i have kids in the district and support the teachers. they have no one to blame but the unqualified representatives they selected to represent them in this negotiation. what greedy inept bunch. young, lee....

Dear Readers,

As it has been throughout the entire process, last night's meeting was kinda surreal and as baffling as the point at which we finally find ourselves.

First, walking through the picket line outside the building was bizarre since no one's on strike. Let me be clear that there were no intimidation efforts of any kind.

Though it was SRO, as Rick pointed out, only 6 people spoke - and none of them were teachers. John McCormick was a little over the top, but barely. The most effective speaker was retiree Kent Bickford who not only was a union man, but his wife is a retired teacher.

He spoke in favor of the board holding the line.

Though it was his absolute right to do so, I thought the fact that Steve Young, the GEA head honcho's husband, got up to speak was incredibly disingenuous. And I would harbor that same sentiment if I took to the podium. We both have a voice in this already so give the other folks a chance.

That said, he certainly didn't go Huey Long on us.

And then it was over. I appreciated the readers who came up to say hello, those who agree with my position and those who do not. It's gratifying when we all make an effort to be respectful in public.

We'll see what today's negotiations bring.

Jeff

Are the votes to strike done by secret ballot or are they cast under the watchful eyes of the Youngs?

* eating nachos *

Hey Butthead...heh heh heh, get over here. You are missing the show!!

GEA please make me understand your position. I believe the BOE has offered a fair contract. Your arguments about attracting quality educators to the district are off base. Unfortunately the teachers could be replaced several times over, the good relationships between the GEA and the community will take years to repair.

What was Barb Freeman doing outside the polling place at Westrrn Acenue?

As a parent of three kids in the Geneva schools, I am put in a place to not publicly state my opinion to avoid jeopardizing a relationship that my children has with their teachers. As it is now, when I am present in the school there is an air of awkwardness, as everyone is ignoring the elephant in the room.

I was surprised to learn of the teachers demands for a salary increase when our taxes are going up, and property values are going down. Now that the contract proposals are public, I was also surprised to learn that their tuition for advanced education is supplemented by the tax payers, and that degree that we supplemented entitles them to another pay increase. Certainly continued education will value the students. The offer the board has made is generous. My feeling is that they are getting led by the union. The union is likely the one that is leading the demand for increases, and the teachers probably will go along with it, since it could also benefit their pockets. I think the union should be decertified. http://www.unionfacts.com/article/union-member-resources/how-to-decertify-your-union/

I find it ironic that our district has a campaign of "Anti bullying" yet, the teachers are modeling bullying very well for the students.

Sure the teachers deserve a raise! But also I appreciate and support the boards effort to "achieve an agreement that is good for students, fair to teachers, and fiscally responsible."

I know this is a small issue in the grand scheme of things, but Mothers Club of Geneva is having it's craft fair on Saturday at the high school. This is MCOG's biggest fundraiser and ironically a large chunk of the money we raise goes towards scholarships, school supplies and holiday gifts for students in need. We as an organization have always jumped to help out our schools whenever they need us. How sad it will be if the union chooses to picket the high school during the fundraising craft fair. I truly hope they will choose other locations on that day.

Rick, while I can appreciate that you cannot print EVERYTHING that was said, and that you have limited space and must edit, my comments made last night were not reported whatsoever in the context in which they were delivered.

During the last few months / years, the district, administrators and teachers have all been attempting to educate the students about the effects of bullying and giving in to peer pressure. Even the local newspapers and online publications such as The Patch have joined in, assisting to spread the message.

What we have with this potential teacher's strike is a whole lot of bullying going on. I'm not here to point fingers at anyone in particular, but suffice it to say that it's happening on several, different levels. Teachers that don't REALLY want to strike will go on strike anyway, because the union says they need to support fellow union members. Teachers that are not in the union and don't even wear the green T-shirt will not cross the lines to show their support for those striking. (Perhaps one could argue that the students are getting bullied by ALL the grown-ups.)

So ... Is it fair to say that it's OK for the grown-ups to impose their wants and requests on other grown-ups who may not agree? Is it OK for some grown-ups to cave into peer pressure, because they fear the results if they don't cave in? Is it OK for these same grown-ups to then turn to our children in school and tell them how bad it is to bully others or to be be bullied?

Al, here is my fear. It would appear that this is a peer pressure scenario wherein the vocal majority 'makes the rules'. I have read in comments in other related articles and posts where references are made to teachers who are not happy with the situation. Teachers who feel they cannot 'fight' the union position because being in the minority it would be career suicide. We understand how that works. And as for those caught up in this situation where this is sincerely true, we feel for you.

But, these teachers need to remember, that in these hard times and with so much bad blood flowing in the waters already, that who decline to stand up to GEA, will eventually be reaping the same benefits that the negotiations (or strike) bring about. They must remember that brush of public opinion paints with a wide swath.

And my fear is when after all is settled, and a teacher says, "I did not want to strike; the union made me do it, I was only following orders", it will tend to ring hollow. Memories can be long, especially when they are built upon the backs of the taxpayers.

@Enough already - If this is truly what the GEA believes then they have very little understanding of MCOG. We solve problems not by crying to our principals but by volunteering and working incredibly hard to raise funds for our community. I guarantee if the GEA truly wants any support from us they will leave us to raise funds in peace on Saturday. @Julie - thank you!

We haven't seen the offers from either side since the "final" ones published on Oct. 19th - negotiations have continued. The last proposal from the teachers, that has NOT been made public, presented to the board on October 26, included many concessions that the board said they needed. IT INCLUDED A HARD FREEZE IN YEAR ONE, except for 36 individuals (out of 422) that had signed approval forms for lane advancement. Yet, the board didn't accept that, instead changing the playing field again by removing any reference to steps in their offer and by using a new method of costing out the offer. Agreeing on the terms of a contract is impossible if one is aiming for a moving target.

The education of my children is at stake, so as a concerned parent (and taxpayer) I attended the meeting last night. Not too long ago I wore Viking blue to show my support of the Geneva teachers, but last night I went only as a mother who has been disappointed by the GEA’s refusal to consider what many of us deem as a fair contract. What surprised me most were the many other mothers that I saw in attendance – the same mothers that are in the school on a weekly basis as volunteers and PTO committee chairs – and none of them were wearing Viking blue either. The “mama bears” are coming out now, and in polite and subtle way, we are telling the GEA that we do not approve.

At this point my recommendation to the BOE is to negotiate the best deal possible and avoid a strike. Then on Monday morning with the help of a professional develop a lock tight contingency plan to keep the schools open in the event of a future strike. Remember, in 3 short years the contract comes back up for negotiation and you will then have a level playing field. This takes the kids out of the hostage situation now and in the future. Not a perfect plan but the most prudent course of action if you truly are in the camp of " it is all about the children". Be patient and thank the teachers union for waking up the taxpayers. Take a lesson from the martial arts, let your opponent throw his weight then use his inertia to defeat him. This situation did not happen over night and will not be corrected as quickly as everyone would like. Have discipline, patience and dignity. Devote all your energy to what you control, yourself.

It appeared to me that all those who spoke at the meeting last night are retired. Maybe we should really be focusing our efforts on shifting more of our education funding away from property taxes. This would lessen the tax burden on retirees. The idea has been tried before and failed – I believe the most recent attempt was by Governor Jim Edgar in ’97.

Looks like the GEA is burning through membership dues funds with spending on web development, direct mail, signage, PR and strike fashions. I am concerned. Will there be funds available to rent the scab rat? We can tell the kids its Halloween II. http://instagram.com/p/PdeJ6thrbS/

Interesting that the GEA has 33 teachers on the payroll (last page).

http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/362/362897999/362897999_201107_990EO.pdf

Same problems different solutions by a school board

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/07/07/Douglas-County-CO-School-District-Role-Model-for-the-Nation

PART ONE:

D-304 voters: It's time to begin educating ourselves in preparation for the April 2013 Geneva Board of Education election.

The IEA spends millions of dollars every year to recruit, train, organize and maintain whole teams to go up against our local BoE's, one BoE at a time, during contract negotiations. They do a similar thing during BoE campaigns/elections. Only a well-informed and highly motivated citizenry, who maintain effective two-way communication with their BoE, can hope to negate the influence of these IEA teams. IEA will do everything in their power to insure the election of BoE members sympathetic to their cause.

"Four seats on our seven-member Geneva School District Board of Education will be filled at the April 9, 2013, Consolidated Election. All of the seats are full, four-year terms." https://www.geneva304.org/board_of_education/2013_elections.asp

PART TWO:

Since these four new BoE members will serve four year terms, they may constitute the majority voice which represents Geneva voters' interests as we try to hold costs in check while providing quality education to our children. They will serve throughout the new contract term and into the next teachers' contract, so it is imperative that we elect strong well-prepared voices committed to defending a rational financial basis for every Board decision.

No matter the outcome of the current teacher negotiations, D-304 finances will need very careful managing. Mistakes have been made in the past which must be reversed wherever possible and must never be repeated in the future. Because teachers pay and benefits constitute such a large percentage of our property tax burden, we must focus very closely on all issues pertaining to teacher compensation and work-rules, without exception.

IEA will be coming after D-304 again in 2013 when it's time for BoE elections, just as they have during these contract negotiations. Let's be ready for them.

Take a look at the link below and scroll down to page 5 and 6. You can see who all of the Union members are and what they are paid, tax free, of course!

http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/362/362897999/362897999_201107_990EO.pdf

The saddest part in all this is that they really feel they deserve all this, despite the fact that the rest of us are living (barely) in this recession.

Thanks for those union links above. I too recognize a few names; funny, my first thought was how those are exactly the teachers who would NOT prosper on a merit system.

Jack, excellent idea. I hope a diverse group of people who have business/finance experience will run for school board office. The current board has done well, and a fiscally responsible direction certainly got established. Above all, it will take some really strong personalities (like Bob M), who are thick skinned, understand the numbers, and will have the courage to do the right thing for the community.

Because BTown, a lot of Geneva residents, myself included, were totally unaware of the wasteful spending in the form of graduate degree abuse, pension spiking, drivers ed teachers/ librarians making six figures, outrageous # of sick days, need I continue? What again is the purpose of the union? Maintaining the status quo for teachers? Sorry, can’t afford that anymore.

Thanks to their probable strike, we all got a wake up call.

Another interesting fact from the teachers agreement. In reality the taxpayers are paying for the mediator and fact finder (if there is one) because we also pay the teachers.

ARTICLE IV – ATTENDANT COSTS
Cost for consultants chosen by any party shall be paid by that party. The costs for the
mediator or for the fact finder shall be shared equally by the Board and the Association.

http://www.genevataxfacts.org/attachments/article/52/2009-2012%20Geneva%20Teacher%20Contract.pdf pages 6-8

Straight from IEA site:

This Constitutional Amendment would also require that any local collectively bargained agreement be approved by a three-fifths majority if those agreements had incentives or additional compensation increases beyond salary.

The IEA is urging members to Vote NO on the Proposed Constitutional Amendment. Here’s why:
■This Constitutional Amendment will make our ability to fight for fair contracts much harder.
■This Constitutional Amendment will limit the bargaining power of employers and employees.
■This Constitutional Amendment would make it nearly impossible to reduce the Tier 2 retirement age of 67 to a more reasonable age.

■This Constitutional Amendment will make it harder to attract the best people to the education profession.

From the Union Membership Benefits Page:

What about strikes?

While strikes are legal, they rarely happen. In the 1990′s, IEA has averaged about five strikes per year for its 1000 locals (less than 0.5%). Most contracts are settled amicably.

http://www.ieanea.org/benefits/organize/

Perhaps it is time for tax payers to unionize

My friend provided me with the following math behind the salary spike confusion:
At teacher making $90,000 three years prior to retirement gets a 6% spiked increase for the last three years based on GEA and IEA contract wants. When compared to a more normal 3% expected annual increase per year, the pension gets based on a salary of $107,000 vs. $98,000 ( plus any additional cost of living adjustments, raises, etc.), with the added cost of the spike being about $8-9,000 per teacher in the first year. A pension for life is then determined over this higher salary figure, and usually based on about 70% of the salary. Using those figures, the difference would be about $6,500 + extra per year. The average retirement is over 30 years. That makes the spiking portion alone cost an added $199,000 per teacher over the course of a 30 year pension. With 40+teachers retiring in near term, that amounts to nearly $8 million to add to the underfunded pension at the state. Is that what we want to do - continue to create unrealistic problems and then shrug them off onto the state? Isn't that why the state is underfunded? No insurance company right now is offering a 5% guarantee on fixed, indexed, or variable annuities with living benefits - the rate is considered in junk territory. Why would we agree to commit to spiking at a level considered so high it is considered junk status and no insurance carriers are offering it anywhere?

Dear GEA,
Please go on strike.

Dear BOA,
Please hold strong! You have a great deal of support. Declare Job Abandonment and re-interview teachers that are committed to their profession. Replace those that have shown us that they no longer care or care only about what Geneva can provide them.

Imagine if one of the highly respected GHS teachers, you know, the ones who are routinely called upon to give the commencement speeches - stepped up and said, ' I feel grateful to work in this community and I value the relationship we have with the families in this district. The GEA does not speak for me and I would like to continue my work uninterrupted."

Man,we'd probably end up naming a school after him

My favorite FAQ answer from the GEAforstudents.org website shows how out of touch the GEA is from the reality in their own community. I hardly believe the majority of Geneva taxpayers are "private industry executives" as is implied in the answer to this FAQ regarding paying a percentage of health insurance.

I have to pay for my insurance, why shouldn’t teachers?

This is a new trend, paying for insurance, in private industry. Because teachers’ salaries are relatively low compared to private industry executives, this benefit is well deserved. It is important that your children have healthy teachers who are consistently in the classroom every day to optimize their learning. Teachers do pay a percentage of their family coverage.

Maybe they are under the belief that if they print it people will believe it? Wake up GEA.

Fact: I live in Geneva
Fact: My children went 10 years to Private Grade Schools in Geneva
Fact: One child went to Geneva High School
Fact: Below is what I paid on a yearly average for the following on my tax bills since I lived here
GE Sch Dist 30 yearly avg = 8.36% (WOW)
Pension Funds yearly avg = 14.78% (YIKES)
Fact: I would love that yearly average
Fact: I have read the portion of the contract that has been available
Fact: The Contract reads from the 1920's written with a Fountain dip Pen
Fact: Geneva has had 3 years to develop a contingency plan, in the event of strike, and execute its risk mitigation plan.

I deleted a comment by Julie because it falsely identifies a Patch user.