the bus.

Mark you calendar now. More info after Spring break. Check out the IEA website: http://www.ieanea.org/page29205938.aspx

-Fred



State board issues guidance on class sizes 3/3
The Illinois State Board of Education has issued guidance on how to apply the new class size rules (Sections 226.730(b) and (c)) effective at the beginning of the 2009-10 school year. The ISBE rules and guidance will be the basis for how school districts determine special education class sizes.

The guidance document focuses on 2 main areas: how to form special education classes and how to determine the maximum class size for each class.

The ISBE stresses that the class size numbers are maximums. The numbers are based on the student in the class who receives services for the greatest percentage of the school day and must take into account such factors as the age of the students, the severity of their disabilities, their individualized instruction needs and the teacher’s overall work responsibilities




EDUCATION FUNDING IN JEOPARDY: CALL YOUR SENATORS TODAY!!!! 2/6

Education funding in the proposed economic recovery package is in serious danger. An amendment being offered by Senators Nelson (D-NE) and Collins (R-ME) would drastically reduce the education funding in the economic recovery package.
This funding is very important. It will help save jobs and put more money immediately into struggling local economies. It will also reduce pressure on state budgets so more cuts to important programs can be avoided.
The Nelson-Collins amendment would cut one-half of the funds allocated for:
Flexible funds to local school districts ($39 billion)
Special education/IDEA ($6.8 billion)
Title I ($6.5 billion)
Head Start ($1 billion)
Teacher Quality grants ($50 million)
These cuts would undermine the intent of the economic recovery package to take pressure off state budgets stretched to their limits and infuse critically needed resources immediately into local communities. See how the amendment would impact funding for your state.
VOTE NO on the Nelson-Collins amendment and to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with the education funding intact.
Please call Sen. Durbin at 202/224-2152
Please call Sen. Burris at 202/224-2854




Career Service Incentive Grants 1/18

Julie Thilman, Susan Luif and Agnes Adamik from Jefferson will attend Direct from the Source: The Creative Curriculum System in Denver, April 2-3.

Barbara Murphy from Jefferson and Jane Hobart from Carpenter will attend the Learning and Brain Conference in San Francisco, February 19-21.



PREA, spouses, community members and other district employees volunteer for ELF’s Casino Night. 1/28


Thanks to all the following PREA members, their spouses, community members and other district employees who have volunteered to be dealers at ELF’s Casino Night on January 30th.

Missy and Kirke Machon ,Anne Ham, Carrie Bellen, Gary and Diane Abezetian, Kara Pottinger, Linda Aichinger, Sandy Blethen, Jack Wojteczko, Gordon Sernel, Dave Douglass, Steve Levy, Harley Tom, Dawn O’Connor, Mark Pancini, Tom Nasshan, Chris Francis, Fred Klonsky, Shawn McCarthy, Tom Dombro, Meghan Keefer, Mark Dieden, Frank DeCicco, Kathy Ross, Courtney Pytlarz, Judi McCarthy, Rachel Shippee, Heather Friese, Bessie/Anthony Grosso, Bill Casey, John Imber, Dan Walsh, Michael Heffner, Kim Cichon, Alex Govis, Terry Viscuso, Lynn Zwik, Sharon Bailey, Debbie Graziano, Tina O’Donnell, Franny Keyes, Irene Kappos, Georg Luxton, Sharon Sernel, Leslie Wesolowski, Lisa Gray, Sam Gray, Linda Thomas, Mike
Taglia, Harley Tom, Cathy Stieber, Matt Brackett, Rob Williams, Cheryl Williams and Lenore Franckowiak.



Subject: 2009 Legislative Priorities Update

Dear Colleagues:

These are challenging economic and political times. The economic stability of the state of Illinois and the nation are tenuous, at best. Political leaders at both the state and at the federal level are changing. As such, it is imperative that you be aware that a decisive plan of action to advance the interests of this organization is in place.

Top priorities

We have three major areas of concern as we move forward into the legislative session.
Pension Protection
We stand in strong opposition to any legislation or proposals that seek to reduce or diminish the pension benefits of our members. That includes, but is not limited to, deviations or modifications of the statutorily imposed pension ramp of 1995.

Education Budget
With the budget shortfalls that are facing state government we anticipate an attempt to cut services at all levels. Our challenge will be to ensure the state maintains the level of funding to education promised in 2008. Any reduction in education funding is unacceptable.

Funding Reform
We will continue to lay the groundwork to pass an income tax increase to provide adequate permanent funding for all public schools from pre-K through higher education. However, the reality of the situation is that an income tax increase this year is minimal. We remain steadfast in our belief that the only way to address the school funding crisis is with a sustainable reliable revenue source that meets the foundation and mandated categorical needs of our schools.

Additionally, we will be introducing and advancing legislation around a number of substantive issues consistent with the guidelines in the Legislative Platform.

Lobby Day
We have set Wednesday, May 6, 2009 as the date for the Springfield Lobby Day and we encourage all of you to make plans to attend. However, there is much you can do in your home districts to support the work of the IEA leaders and lobbyists. Please plan to contact your local state senators and representatives at their district offices. Members of the Illinois General Assembly should be home in their districts on the following dates.

Monday, February 2, 2009
Monday, March, 2, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009

We believe that your in-district conversations with elected officials on these three days will enhance our efforts and the impact of our presence on Wednesday, May 6th. A video on how to have a positive interaction with a legislator can be viewed here.

Talking points and further information about these important issues will be available on the website in the next few weeks. Also, please continue to read the Capitol Report, available every Friday when the General Assembly is in session. I also strongly suggest that you not hesitate to contact the IEA Government Relations Department with any questions or comments.

Thank you.

Jim Reed
Director Government Relations
IllinoisEducation Association
Office: 217-544-0706 x276
Mobile: 217-414-8675




From: Roth, Mitch, IEA General Counsel

Subject: Relief From January 1, 2009 Compliance with IRS Section 403(b) Written Plan Requirements

Yesterday, the IRS issued the following notice, essentially giving many school districts an additional year to fully comply with the written plan requirements for Section 403(b) plans (also attached is a news release about the notice). Therefore, instead of January 1, 2009 being the general date by which plans must comply, the new general date for adopting a written plan which is in compliance with the new Section 403(b) rules is January 1, 2010. But even though the general deadline has been extended for adoption of a compliant written plan, affected school districts must operate their Section 403(b) plans during the 2009 year essentially in accordance with the other requirements of the new rules.

The exception for 403(b) plans that are maintained pursuant to existing collective bargaining agreements in effect on July 26, 2007 still exists. Such plans have the following timelines by which they must comply with the new Section 403(b) rules, including those regarding adoption of a compliant written plan: 1) if the CBA expires prior to January 1, 2010, the plan must comply by January 1, 2010; 2) if the CBA expires between January 1, 2010 and July 26, 2010, the plan must comply on the date the CBA expires; and 3) if the CBA expires after July 26, 2010, the plan must comply by July 26, 2010.

Mitch



Governing Board 12/8

The December PREA Governing Board meeting was held at Roosevelt School. All buildings were represented except Field.

There continues to be concerns raised by middle school teachers about the never-ending MSR. There is also concern about who the minority reports are being sent to.

Questions were raised about the process of selecting new principals: the role of the search firm, the cost of hiring the search firm and dissatisfaction with recent experiences with the process.

Teachers who needed to get grades in before the end of the Thanksgiving break were negatively affected by the server being down.

A motion was made to make a donation of $100 to the United Electrical Workers union who have members sitting-in at Republic Windows and Doors.





Career Service Incentive Grant 12/11

The PREA congratulates Melissa Walters who teaches at Lincoln, and Linda Damianides who teaches at Emerson, on being awarded Career Service Incentive Grants. They will be attending the Learning and Brain Conference in San Francisco in February.



IEA backs Republic sit-in. 12/08

The president of Illinois' largest education employees' organization is calling for Bank of America to pay workers at the shutdown Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago the benefits due to them under their union contract.

Ken Swanson, president of the 133,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA) said the bank, by denying credit to Republic, caused the company's shutdown four days ago. Employees have been occupying the Republic plant since it closed. Swanson said the employee benefits, including severance payments, are the bank's responsibility.

"Bank of America, which enjoys a good relationship with the Illinois Education Association and with education employees nationwide, is putting that relationship at risk by failing to help these workers," Swanson said.

"I will be sending a letter to Bank of America to tell them these employees have a contract, and that Bank of America has a responsibility to honor that agreement," Swanson said.




IEA rejects plan to combine pension systems 12/2

A new proposal by Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias that would dramatically diminish the ability of Teachers Retirement System (TRS) members to control their pension system is being rejected by IEA President Ken Swanson.

Swanson said the proposal to combine the investment authority of the 5 state-funded pension plans (TRS, State University Retirement System, General Assembly Retirement System, Judges Retirement System and State Employees Retirement System), could hurt the Teachers' Retirement System and is, therefore, unacceptable.
"TRS has a track record of superior investment results which have tremendously benefitted both TRS participants and the taxpayers of Illinois. We cannot support and will oppose any change in investment authority that diminishes the voice we have through the trustees we elect to TRS," Swanson said.

Another aspect of the treasurers' plan, aimed at tightening ethics requirements for those who work for and with the pension systems, is worth a closer look, Swanson said.
"IEA welcomes the opportunity to work with the treasurer and others to enact ethics reforms that are transparent, appropriate, and protects participants and taxpayers from the kinds of abuse we have seen in the past," he said.

According to Swanson, IEA will partner with IFT and any others interested in protecting the superior investment results at TRS as well as effective ethics standards for all state pension systems.

"We are totally committed to doing whatever is necessary to protect the pensions of IEA members and ensure the system can continue to invest effectively and operate in an environment of high ethical standards and transparency," Swanson said.
TRS also opposes the treasurers' proposal.




Governing Board Meeting 11/11

November’s PREA Governing Board meeting was held Monday at Roosevelt.
Attending were: Tina O’ Donnell (Roosevelt), Cheryl Parmet (Emerson), Jeanne Doheny ( Roosevelt), Lisa Richter (Roosevelt), Georg Luxton (Washington), Leslie Wesolowski (Washington), Sharon Bailey (Washington), Megan Morrison (Carpenter), Terry Viscuso (Emerson), Fred Klonsky (Carpenter), Pat Brennan (Franklin), Melanie Moon (Field), Maureen Borowski (Field), Agnes Adamik, (Jefferson), Keith Liddell (Emerson).

IEA’s election results: victory’s for IEA/NEA endorsed candidates Obama, Kotowski, Mulligan and defeat for ConCon.
Calendar Committee is meeting with recommendations for three years to be presented to the Board in December. Teacher feed-back before then.
Negotiation’s survey: top five issues.
Building concerns: Many issues related to RTI implementation.



Governing Board 11/11

Attending:
Roosevelt – Tina O’Donnell, Jeanne Doheny, Lisa Richter
Emerson – Cheryl Parmet, Keith Liddell, Terry Viscuso
Washington – Georg Luxton, Leslie Wesolowski, Sharon Bailey
Carpenter – Megan Morrison, Fred Klonsky
Franklin – Pat Brennan
Field – Melanie Moon, Maureen Borowski
Jefferson – Agnes Adamik
Lincoln reps could not attend due to Lincoln’s administrative scheduling of parent conferences in violation of our bargaining agreement.

IEA/NEA candidates that won election include: Obama, Kotowski, Mulligan and the defeat of ConCon.
Nomination forms for the IEA RA must be in to the IEA office by Tuesday.
The Calendar Committee’s recommendations for the next three years will be presented to the Board in December. Teacher feedback before then.
Negotiating surveys have identified the top teacher concerns.
Many building concerns related to implementation of RTI.