NEIUPI

Here’s a report from the Association of School Business Officials about the situation in Illinois. It is important to show our support for all Public Education in the state. Join Faculty, Staff and Students in a Education Can’t Wait rally. It is planned for next Wednesday at noon in the courtyard area outside the student union…bring your students and colleagues…and your best outside voice so that our entire community knows we support quality education for all…

Coalition Says More Than 20,000 Teachers In Illinois May Lose Jobs Next Year.

The Chicago Daily Herald (3/29, Holdway) reports that “a coalition of Illinois education groups says more than 20,000 teachers could be laid off from state schools in the next school year.” Based on surveys returned by three-quarters of the 944 school districts that received the, the coalition says that 9,764 of the planned layoffs will be “certified staff members — basically, teachers,” another 5,867 will be “noncertified staff members,” and 1,597 will be “certified retirees not being replaced.” In a news release, coalition member Brent Clark said, “This data only reflects expected job losses. … The situation is far worse when we factor in elimination and reduction of hundreds of programs in sports and music and school activities that are so beneficial to students.” The Daily Herald notes that the coalition is made up of the Illinois Education Association, the Illinois Association of School Business Officials, “the Illinois Federation of Teachers, the Illinois Association of School Boards, the Illinois Principals Association,” and the Illinois Association of School Administrators.

Illinois Districts Lay Off Nearly 10,000 Teachers As State Struggles To Catch Up On Payments.

The Chicago Sun-Times (3/27, Ihejirika) reported that “in recent weeks, state education funding woes have triggered a tsunami of pink slips to thousands upon thousands of teachers and support staff in school districts statewide, with about 9,800 announced layoffs of teachers so far.” Said Illinois Education Association spokesman, Charlie McBarron, “What looms this school year is devastating for all of Illinois. It’s going to significantly diminish the quality of education throughout the state.” Because the state is “woefully behind on paying its 2009-2010 bills — and eyeing further budget cuts in 2010-2011 — districts such as the Chicago Public Schools are drastically plugging holes that may only get bigger.”

Courtesy of the Association of School Business Officials

The UPI and Administrative Negotiating teams met yesterday and a second meeting is scheduled for Friday this week. Additional sessions have been scheduled through April with other dates under consideration. Several counter proposals were on the table that addressed the working conditions of Academic Support Professionals as well as the Evaluation article for Teaching and Resource Professionals. We continued our discussions the sanction and termination of bargaining unit members. There were no tentative agreements (TA) signed on Tuesday but we are close on some issues.

During spring break our team passed a proposal to fund the excellence awards to the employees who had been recommended to the President last fall. We were told that the money has not been allocated for the awards. The UPI team has developed a summary table reporting the negotiating status for all articles/issues addressed (or to be) in negotiations.

Stop by the UPI tables this week and pick up a copy of the negotiations summary table, name your favorite “TICK” of the week and learn about the rallies to support education planned for campus and in Springfield this April.

Here’s Eric Zorn’s column citing the legal analysis that our pension benefits are not constitutionally guaranteed. The opinion was performed by Sidley Austin, LLP and purchased by the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago. Do you think the opinion cost more than the average annual pension of an Illinois retiree (26K)?

The other day I asked Can we change pension deals going forward for existing state employees? and voiced my doubts.

A Tribune editorial today, speaking to leading state politicians who share my doubts, says “Yes, You Can,” and cites “A legal analysis by Chicago’s Sidley Austin LLP (performed for the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago that) concludes that, under the constitution, ‘(S)tatutory pension rights are not frozen in place for all eternity and may be amended to alter the parties’ relationship on a prospective basis — meaning to alter benefits to be earned in the future..”

Here is a full copy of that analysis along with my renewed invitation for lawyers who believe otherwise to provide a competing analysis…

Read more on Eric Zorn’s Change of Subject blog

If you were in awe at the lightening speed with which our legislators “reformed” the pensions of future employees, please be aware that the Tribune and others are calling for more. Tribune encourages our legislators to move on current benefits…interesting that the editorial board chose the title “YES YOU CAN!” Sound familiar? I keep asking myself what have state employees done to warrant these unrelenting attacks by the Tribune and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago..

It’s a slippery slope…

We won’t begrudge Gov. Pat Quinn and legislators their end-zone dance over Wednesday’s approval of less generous pensions for future public workers in Illinois. We do, though, want to warn them that a Democratic congressman from Chicago intends to push lawmakers in this and other states to adopt much more demanding pension reforms…

Read more at The Chicago Tribune

Did you send an email (or call) your legislator last week about their quick pension reform plan? If so, did you get a response from that legislator? Please forward their responses to me so we can examine their position on education and pension reform.

The gist of my legislator’s response was…It doesn’t affect you only future employees and you’ve been given misinformation. I’ll fight to protect your pension so don’t worry about anything else.

Let’s see if others tried the same tactic to appease those concerned with the fate of Illinois public education.