I want to take this opportunity to address the negotiation process with Mt Prospect Education Association which has become very public in the last few weeks. We have heard the rumors of the union discussing “impasse” and “considering a strike” from community members. There has been no indication of this in negotiations. We met on January 7th and January 14th with the federal mediator with the request to meet face to face with the union on January 14th. This request was refused by the union.

It was stated by the union that “negotiations are not going well”. The process of negotiations is not supposed to go well. It is a series of discussions that require give and take over a period of time and work towards compromise. The timeframe under which we are working is much longer than anticipated and we have been unable to meet at a compromise. The board’s last proposal was on September 16th and there has been no counter proposal offer made since then. Many have heard the positions and concerns of the union. The board has not made public statements. We believe that public statements would not have accelerated this process. If so, we would have made them. It had been our desire to keep the process between the union and the district within the confines of negotiations. Please listen as I outline our position on some key issues.

The 2.2 million dollar surplus was not “found” by auditors last year as stated in the press. Rather, this surplus was a result of receiving more in revenues than were budgeted and expending less than budgeted: Revenues were higher largely due to favorable results from Cook County and the State of Illinois. Expenditures were less than estimated as monies budgeted for capital improvements, winter weather costs, transportation, and salaries were not needed.

The board will follow IL state law in regards to all of Senate Bill 7 in the way it is written. This bill includes Reduction in Force or RIF. In 2011, we were faced with less projected revenue than ever and the last measure we took to hold the line on spending was to reduce probationary teachers in the district which resulted in increased class sizes. This was not a Reduction in Force.

The evaluation process is now outlined under Performance Evaluation Reform Act (PERA) another newer IL state law. This requires each district to convene a committee of union and administration representation to develop a process for evaluation of teachers in our district by September 2016. This law as currently written may change within the years of the proposed contract time. Currently, administrators and union representatives are going through extensive training outside the district to develop a process for District 57 as are all districts. In proposed contract language, the MPEA wants to go beyond the stated law and asks for administration to give up management rights stated within the law. The district needs to operate within the letter of the law.

The board shares the desire for professional development time and resource support. The board does not want to trade professional development time for student instructional time as requested by the union. The union has also requested 4 half days to accomplish this. The board has proposed 2 additional full days of professional development to the union and pay for these days which equates to an approximate 1% increase in salary. There is no interest from the board to revert back to half days of attendance for students. The union has failed to respond to this offer.

The board has additionally offered step and base increase on salary all years of the proposed contract. The union has failed to respond to this offer.

The district and MPEA are scheduled to meet on January 21st, February 5th, and February 10th with the federal mediator.

The board is striving to support the students, the parents, the teachers, and the taxpayers in this negotiation process. The Board strongly desires to negotiate an agreement that to the best of their ability supports an environment that prepares children to learn and succeed in a changing world.