Unions will ask for education reform, pension assurances, school funding (IL)

May 4, 2011

Teachers from across the Fox Valley will board buses to Springfield this morning.

And while the Illinois Education Association’s lobby day happens every year, an education reform bill making its way through the House and murmurs of pension reform this year are adding to the annual pleas to send more money to schools.

About 40 teachers from Indian Prairie will head downstate today. Val Dranias, president of the Indian Prairie teachers union said the district usually has a strong showing, but this year protests in Wisc onsin and proposals to eliminate collective bargaining in other states have teachers paying attention.

“I do think what’s been going around the county has spurred the interest of teachers,” Dranias said.

Their biggest concern, she said, will be ensuring that Senate Bill 7, the much-lauded education reform bill that changes the collective bargaining process, streamlines the process for firing ineffective teachers, and requires new school board members to take training, passes in the form in which it was first drafted.

The education reform bill was drafted by teachers unions and education reform groups and was hailed as a compromise from all sides, which is why teachers from every district in the Fox Valley said they were worried it hasn’t yet passed.

“It’s floating in the House and nobody knows why it’s not being passed yet,” said Darla Medernach, president of the Oswego Education Association. “Who knows what it’s going to look like when it actually emerges?”

“We’re hopeful the House will pass it in the form we passed it in,” said Tony Malay, president of the Batavia Education Association, which will send eight representatives downstate.

“The other issue, of course, is pensions,” said Dranias. “We have always paid our pensions. Our districts have always paid. For over 30 years leaders in both parties have either not funded or taken money out of the pension system in place of raising taxes or to fund projects they wanted to accomplish.”

A bill proposed by Rep. Tom Cross would create a multi-tiered system in which teachers would have to either significantly increase contributions, accept reduced benefits and a higher retirement age or join a defined-contribution plan similar to a 401(k).

“It’s making sure that our collective bargaining rights aren’t walked on, and making sure that people in the system have a fair pension when it’s all said and done,” s aid Craig Rhodes, president of East Aurora’s teachers union, which is sending a handful of teachers downstate.

But the biggest concern, said some representatives, isn’t paying for retirement 40 years from now. It’s paying for this fall.

“They have not created a budget in the legislature. School districts have no idea what to expect for funding,” said Medernach.

Ten current and retired teachers will make the drive to Springfield from Oswego, where the district — like many others — has been forced to take out loans in anticipation of the state paying what it’s promised.

“They’re scrambling to pay bills in the school districts and they have no way of knowing what they’ll get,” said Medernach. “It’s pretty dismal in some of the districts because of that.”