Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Editor's note: This is the ninth of a 10-part countdown of articles looking back at the Geneva newsmakers of 2012. The No. 1 newsmaker will be Geneva Patch's 2012 "Person of the Year."
Our No. 2 Geneva newsmaker of 2012 might come as a little surprise because she was someone who worked behind the scenes more often than she did in the spotlight, but to say Carol Young wasn't part of the biggest news story of the year would be to ignore her key role and leadership. Geneva Patch is more than 2 years old now, and it's safe to say that no story captured the attention of the community more than the 2012 teacher-contract negotiations. Young, a kindergarten teacher at Harrison Street School, is the president of the Geneva Education Association, the union that pushed negotiations to the limit but ultimately came to an 11th-hour agreement that allowed school to continue without a teachers strike. If you're looking for the best …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
The Kane County Chronicle is reporting that the Geneva Education Association is moving forward with its complaint that the School Board used health benefits as a leverage prior to a possible teachers strike.
The Geneva Education Association is moving forward with the charge it filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board in November, saying teachers "still feel like they were treated wrongly," according to a report in the Kane County Chronicle. The charge was filed on Nov. 10, when GEA President Carol Young issued a press release saying the board was trying to intimidate the teachers union from going on strike by telling teachers they would have to pay for their full health and dental insurance premiums for every day during a work stoppage. The charge was filed with the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, the state agency responsible for enforcing educational labor relations laws and regulations in Illinois. According to …
Friday, November 16, 2012
Board members are expected to ratify the three-year teachers contract agreement established in an 11th-hour negotiation session that avoided a teachers strike.
School District 304's Board of Education is expected to ratify a three-year teachers contract after the executive session of a special meeting now set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20. School Board President Mark Grosso said after Monday's regular meeting of the Board of Education that the board would be meeting early next week in special session but he was not sure at that time when the meeting would take place. District 304 sent notice of the meeting around 2:10 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16. The Geneva Education Association voted Wednesday to ratify the agreement. If the terms of Monday morning's 11th-hour agreement are accepted, it will mean the end of protracted and stressful negotiations between the School Board and the GEA. Sunday's negotiation …
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Geneva Education Association and the Geneva Board of Education reached a tentative agreement at 12:30 a.m. Monday on a new contract.
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Monday, November 12, 2012
The Geneva Education Association and the Geneva Board of Education reached a tentative agreement Monday morning at 12:30 a.m. on a new contract. The tentative three-year Agreement will be presented to the GEA membership on Tuesday, Nov. 13. A ratification vote will be taken on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Following the GEA vote, the Board of Education will vote on the Agreement. A date for this special Board meeting has not been set. The agreement will be made public upon ratification by both parties. With this tentative agreement, school will be in session on Monday, Nov. 12. SOURCE: School District 304 Click the "Keep Me Posted" button below this text.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Geneva teachers union says the School Board's notice that it will not pay teachers' insurance premiums during a strike constitutes a threat and intimidation.
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Sunday, November 11, 2012
The Geneva Education Asssocation issued a press release Saturday saying it has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Geneva Community Unit District 304, saying the board was trying to intimidate the teachers union from going on strike by saying teachers would have to pay for their full health and dental insurance premiums for every day during a work stoppage. The press release says the School Board "sent a threat directly to teachers in an illegal attempt to coerce/intimidate them from their plans to engage in a lawful strike." According to the release published on the GEA website, the dispute arose Wednesday when teachers received letters from the School Board regarding the health and dental insurance premiums and other items that…
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Despite Friday's declaration that Geneva teachers will strike on Monday, school is scheduled for Monday in hopes that an 11th-hour agreement can be struck.
School District 304 sent an e-blast Saturday saying school is still scheduled for Monday, in hopes of an 11th hour agreement. The Geneva Education Association on Friday set a strike date for Monday, Nov. 12, but the Geneva Board of Education and the Geneva Education Association have a negotiation session on Sunday. In the event of a strike, School District officials "will make every attempt to notify families by 5:30 a.m. on Monday using the district’s emergency notification system," the press release said. Information will also continue to be posted on the Board’s negotiations update webpage, and distributed through 304Connects and the local media. In the event of a strike on Monday: To help school officials with planning, please call…
Parents: What was it like for your kids in school? Did teachers talk about the pending strike? How do they feel about it? Does it register as important, or is it more of a "Yay, no school" situation.
Friday's school day felt a little awkward for a lot of folks. Because negotiations ran late into Thursday night, parents didn't know whether there would be school Friday, the first day the Geneva Education Association had the option to strike. School happened, as they say, but it was an early dismissal day, and still there was no announcement until after 10 a.m. There was a Veterans Day event at the middle schools, students were in the classrooms and everyone tried to go about their usual business. Some teachers talked about the pending strike openly, others didn't mention it at all. I was driving down a Geneva side street about the time school was getting out, and I saw kids, literally, dancing in the streets. For many of them, the strike…
Friday, November 9, 2012
The Geneva School District 304's Nov. 8 three-year offer includes step and lane increases, a big salary bump for teachers who retire by the 2014-15 school year and establishment of a joint Salary Study Group.
Geneva School District 304 has posted its Nov. 8 offer to the Geneva Education Associations—and it includes step and lane movemenet as well as a multi-year salary boost for teachers who elect to retire in the 2014-15 school year. It also calls for the establishment of a joint Salary Study Group to avoid another contract dispute three years from now. You can read the full details of the offer here and on the Geneva School District 304 negotiations webpage. Historically, teachers have been paid according to their placement on the teacher salary schedule. The salary schedule is organized around steps and lanes. Each step represents one year of employment in the District and a salary increase of 2.65%; a lane represents completed graduate …
Another negotiation session is set for Sunday.
School District 304 issued a press release and eblast at around 12:05 p.m. Friday indicating the board made "substantial movement" during a 10-hour Thursday night negotiating session and questioning a reason for a strike. The Board of Education and Geneva Education Association reached an agreement on the first year of the contract. "With the current school year resolved, the Board of Education does not understand the GEA’s urgency to strike, as the union is effectively walking out over issues that would not take effect until the 2013-14 school year," the press release says. The board disagrees with the statement in the press release issued earlier today (Friday) by GEA President Carol Young that it “rejected [the GEA’s] offers of …
School Board President Mark Grosso said Friday morning that no deal had been reached during Thursday night's negotiations between the School Board and the Geneva Education Association.
Geneva School Board President Mark Grosso said at 7:30 a.m. Friday that last night's teachers contract negotiations went past 11 p.m. but no settlement. Grosso said he expected a press release would be distributed later this morning but could make no further comment. "We have not reached a tentative agreement," he said. The Geneva Education Association filed its notice of intent to strike on Oct. 26, and a walkout could take place as soon as today. Information about negotiations and the potential strike will be communicated through emails to families, District 304’s emergency notification system, 304Connects, local media and the School Board’s negotiations webpage. Geneva Patch will update this article as soon as additional information is …
bob
2:00 pm on Saturday, January 26, 2013
We need her to negotiate our bond rating. She could then be the Illinois person of the year. Oh wait, we want a higher bond rating. more ›