Dist. 211 Teachers plan to walk Thursday

As many as 1,100 educators in Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 will walk off the job Thursday morning unless the union and the school district can settle their salary dispute.

A three-hour bargaining session Thursday produced some movement, but apparently not enough to keep union President John Braglia Friday morning from setting the strike date.

A strike would silence the largest high school district in Illinois, with five schools and 12,878 students.

The sides are scheduled to meet Monday for another session with a federal mediator, but Braglia said Friday he had no choice but to enact his "last resort" option.

"Some members of this board have … elected to force the teachers into this position," he said.

"There isn't one teacher on this staff, given the option, who would want to do this. This is a last-resort dealing with not only an uncooperative board, but what I would call a combatant board."

District 211 Superintendent Roger Thornton said the federal mediator will continue to be available after Monday for further talks. He had nothing to say about the Thursday strike deadline.

"I'm going to refrain comment until after Monday's mediation session," Thornton said. He said the board team would make itself available next week, "as long as it takes to get bargaining done."

Earlier Coverage Stories Ex-Dist. 211 chief blames state [11/02/07]Disgruntled Dist. 211 teachers call strike for Thursday [11/02/07]No deal, no strike date in Dist. 211 [11/02/07]Dist. 211, teachers back at table; could declare strike today [11/01/07]Police, union make plans for peaceful picket [11/01/07]Union, Dist. 211 board make postseason demands [11/01/07]Strike FAQ: The facts behind the issues [10/30/07]Looks like it's a win for sports [10/30/07]New Dist. 211 stance puts coaches on spot [10/30/07]Teachers picket Dist. 211 meeting [10/26/07] Have any questions? We'll do our best to get you answers. Email Daily Herald reporter Ashok Selvam at aselvam@dailyherald.com. Related Links Twp. High School Dist. 211NW Suburban Teachers Union, Local 1211

School board President Robert LeFevre held out that a strike wouldn't happen.

"I remain optimistic," he said. "We have to keep working to find a resolution, and there are plans in place to do that."

The union filed its intent to strike Oct. 19 after union teachers voted in favor of it.

About 300 teachers picketed the district's Palatine headquarters Friday for a second day and plan on picketing today as well.

They shared a number of concerns -- from classroom size to a lack of communication with the board and administrators -- as reasons for being disgruntled.

But the most publicized debate is over money -- specifically, salary hikes for the current 2007-08 year. Teachers are in the final year of a three-year contract, which called for salary to be renegotiated this year. The district's last publicized offer was 2.5 percent, while the union's last public demand was 3.8 percent.

School ended Friday at Conant High School in Hoffman Estates with students Chris Vega, Antonio Rojas and Sean Richardson sitting on a bench outside school and talking about the strike date.

Despite what teachers have told them, they said the dispute was just about money.

The three welcome time off, and Vega isn't concerned about a strike and not having teacher recommendations for college.

"School admission is just about ACTs and GPA. I'm not worried about it," Vega said.

Meanwhile, parent Dawn Dabler waited for her freshman son to be dismissed. The family moved last year to be in District 211. Her 14-year-old son went to private school before, and she's angry that teachers would walk out. She's considering sending him back to private school.

"Why do they think they need more money and benefits?" she said. "Don't they care about teaching our children?"

Dulce Paz, a sophomore from Schaumburg, said teachers do care about her and her classmates.

"I know some of my teachers really care about us, I just know because the way they act," Paz said. "They are good teachers."

Bob McGowan, a senior from Elk Grove Village, isn't keen about his exam schedule being re-arranged, but he supports the teachers, saying they're asking for a reasonable raise.

"From what I've been told, teachers were promised more money than what they've received," he said. "I could understand why the union would be upset about that; that's the reason they're unionized workers."

McGowan, a member of the Conant football team, supports the district's policy to require coaches to show up to a full day of work if they want to coach a sports team in the playoffs.

"If a student's not there the whole day, they don't get to play," he said. "I think that could apply here."

However, he admitted he might feel differently if Conant had made the playoffs.

At Friday night's Palatine High School playoff game, instead of pickets, signs that said, "Go Pirates!" and "PHS, Oh YES!" lined the streets outside the school.

Fan Joe Maffiola of Palatine said he would feel terrible for the kids if the strike canceled the playoffs.

"If you're a senior, how terrible it would be not to play," he said. "It's wrong to let a little bit of money #8230; it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing for them and it's gone."