A parent alerted me to the fact that D128 teacher contract negotiations were not going well. I talked to both sides and reported the story in as fair and objective a way as possible. I just thought parents, students and community members should be aware. I thank Dr. Byrne and Bradley Wright for taking my calls and speaking with me.

Bill Smith, after listening to some pension reform issues and doing some research I can also add that the teachers pay their entire, almost 10% contribution for their future pensions, but the district picks up this payment for administrators!

Actually, Steven, the taxpayers are picking up a substantial portion of the TEACHERS CONTRIBUTIONS as well, in addition to the district share.

The teachers contract is on the district web site under "Human resources" and you can check this out.

BTW, a teacher with a masters + 45 and 24 years experience in 218 is paid a whopping $119K for nine months work, more than engineering MANAGERS make in Chicago for 12 months work. There also is no requirement that the teacher be effective, or even MEDIOCRE, to "earn" that incredible salary.

And we wonder why our schools (and taxpayers) are broke, and our kids are so poorly educated.

BTW, there are SEVEN "Curriculum coordinators" in 218 and they can't manage to achieve above a "ghetto level" 18.9 average ACT. Talk about a waste of money.

Bob do you have any idea how much that teacher shelled out for all of those classes in order to get all the way to a masters plus 45? Not to mention the time outside of the work day that it took to get there. I'm wondering how many engineering Managers spend that much outside time and money so that they can get their raise.

Oak Lawn Mama, apparenlty you were unaware of the tuition reimbursement program in 218. Most of the cost is picked up by the taxpayers.

Public education is one of the only "professions" where additional education is automatically rewarded with a raise.

When I earned my Master's and took 30 hours past that in engineering, I didn't get a nickel more for earning the degree. The value of the degree was in making me a better engineer and manager. Once I demonstrated that additional skill and performance, I was promoted and rewarded for it.

That's the way it works in the REAL WORLD, Mama. The advanced education is a means to becoming a better professional, not the end itself.

What SHOULD happen is that teachers should have a similar system as other public employees, there should be different pay grades and classifications. Each grade has a limit, and you have to EARN your way into a higher pay grade, not just receive it as an entitlement.

This is an effective system in civil service professions, and should be implemented in education. Under this system, a highly effective young teacher to get fair raises due to pay grade promotions, and ineffective senior staff would be stuck at limited pay grades commensurate with their performance.

If this is fair for civil service, why wouldn't it be fair for education?

Bob, I'm wondering why you relate "young and new" with being an effective teacher while you relate "senior staff" with being ineffective. I've come into contact with some pretty extraordinary teachers both young and older and I think it's a shame that in YOUR real world one has to be young to be effective. Are there some teachers that are more effective than others? ABSOLUTELY! Just like there are some doctors that are more effective, some lawyers, some engineers and so on. Effectiveness or performance has nothing to do with age. Now, should there be an evaluation tool that measures performance and should teachers' pay be reflective of that? Sure, and finding a way to make that happen is something that is being discussed in our state. Like it or not Bob, there are many other factors involved in student failures that is not the result of a child having an ineffective teacher.

One thing I can agree with you on is the value of further educating yourself in your chosen career. Unfortunately, in education, the only way to get a raise is through years of experience and education level. I'm not sure where you are getting the information that there is a tuition reimbursement program in 218. That is false unless you are talking about the raise that they get for further educating themselves. In my opinion, I think it is great that teachers are encouraged to further their education even if it is through a raise. My son, who will attend Shepard, will benefit from their knowledge.

Bob , please explain to me why teaching is not part of your "so called" real world? The real problem with teachers and their professions is that they are "evaluated" by a test that is taken over two days. Bob, in your "real world" job are you evaluated over a two day period and by the work done by other people. Unfortunately that is the biggest problem with education in America - teachers are evaluated by students progress, or lack there of, on a test that ALL students have to take. The ACT test is taken by all students whether they are going on to college or not(when I took the test in HS only those who wanted to go to college took the ACT tests) so if you enlarge the sample size what happens? Bob do you know? It goes down! Think of it like a baseball players batting average - the more plate appearances they have the less of an impact there is for successful at bats. So the more kids that "blow off" (because it does not affect graduation or their grades) the more it hurts the school's "achievement". Bob, just think of this for your children or grandchildren - tell us another profession in America that you DROP OFF your own flesh and blood and trust another human being to help mold your family member into a positive, successful person in society? There isn't one - so maybe we should help and support education because it's our family we are talking about not just money!

Southside, if evaluations had ANY bearing on what salary a teacher would earn, you might have had a point. But it doesn't. Say you're a 218 teacher who has MA +45 and you'er making the mandated $119,000 for 24 years expereince. Say you did a lousey job, and yuor students can't get into a decent college because of it. Let's say those "two days tests" show your students do less well than novice teachers. Do you think you'd get a pay cut? Nope. in fact you get a fat raise. We reward and subsidize failure in Illinois public education. That's whay we have so much failure in our schools.

Bob, I do not disagree with you but what I said was the tests are an evaluation of the school and that is not the correct means of evaluating a school. And if you look at the current educators in District 218 I have found out that only a handful are at a level of MA+45 and 20+ years of experience. Most if not all are MA and 10 years experience. It's easy information to find if you are good at looking around a website.

How is it lame Dave W when teachers work all year long and most take vacations and spend as much time with family & loved ones in July. You seem ignorant to the fact that union negotiations never take place over summer normally in Spring. Teachers getting the shaft, really? Are you on crack? Not in 218. A few million tied up in administration is the most ignorant and unintelligent statement I've ever heard.

If there is a minor surplus in the budget you should be proud as a taxpayer that the board is fiscally repsonsible. A teacher making 80k per year after 10 years and you are not outraged? You must be a teacher or a wannabe teacher!

If only, must be a teacher, there was some way to deseminate information to a large group of people at once, perhaps via some type of electronic means of communication. Alas, we will have to wait for that technological advance to allow people who aren't all in one room to see the same documents or information.
In my life I can probably count dozens of times that schools started late because of a breakdown in negotiations that started in the SPRING of the year before...so yeah, the ONE year that the contract is due...the teachers can be a little more available for a couple of meetings. If they don't come to an agreement, they will have plenty of time to vacation someplace warm in the 'offseason' after school starts...because they won't have a job to go back to yet.
IF you do the math of how much it is purported the various administration employees make, it IS a few million...not sure what you think is unintelligent about basic math, but if you can do some, you will rescind your ignorant statement.
Also, if that WAS the most "ignorant and unintelligent statement (you've) ever heard.", you must not read the Oak Lawn posts about government, or the Tinley Patch when the attacks happened, amongst others...lots to choose from in those alone.
As for the 'right' pay for a teacher with ten years of service...I'm not sure what a 'good' amount is...only that I would be curious to know what YOU think the right number should be. What should somebody with college degrees earn to you?

Bob - do you want your pay to be common knowledge? Do you think your neighbors need to know your salary and financial resources? I think its a shame on America that we have to release a teacher's pay(and other people's pay) when there are millions of people in "corporate" America whose pay is so secretive that it would astound you to know how much they get paid!! Disagree?

Couldn't agree more Southside Transplant. Then, people who have never worked a day in his field could tell hm why he doesn't deserve the salary he works hard to earn. The truth is, many people who work in the corporate world would not last a day in education. My children have been blessed with so many wonderful teachers and I am thankful for each one of them.

Southside when I take your taxdollars for my pay, you DO have a right to know how much you're paying me. Your footing the bill earns you that right. If you're a shareholder in a publically held corporation, you know EXACTLY how much your executives are paid. It's in the quarterly and annual reports your sent. Same deal. You don't own stock, do you?

Agreed...I was in union discussions years ago...actually, on both sides over the years...Unless there was a holiday, and sometimes even over a weekend, we met until everything was resolved. I always wonder when you see these sports labor talks, or teacher talks, or anything along these lines...why do they need to wait for three, four days inbetween meetings? What are they doing, especially after the first few days? There is rarely something SO new and SO big that it needs some major reassessment...not talking doesn't come up with a solution. Look at Congress for proof of that...

Teachers work a 7.5 hour workday? Really? AND they get overtime? I don't think so. I have dropped my children off at school at 7 a.m. Because a teacher was kind enough to come to work early to ensure that my kids understood a concept. I also know many teachers who stay at school late on a daily basis in order to offer extra help. There is no overtime for this. No one is being exploited here. You are comparing the salaries of teachers who have all earned bachelors degrees, many of whom have earned masters degrees to that of the constituents they serve. Thats ridiculous! How many of the people in these households have college degrees? How many have high school diplomas even? I mean, what do you think is a fair salary for a person who earned bachelors, masters degrees and in some cases, even further beyond that. I'm sorry, but I just don't see 80,000 as that bad. Just sayin....

Out of those average incomes in the households, how many of them have 6 years of college under their belt? These teachers spend years and money on becoming specialists to educate our children, would you rather just have lower qualifications for teachers? Maybe just a high school degree or an associates degree?? We talk about the average ACT score of an 18? Lets talk about graduation rate and college placement along with the improvements in the test scores over the years. Many of these students in the district come from low income households where they receive little support from their guardians. The teachers are not asking for any more tax money from the community, they are just asking to use the tax money that is just going to waste. You should be asking why has the school board asked for the max tax of 7% every year and they are not using it. They are keeping it just to keep their A+ financial rating. Deficit spending...yeah right. Finally, if you think teachers really only work 7 hours a day or 160 days a year, you are completely wrong. Most teachers bring home their grading, lesson planning, coaching, activities, etc every night and throughout the summer to improve the lives of our children.

now what?

I got my information from the D218 2011 Illinois school report card. Actually, I was quoted $79,000 as the average salary for a teacher from D218. Here is the link if you want to check for yourself. If benefits are included in the $80K annual salary, I'd like to hear from D218 teachers. http://iirc.niu.edu/District.aspx?districtid=07016218016

Lorraine, you listed the base salary schedule increases, but you didn't account for the additional step increases do to longevity. The contract posted on the district web site provides those numbers for the previousl contract. It looks like the "real" raise the faculty would receive would be in the 5-7% range, and unsustainable number.

Over the years I've tried to FOIA the district calculations that establish the REAL cost of a contract, but I've been refused every time, and was shocked to find that many boards have approved contracts with NO information on the detailed cost impact on the taxpayers and students.

I've FOIAd this info about a half dozen times, and been refused every time.

Wouldn't the salaries be higher because this is a HS district and not a "unit" district? For example this is just 3 high schools and one alternative school where as a school district such as U-46 in the northern suburbs of Chicago by Streamwood/Elgin area is many elementary, middle, and high schools. So the more teachers the lower the salary average would be? Right? So of course the average pay is higher than the state average because of the number of "unit" districts around the Chicago area and especially down in southern IL.

Southside, high school teachers and elementary school teachers are on the same salary schedule in unit districts. There's really no reason HS teachers should make more.It's just a "peculiar institution" that suburban HS teachers make so much more than elementary school teachers, and an unfair one at that.

Bob, from what I know from the teachers I know and speak with, they much prefer to teach grammar school than high school. As in, VASTLY prefer it. As in, they don't mind getting less pay to NOT have to teach the older kids and understand the high school teachers getting a more.
Plus, going along with the theory of competition and free markets deciding, if there are less people who want to teach older kids, more demand for them makes it entiirely fair they should get paid more. How MUCH more might be another matter, and for that I cannot say I have an answer.
I see both sides of this...teachers do more than some, or many, are willing to admit, grading papers at home at night, not spending as much time with the family...spending personal money on classroom supplies...happens all the time, which is sort of wrong.
On the other hand, they are publicly paid employees. Why can't I know where my tax dollars go? We know how much police make, and how many arrests, etc...There needs to be some sort of medium found where bad teachers aren't rewarded just for having a pulse, but 'merit' pay doesn't encourage patronage or nepotism. Going strictly on test scores is tricky because then you ARE basing your pay too much on what 18 to 25 kids might be able to retain despite you maybe being a very good, very engaged teacher. It is all about balance, someplace.
I do find it ironic how many people are on a board complaining about teachers pay when some cannot write a cohesive sentence.

Dave, I'm sure you'll admit that those you speak to on this issue don't necessarily represent the majority of teachers. I would hope you're aware that there are different teacher certifications for elementary and high school, as well as different degrees and coursework. This means that the teacher CHOSE the level they teach at, which makes an assertion that the teacher would rather teach at a level in which they are not certified a little unlikley.

I'm a former HS and college teacher, and I preferred teaching more "mature students". It's a matter of personal talents. Some teachers relate to kids under 13 better than those above and other teachers have talents more suited to older students.

Teaching elementary school is less monotonous than Jr High and to be successful requires more talent in teaching methodology than subject matter, and knowledge of subject matter is more important at HS.

Giving the same lecture three times a day for one class and 2 times a day for the other class is not for everyone, while relating to the sensitivities and "free form" of younger chiildren is a special talent.

Neither is more "valuable" than the other, they just require a different skill set and temprament.

Going on, the problem is that this money isn't going to recruit and hire "good teachers". Most districts limit the amount of experience that they're willing to bridge to place new hires at a certain level on salary schedule. Few suburban districts will give a new hire credit for more than 5 years experience, even if they have decades of quality experience.

The greatest abuser of this is district 230 in Orland where the salary of new teacher hires is based upon NO EXPERIENCE, even if the teacher had decades of experience, was an award winning master teacher, or had won a Nobel Prize!LOL

Make no mistake about it. These high salaries for senior faculty are all about fattening the paychecks of the recalcitrant, burned out faculty in their 40s and 50s, NOT about attracting new quality teachers!

If you're making the point that the administrators are overcompensated for the results they achieve in 218, I agree. The problem is that the faculty are similarly overcompensated, and that needs to be addressed in this contract.

Did you know that in 218 the taxpayers not only pay the districts contributions to the teachers pensions, but pay part of the EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION as well? How many of you out there have your employers pay the employee portion of Social Security?

Regarding transparency, it's one thing making information available once the public can do nothing about it, and it's quite another to make PROPOSED contracts available before they're approved by the board. THAT'S the kind of transparency the community needs, and the eduocracies REFUSE to provide.

It's been said that sunshine is the best disinfectant, and boy, does the corrupt, dysfunctional public education in our area need disinfecting!

One thing at a time. This article is about the union and the teachers - not all the things the school board has done at this point. This would be a good follow-up topic - but everything in time. Let's start by getting our teachers to be at work and then address other questionable spending.

R.E. Former
The secretive nature of that deal as I understand it was to avoid a federal lawsuit against the district. Why do you say Grahams charges were outlandish? I agree it's shady and Odelson brokering the deal in those high figures without any oversight is scary. From what I know, Graham was severely harrassed by former brd mbr Ronald Pratl. District phone records proved it and came out in some campaign literature by Pratls political opponent. until there is a change in guard or legal representation that settlement will remain confidential.

Step Up, I appreciate your comment.
There was more to Mr Graham's charges than just phone logs. He, in turn, called Mr Pratl several times too. He claimed stress and duress. He charged a fellow administrator with being a "ghost payroller". The mere suggestion of a lawsuit or possibility of federal charges should have moved the School Board confront the charges openly and report its findings to the taxpayers. The backroom nature of the settlement and the circumstances surrounding it are offensive to the community.

The elected officials who voted for that settlement will also vote on the teachers contract. They are being advised by a small number of senior administrators. The same elected officials who voted for the settlement are up for reelection next spring. There is no real leadership among these elected officials, so their actions are guided by John Byrne and Burt Odelson. But these elected officials are ultimately responsible for everything done on behalf of D218, answerable to its taxpayers.

Hi RE Former,
The board has yet to show any leadership. The Graham settlement is an example of mismanagement & waste. If Graham wanted to sue the district they shouldve called his bluff. Now Grahams set for life laughing all the way to the bank. Odelson advised the board not to talk. They agreed blindly to confidentiality agreements.No one questioned anything. None of them 2nd guesses this or any advice. Local 134 pressure from Pratl to Graham to create jobs, use preferred vendors, micromanagemnt all play a role. I agree with you 100% on foul brokering & multi-yr contract maneuvering. As well as the lack of representation from the 7th seat left open by Mr. Pratl. That 7th candidate would've indeed questioned every move made by this board and administration but they stifled her. Without transparency the kids are the ultimate losers.

Step Up, The circumstances surrounding the Graham settlement and The Board's inaction are exactly why the teachers' union must be very deliberate in negotiating the next contract. If it is perceived that the Board will simply rubber stamp the recommendation of a couple of administrators, They will understand that they are dealing with self serving individuals. There has been no leadership or active involvement from the Board to this point.

There were several charges made during last years election, but nothing was ever proven. Phone records may show call histories, but they do not prove harrassment or intimidation. We will never know the truth because the School Board failed to investigate. The Graham settlement was based on several accusations, but once again, none were ever investigated or proven. TheBoard simply gave Graham a boatload of cash and tried to forget about it. Too bad, because the points you raise, (Local 134, jobs, prefferred vendors, micro managing) are part of the charges that Graham made, but we'll never know if any were true because the Board President failed to investigate and administrative leadership seems to have no problems with that.

The Teachers' Union asked about the Graham settlement, but Asst. Supt. Ty Harting refused to discuss it with them.

[CONFUSED TAXPAYER] After reading your post and all of the other ones on this board there is no way in the world to explain how any of this reckless spending helps the students in 218 and if you go on their web-site you can see that the students performace is close to the bottom in IL.With that being said I NOW REALIZE THAT IAM IN THE WRONG FIELD AND SHOULD HAVE BEEN A TEACHER OR ADMINISTRATOR IN 218.

The only thing I might take issue with, CONFUSED TAXPAYER, is the notion that in the 'real world' CEOs would never make that kind of money. There are actually CEOs that literally make that money in a month, or even a week, and even on occassion a day (with bonuses and stock options). Sometimes, they fail spectacularly, and then they get a severance package/golden parachute to walk away...whereupon they can fail upward someplace else...so while I wouldn't say that teachers have the hardest existence on the planet by any stretch of the imagination, your analogy is a bit off.
None of what is happening helps the kids a tiny bit, though, and it would be crazy to say every teacher in those schools is exempt from criticism. Same for the administration. We need to get those scores up, especially given the money spent per student.

Integrity, you MAY be right, but I'd heard differently. I've examined a lot of TA contracts, and I have to admit this one is the most vague. Virtually every one I've seen has some provision requiring professional development of professional employees, even if no tuition reimbursement is to be paid. This contract is completely silent on the issue, which means the district MAY be paying tuition reimbursement, but no rules area stated.

The other thing curiously missing is the payments of the early retirement fees charged by TRS to the employee and employer. State law requries that11.5% of salary for each early retirement year is to be paid by the employee, and 23.5% is to be paid by the district. The district is curiously silent on this.

As I'm sure you know, this contract does not PRECLUDE pension contributions by the district, it simply doesn't require it.

I've been told to submit questions on this in writing to the district, since people in the business office didn't know enough to answer questions on this.

I'll report back when I get a response.

All the teachers in 218 pay their own pension, it is called TRS, it comes out of every paycheck. The teacher union has also offered to pay more of their health insurance than their last contract but the school board wants even more. Administrators do not pay into their pension (TRS) or their health insurance....fair?

Southside, if people with degrees in their subject rather than "education" were allowed to freely compete for teaching jobs after some training, YOU BET THEY WOULD! There are far more teachers than teacher jobs in Illinois. Supply and demand should dictate that salreis would be frozen and starting salaries should go down. the only reason they don't is corruption at the Springfield and local school board level.

I agree with you on every point you mention. I just think each item needs to be addressed directly. This time it happens to be about the union and the board. I will be anticipating information about the other above mentioned actions taken by the board and the student performance. Our tax dollars are going to the same place and we have the right to know and have a say in what is done with them.

Frustrated, one of the biggest problems in public ed, IMHO, is replacing teaching talent with psychobabble and such as ponderous paper bureaucracy that the real service being provided, a teacher presenting, explaining and motivating students, has been lost in the shuffle.

By most measures, US student performance peaked in the graduating classes of about 1970. There weren't IEPs then, nor any of the layers of bureaucracy sapping up resources form useful purpose.

Salaries were realtively low, and those in teaching did it more for the love of it than for the money and early retirement packages.

Now a 43year old teacher in the system makes more in noine months than and engieering manager does in 12 even in failing disrircts like 218.

Ultimately, teacher evaluation has to come from administrators who actually take the time to sit in the class, does spot checks of the tests the teacher prepares and grades, and based upon quality surveys on the teacher completed by students. Competency IMPROVEMENT in students should also be considered.

In order for teachers to advance in pay grade, they should need to prove they're worthy in this sort of evaluation, and the public shuold have an opportunity to comment on these promotions prior to it being approved.

This would ensure that quality senior staff is adequately rewarded, and the dead wood is not allowed to unfairly plunder the stduents resources. Think yourunion would allow suchj a common sense, fair system?

Bob -- one question why do you keep referring to engineers and engineering managers vs. being a teacher? Those are two totally different types of people. And if you think being a teacher is so "repetitive" call up a public school and feel free to write a lesson plan and see how "repetitive" it is after one kid comes in late, one tells you to go "f" yourself(and the parents say you made him and he is a good kid) and the 4-6 kids that don't speak or understand English ask you to repeat yourself every 5 minutes. Seems to me my friend you couldn't adapt to your students and you got left behind from the education profession and you are a bit upset about it all.

Southside, one of the reasons I conpare engineering and education is that I have done both successfully, and another is that HS teachers like to try to justify their excessive salaries by comparing themselves to COMPETITIVE professions such as engineering and medical professions such as nursing.

they like to just throw the comparison out there, but when you sonsider what's demanded of the other professions compared to public education, education comes out poorly.

FYI, for all my teaching assignments I was invited to return the following term. I gave three years with a paycut of about $60,000 per year to serve the education of young people (and some not so young people). What have YOU sacrificed to improve public education?

Bob- Labeling something you don't understand as psychobabble is just silly. The point is that measuring a teacher's effectiveness in a objective and statistically valid way is very difficult - if not impossible. Prior to 1970, students with learning challenges typically dropped out of school to work in good paying manufacturing jobs. Those jobs are gone. Our culture has changed dramatically since 1970. Lower scores on standardized tests are a result of more students being tested and a culture that rewards immediate gratification and reinforces low frustration tolerance.

Unlike a private school, a public school can't "get rid of" students with learning challenges or habits counterproductive to learning. This is not meant as an excuse, but rather a reminder to those who have been away from school for a while- public schools face complex cultural problems and to expect easy solutions is naive. To blame teachers for these complex problems is unfair. To compare my job to that of my husband who works in a private school is absurd! To compare the public school classroom of today to the one in which I sat in 1970 is ridiculous. All this misinformation is used as justification to steal from our pension system and cut our pay. When teachers try to educate those on the present situation in schools or the complexity of the issues, they are accused of whining or making excuses. It's pretty demoralizing.... but my colleagues and I are not giving up on our students- we don't expect accolades or praise (as teachers received in 1970)- we just want to be treated fairly, and we want our kids to learn what they need to be successful, contributing members of society.

Aarenlty your stint in education has brought your reading comprehension down to sub elementary level. I never said that was ALL they do, the subject was the more repetitive nature of high school teaching as compared to elementary.

You infer things not stated, which makes you a typical "educator".

Not only is it a bad idea in principle to quote a guy that is famous for never gatting caught with rampant cheating, but the quote itself goes against maritime logic...it is sometimes better to stay farther out to sea than to bring a boat in under such conditions as to do damage to the ship or the port. Common sense isn't an excuse, it is survival, sometimes.
If we paid people based on if they should 'move on' for not doing there jobs, even just those paid with taxpayer money...we would have to defund Congress. Not only have they been stalemated for almost four year, but between the greedy-but-stupid Democrats and the greedy-but-traitorous Republicans, there might be five or ten out of 535 not on the take...though I might be optimistically high on that.
Which post had a teacher giving an excuse, versus a reason? I agree that we should do more to find and promote the 'good' teachers, see why they succeed...but then we also have to do something about it. If the stated curriculum is flawed at a school or district, but the teachers must follow whose fault is it at that point? Lazy teachers are a problem, as in every other walk of life or industry. (Look how productivity is lost just on Patch comments alone!) There are some legitimate reasons for teachers to think they are being ignored or underpaid or overworked...there are also reasons why these kids should be doing better. Not sure how we get there, but compromise would be a good start.

Concerned . . .

I could not care less if Bob is "a well known Republican and tea party activist." You have said nothing to refute his fact and figures regarding 218 spending. I have lived in Oak Lawn for over 35 years, and I'm sick of the district's runaway spending as evidenced on my tax bills. It is time for more transparency (open meetings), and more fiscal responsibility. The reality of today's economy cannot sustain the obscene salaries and benefits for both administrators and teachers. It is time for taxpayers to stand up and say "Enough!"

Concerned, this is all a lie. I'm not paid a nickle form any "conservative think tank", I was never in "public education" except as a part timeCollege instructor, and, when I had time, subsititute teacher. I took a sabbatical from to teach and I could have stayed teaching in quality private schools, but I was ready, after a very educational experience in teaching, to go back to engineering management. Unlike you, "concerned", who is pretty obviously a Dem hatchet man/woman. I don't rely on politics to make a living.

Do this blog a service. Go and crawl back into the cesspool you came form.

Concerned, if you were "concerned" about the truth, which you are not, you would have read that the only public education in which I was employed was as a college instructor and as a substitute teacher, where I saw in about a dozen districts how the problems affect the students. If you find that as a "negative" in a candidate for the General Assembly, well, it's likely you're just another dem political attack dog.

I have no problem attaching my name to what I write, "Concerned".

Do you have the honesty and character to do the same, or are you just a coward who attacks from the shadows?

Take off your mask, Concerned, if you have any character or GUTS!

Bob Shelstrom is like most republicans. They flip-flop all the time. Can't trust him.

fyi oaklawn, i see you use the typical deceitful Dem tactic like "concerned", if you can't dispute the message, deman and insult the messenger.

You got away with it in 2006 and 2008. We won't be fooled by your vacuous attacks again!

Been There, lets be clear. Most people who run for elected school board office do so because they really want to and they campaign hard to win. Once they are elected from their section of the district, they are obliged to dilgently represent ALL residents and see to the best interests of all students of D218. This Board has failed to assert itself since the last election. It failed to come to an agrrement on a replacement for Ron Pratl when he resigned last year, and taxpayers have been under represented since then. The teachers union recognizes this and is concerned that Board is being led along by a handfull of administrators because of the lack of cohesion and leadership among the elected officals.

The people you refer to as "complainers" have a right to ask questions and hold elected offials accountable. The President and Board Members are obliged to respond. If you decide to comment again, please try to be pertinent to the discussion at hand.