UPDATE: Teachers Come Out in Force, Wearing Green, to Seek 'Respect and Compensation We All Deserve'

A score of Geneva teachers packed Monday's School District 304 board meeting to show solidarity and challenge the School Board to come to a quick resolution to ongoing contract negotiations.

Four speakers—Barbara Freeman, Susannah Thomas, Jessica Egan and Brian Burns—passionately implored School Board members to "ignore the bullies," give teachers "the respect and compensation that we all deserve" and "put aside any previous rancor and get this done."

School officials and members of the Geneva Education Association have been at the bargaining table since February. The existing contact ended Aug. 15.

Barbara Freeman spoke first on behalf of teachers and the GEA, noting three points:

(1) Geneva schools are performing extremely well by all measures.

(2) "Our compensation plan on the table does not reflect our performance."

(3) The Education Fund "is in a healthy, surplus state, and is there to provide the best education for Geneva students."

"The Geneva school system is performing at the top," Freeman said. "If we were in the private sector, and outperforming others in the same field, we would implement a compensation plan to attract, retain, reward and compensate at the top. But this is far from the case.

"The Education Fund should be used to provide the best education for the students of Geneva. Use those funds to work with the association to come to an agreement that will benefit the students of this community. Highly qualified and experienced teachers are our best investment to ensure the continued tradition of excellence that has become the district's motto.

"I urge this board and the association to work out a deal as soon as possible to resolve our differences in the best interests of the students and the families."

Jessica Egan, a Spanish teacher, noted that when Assistant Superintendent Craig Collins recently introduced a newly hired teacher, he mentioned that she was a Geneva graduate and her fondest memories are of Jill Nippert, her third-grade teacher.

"That’s not unusual in Geneva," Egan said. "Every year we make that kind of difference for the kids.

"But now things have changed," she said. "The School Board seems to no longer value our work. Instead they're showing that they value things more than teachers. They seem to be willing to spend their reserve funds for things like , for instance, but are not willing to spend it for people. We are thrilled as teachers and as coaches with the new field. It will be awesome for our students. But we know that things are not essential ingredients in a quality education. The essential ingredient is the teacher, and we need to invest in them, as well. The district can do both. This is not an either/or situation."

She said her family moved here three years ago, and they are excited to be here.

"We’ve been so impressed with this town, these schools and especially these teachers," she said. "It’s been my hope that my boys will get to experience the high level of excellence that exists here with our teachers.

"Please don’t disappoint us by sending our teachers away in search of the respect and compensation that we all deserve. Please invest in our teachers so we can retain high-quality teachers who will maintain our high-quality education here in Geneva."

English teacher Brian Burns noted his respect for his colleagues, his friendship with School Board members and his longtime experience as a Geneva taxpayer.

"As a resident of Geneva, I am acutely aware of the burden of property taxes. Every citizen wants value, and I believe that Geneva schools are an incalculable value.

"Effectively, I am pulled in four directions: educator, friend, parent, resident. What I am asking from both sides, what I am begging, is that we, together, find a way to solve this problem as a community, before we ask neighbor to side against neighbor, before we ask friend to side against friend.

"We need to find a way to come to an equitable solution, one which honors the professionalism of our teachers and acknowledges the sacrifices of the citizens. We can do this. If we fail, there are people in this community looking to exploit our failure and seeking to maximize that failure to their own satisfaction.

"Let’s work together again, as soon as possible. Let’s put aside any previous rancor and get this done. We owe this most of all to those who are not here tonight, those who are most affected by our actions: the students."

School Board President Mark Grosso said the School District is continuing to work in good faith.

"We’re trying to balance their needs, your needs and everyone’s," he said. "And we take this very seriously.

"I would have hoped we’d be a little bit further along than we are," he added. "It hasn’t happened yet. When you guys are protesting, (remember that) there’s two sides that sit at the table, so there has to be a little give and take on both sides. And I’m confident that’s going to happen. It’s just going to take some time."

Grosso underlined that teachers are still receiving pay and benefits.

"I don’t believe anyone here, even though the contract expired a week or so ago, is not going to receive their paycheck or their healthcare benefits or any of the other benefits that they received under the previous contract. You’ll continue to receive all of those," he said. "And as soon as we get the new contract finalized, it certainly will take effect."

Members of the Geneva TaxFACTS group asked the board why teachers are allowed to wear the green shirts at school, when students are sometimes prohibited from wearing clothes with writing that makes a political statement. They also questioned whether the teachers had a realistic understanding of the School District's financial situation.

"I’m kind of appalled that you guys are wearing these shirts in the schools," said Barry Bourdage. "I would recommend that you make a motion as a board to disallow that messaging. These teachers are here to teach. They’re not here to give propaganda. It’s just not right."

TaxFACTS co-founder Bob McQuillan said he's been attending School Board meetings for six years, but "there has been no harrassment of any School Board member."

He said school performance is based on a number of factors, including the parents' influence at home, the family situation, the "spirit within the schools" and each school's teachers.

He said the average teacher in Geneva has 14.3 years of experience, and that there are "very few who make under $60,000" a year.

McQuillan said that, in the 2009 contract, teachers were given a 9 percent raise over a three-year period. But his primary point was that School District 304 has been "overtaxing" property owners for a number of years.

"The district is not in a healthy situation," he said. "This display tonight is not about the students; it's about compensation and a Cadillac benefits package. Why is it so important that every teacher receive a salary increase every year?Why is it that teachers cannot understand that this is not 2009 anymore?"

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