Recently I found myself enmeshed in a lengthy Facebook conversation with other citizens of our home town on its “What’s Happening” page. Our teacher’s union has authorized a strike after working since August without a contract and negotiating since February. This is a hot topic in Illinois, a state that is so poorly managed that we have the worst credit rating in the country[1], and a state that does not do its share to fund public education, putting an overwhelming burden on property owners. We rank last in the percentage of funding that comes from the state, according to a 2016 U.S. Census report.[2] So I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of support for teachers from those who were posting.
“From the very beginning of these negotiations our association has maintained a commitment to reach an agreement that puts the district’s 5,800 students first; promotes a high-quality education; is fair for the teachers; and is fiscally responsible to the community of Geneva,” said Kevin Gannon, president of the GEA. “We have been working to find common ground with the school board. We know the district has the financial ability to pay our teachers wages that are competitive with other districts of our caliber.”[3]
I don’t know enough about the district’s ability to pay because both sides are maintaining confidentiality right now. The best information I could find was that there was a small surplus in 2017. I do see that our teachers make less than the teachers in neighboring communities, even though our town has always been known for its desirability and the quality of its schools. How can we continue to attract excellent teachers when our pay is not competitive? Teachers who work just 20-30 minutes away make significantly higher salaries – I know. I was one of them. Geneva has always prided itself on attracting good teachers because it’s such a desirable system to be in. But if the gap continues to grow, will teachers still seek out Geneva? All teachers already make almost 20 percent less than similar professionals,[4] and good teachers put in a full year’s work in a compressed time frame. From one of my FB posts: “When I was teaching in Connecticut, the Yale School of Business and Management did a serious time study of my high school English Department and determined that we worked a full year [2000 hours plus] during the school year. We, like so many, are challenged by our property taxes, but that’s not the fault of teachers — you can thank a state that’s among the very worse in support of public education. I don’t know the details of the contract proposal yet, but I’d urge residents to keep an open mind.”
Gannon goes on to say, “A strike is the last thing we want and we are continuing to do everything in our power to avoid that possibility. The GEA is simply trying to attract and retain quality teachers to serve our students and maintain the standard of excellence we now provide to the students in Geneva. Under the school board’s proposals, Geneva teachers will continue to lag behind nearby districts in salaries and the gap will continue to grow. We do not want to keep losing our newer colleagues to neighboring districts.”[5]
I find myself revisiting my school district’s strike in 1998. None of us wanted it, either. We wanted a fair package and chose a strike as an absolute last resort. I believe that’s true of Geneva teachers, too. No one really wins a strike.
And I find myself worrying about our nation. We say kids matter, but we don’t walk our talk. Teachers are overworked and underpaid. When our country is so deeply divided, when we face such extreme challenges in an unstable world, a robust citizenry capable of critical thinking becomes even more essential to our future. When will we invest in education, in professionalizing teachers and their pay, in improving ongoing professional development for those teachers, in removing obstacles like overreliance on standardized tests? How can we fully develop the potential of our students, who are our future, if we don’t?
[1] https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/wall-street-credit-rating-gives-illinois-relief-not-much/
[2] http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-0505-sizing-up-illinois-htmlstory.html
[3] https://patch.com/illinois/geneva/district-304-teachers-union-oks-strike
[4] http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/teacherbeat/2018/09/teachers_wage_penalty.html
[5] https://patch.com/illinois/geneva/district-304-teachers-union-oks-strike