Mutchler Cancels Meeting Between Geneva Teachers Union Leader and Heartland Parents

Geneva School Superintendent Kent Mutchler cancelled a Tuesday afternoon meeting set up by Heartland Elementary School parents with Carol Young, president of the Geneva teachers union.

School District 304 made the announcement of the cancellation at around 8:55 a.m. via a 304 Connects e-blast.

"Please be informed that the meeting at Heartland scheduled for this afternoon communicated through the Heartland PTO email blast is cancelled," the 304 Connects e-blast said.

"I cancelled it because we are supposed to be negotiating privately, between the union leadership and the board," Mutchler said in a brief telephone conversation Tuesday morning.

Mutchler has authority to cancel the meeting because it was to be held at Heartland Elementary School.

The 304 Connects e-blast suggests that parents with concerns regarding the impact of contract negotiations contact Young, Mutchler or Heartland Elementary Principal Adam Law.

Teachers in Evergreen Park School District 124 went on strike today, and strikes also have been ratified in Highland Park District 112 and Crystal Lake.

But Mutchler indicated that those cases aren't refective of the ongoing talks here and that many other districts have negotiated teachers contracts successfully. "A lot have settled," he said, noting that those contract solutions simply "don't make the headlines."

Mutchler said he could not comment on the details of the talks, but they are continuing to move forward.

"The key is that we’re Geneva, and we’re working through our own process," he said.