Donna,
You belong to a group of one of the biggest bullies I know. It's called the union. Maybe you should send this letter to some of your union leaders...

The term bully is becoming very tired because it's overly used. It's losing all it's meaning and impact. It seems anyone who voices a contrary opinion to a group of like-minded people immediately becomes a bully.

One more point: the school district is not the city and vice versa. I think your logic is faulty.

I would like Donna to provide a definition for bully, and to explain how pubilc discourse that includes disagreement is bullying. I haven't seen a lot of bullying here, on either side!

The next time you see a girl or boy with a backpack waiting for a Geneva school bus, imagine that child hunched over with a heavy U.S. Army-style duffel bag on her/his back, and the words “$2.3 million Union Greenshirt Pension” printed in bright green on the bag. Kids used to wear Chicago Bulls jerseys with the number “23” printed on them. Geneva school children today “carry a duffel bag” with “$ 2.3 Million Union Greenshirt Pension” “printed” on it.
When a typical “full-career” (i.e., 33 partial years, equivalent to 25 twelve-month years) Union Greenshirt retires, which for the last 6 years in Geneva has been at age 59, their average initial pension amount has been $ 83,866 per year. This increases by a compounded 3% per year by Illinois law. During the remaining 21 years of life expectancy, the retiree receives $ 2.3 million in pension, primarily paid by the Illinois income taxpayers. Those taxpayers in a few years will include today’s children.
That $ 2.3 Million Union Greenshirt pension is ripped out of the future hopes and dreams of Geneva’s children. This child fiscal abuse is the civil rights issue of our time.
It is a form of bullying.

"We teach them to stand up for truth and not just follow blindly out of ignorance or sit by silently out of fear. I’m pretty sure that all adults in our community value these traits."
I believe this is what the vast majority of taxpayers (adults) are doing right now; standing up for the truth and not just following blindly out of ignorance or sitting by silently out of fear. As I have said before, knowledge is power and an educated taxpayer is a policiticans' and, in this case, a union's worst nightmare. The GEA has flourished because the taxpayers (their employers) didn't really take the time to understand what has been happening. Lucrative salary increases, cadillac medical insurance, sick days that roll over and salary spikes at the end of carreer. The community is doing exactly what you teach your 5th graders to do - stand up for their rights, look the bully right in the eye and say we are not going to blindly sit by anymore.
The GEA was awoken a sleeping giant and now all of the sudden the taxpayer is the bully. The taxpayer isn't the bully, the taxpayer is finally fighting back. Hopefully the sleeping giant won't be caught napping again. I think we have learned our lesson. I think our 5th graders would be proud of us.

Hey Bob,
Can you explain to me how having "unused sick days" roll over costs the district money. It is my understanding that an unused sick day is a day that the district "did not" have to pay a sub. By allowing teachers to accumalate 172 sick days that they can use as a year of credit toward qualifying for their TRS retirement that means the teacher can retire a year earlier than they would if they were not allowed to roll over and that means one less year the district would have to pay that teachers their big 6 figure salary. Thanks in advance for your explanation

Great post Bob. The teachers don't know what a pay cut or cut in hours is all about. The rest of us in our community are struggling to get through this recession. We not only have had to cope with a reduction in income but we have been forced to tolerate ridiculous real estate tax increases on our homes because of the teachers union demands. Instead of striking why don't you teachers quit and find employment where you will be more appreciated and we can hire some teachers who want to teach. You shouldn't be too difficult to replace.

Well said Donna, thank you. Folks, I don't see anything in this article that takes a side. There is only discussion about behavior...and if you note, she is not calling out any partucular group. At times I feel our town has lost touch with its humanity.

This whole thing of having compassion for others, have empathy, accept differences,blah blah. That is how this country has become the immoral place it is. Gay pride, no morality, everyone gets a trophy. Anything goes for everyone. Yes, we should be kind, and have respect for others. But agreeing with whatever others say, just so you don't hurt their feelings is wrong. There is right and wrong, truth and lies, winners and losers. You cannot have your feet in both camps, you will split your pants.

"What is the downside of toning down the language and treating those we disagree with respectfully?" Why, Donna, there is none. It is indeed a laudable and commendable idea. And so, to Geneva teachers: We respect the fact that you are unhappy with your self-perceived value. And we politely request that IF you find the situation that (some claim) your Union has 'bullied" you into to be untenable, and that your TRUE concerns are the students, that you stand up to what some might label the 'bullies' in your union and publicly disavow them. Failing this, since you are obviously aware that there is no current economic crisis, and there is obviously a wealth of open teaching positions in Illinois, that are of course providing salaries and benefits packages comparable to or bettering what you have been offered here in Geneva, we sincerely and respectfully will thank you for your service to our students to date. Our students will miss you, and they and we will wish you nothing but success and happiness in the greener ( and non-tenured) pastures you will have chosen to move onto. Fare Thee Well, Please and Thank You.

I am just tired of everyone being labeled a "bully" just for disagreeing with someone! This label is being thrown around in our schools enough, let's not assign this label so freely, it is losing meaning.

"We teach them to stand up for truth and not just follow blindly out of ignorance or sit by silently out of fear. I’m pretty sure that all adults in our community value these traits." Really? So, if it is true that many of the teachers are losing patience quickly w/the GEA, where are their voices? I am the first one to stand up and stick up for someone who I feel is being treated badly and I also have ALWAYS told my children that more than anything else, their greatest gift is the ability to treat others well. I also tell them having a backbone is equally important and they shouldn't let anyone walk all over them. How can you write this knowing that you have been to at least some of the meetings where the teachers stand at the podium crying about the money they make or how much work they do as if they are better than any other working person who is not a teacher. That, Donna, is what we are all sick to death of. When you're standing in the picket line chanting about fairness, remember what you wrote and what you're really teaching the children. Also try to remember that there are millions of people who can't find a job even when they spend 15 hours a day looking for one. Remember people who have lost everything because they lost their job and they would give anything to have the benefits you currently do. I know I am thankful each and everyday that my husband and I get to go to work.

The GEA's request for a 3 year 6% salary spike has hit a nerve with me. No one seems to be able to defend the need for this benefit. The GEA thinks it is a way of saying "thank you for your service." Isn't that what steps are for? How does the 6% spike benefit the students, district or taxpayers? I don't have an answer for that question. I do have an answer to how it benefits the teacher.
Some assumptions:
1. Two 60 year old teachers, from different districts, are planning to retire in 4 years and currently each makes $100,000 per year.
2. Teacher A receives a 6%, 6%, 6% & 2.65% increase in the next 4 years. Teacher B receives a 2.65% salary increase over the next 4 years.
3. In year 4 Teacher A is paid $122,257.79 while Teacher B is paid $111,028.90. Teacher A receives $32,507.79 more over the 4 year period than Teacher B.
4. Average salary for last 4 years is Teacher A $114,929.85 and for Teacher B $106,802.90. Both Teachers retire at 75% of their last 4 year average salary. Teacher A gets $86,197.39 and Teacher B gets $80,102.18 in the 1st year.
5. TRS benefits are increased 3% yearly for the teacher's lifetime.
6. After being retired for 20 years (age 81), Teachers A has received a total of $2.316,156.15 while Teacher B received $2,152,375.57. Difference of $163,780.58 over 20 years or an average of $8,189.03.
I thought the GEA was looking to attract the best & brightest new teachers to Geneva. How does spiking do that? See attacked pdf file

Slight problem with your equation Bob, under the most recent contract after step 22 (year 22) teachers no longer receive "step increases" (2.65%) they receive 1.5% "longevity increases" Just the facts Bob!

Now lets look at the GEA's claim that their average salaries are one of the lowest in the area. They claimed that Batavia & St. Charles paid higher average salaries. When it was pointed out that St. Charles was actually lower, the claim changed to lower starting salaries. Those numbers were from the 2010-2011 school year.

Lets see what a difference a year makes.

According to the NIU School Report recently released, the average salary for Geneva teachers was the 3rd highest of the 8 Kane County districts. Only Batavia & West Aurora have higher average salaries. Please see the attached pdf file.

Why the difference? Because Geneva compared salaries to district's that were not in the same contract years. Usually the salary increase late is a contract is higher than the earlier years. The 2011-2012 are the last year of the Geneva contract thus their average salary increases were larger than some other district's It was to the benefit of the GEA to use the 2010-2012 salaries when comparing against other districts. The 2011-2012 average salary of $75,078 stacks up nicely against other local districts. The teacher/pupil ratio are also very favorable to Geneva.

*should be

It was to the benefit of the GEA to use the 2010-2011 salaries when comparing against other districts.

We can all agree that sick day benefits, as they were originally intended to be, have become abused and maligned over the decades. Either the union asked for it and got it, or it was some hair brained administrative idea to offer it instead of something else. Good luck trying to get back to what they were meant to be.

Bob,
I think everybody will agree the spike is unnecessary. I have a feeling it is still there as a bargaining tool. The real issue is the fact that the BOE is trying to do away with step and lane. If they step and lane was gone in all districts, then fine get rid of it. The fact remains that if the district gets rid of it, it will hurt us down the road to hire the quality teachers that we do now. I will state it again that most of the new new hires that are truly very qualified, will get multiple offers. Why would they come to Geneva knowing they will not move up like they would in other districts? The reality is, teachers go into teaching because they enjoy it. But they also have to make a living like the rest of us.

Think what you want Gerry but I know for a fact of three new hires to Geneva this year had multiple offers. I also know of several teachers coming out of U of I that also had multiple offers from districts they applied to.

The 3 most important words in real estate: location, location, location.
The 3 most important words in teaching: tenure, tenure, tenure.

Mrs Roman, thank you for sharing your wonderful blog post with the public, it certainly is too true and appropriate to not be shared.

And for the people's comments portraying her as a "bully" because she is a teacher, you are dead wrong. Her message has nothing to do with who's right or who's wrong, it has to do with being good role models to our children. Maybe you should ask your student what they learned in Second Steps recently, you could learn a thing or two from them.

Rachel, how beautiful! I already know what my kid learned in her class. How to keep a really neat desk. I think they spent an hour a week cleaning them. She also learned how much work went into a masters degree. That was talked about a lot in that class....probably why the desks were being cleaned so frequently, IMO. If this whole fiasco wasn't going on, I'm willing to bet that this blog would have never been written.

@Dave. Again, sticks and stones. I am no bully...I'm just tired of the bully sh%!. If you confuse a bully w/someone who actually speaks their mind, calls out those who speak untruths and sticks up for others, then I guess I'm guilty, but I'm pretty sure that isn't the correct definition.

Donna, thanks for bringing up the point "what we say we want in our kids vs. what we show our kids". Thank you also for telling us about Second Step.

One of the reasons you & I work with children, I think, is because IF we can help them get it right from the start, we may not need to take the corrective action subsequently.

Honest conflict will always occur in our world. Wherever two or more are gathered... there WILL be a difference of opinions. I grew up supporting unions and my husband works at a major global manufacturer in which the union eventually became so powerful that they almost caused the corporation to go belly up.

I can't solve all the ills of society; neither can you. If each of us works tirelessly for our cause, perhaps we can get a little bit closer.

Excellent article, Donna! I support you 100%!