As CPS prepares to close a record number of schools, the fate of students and communities is in question.
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CTU, CPS spar over fact-finder, teacher raises
By: Rebecca Harris / July 16, 2012
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis, flanked by CTU officers, speaks at a press briefing Monday.
At a press briefing Monday, Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis accused CPS of improperly leaking the results of a fact-finding report to the press.
Though Lewis disputed a published report that said the union had already decided to reject the proposed settlement, she left the door open for that—a move that would put the union a step closer to a possible strike—by saying that teachers are fighting for more than money.
“We are also fighting for resources and social services for our underserved students,” Lewis said. That includes, she added, “wraparound services for our students who are facing unprecedented levels of neighborhood violence.”
The published report also said that the district had rejected the fact-finding report.
Saying the CTU needed to clarify the facts, Lewis spelled out the report’s recommended teacher raises:
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A 12.6 percent raise to account for his finding that teachers will be working a 19.6 percent longer day and year. The union had asked for almost 30 percent, while the district has budgeted for just 2 percent.
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An additional 2.25 percent cost-of-living raise.
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Step and lane increases. The district wants to scrap these raises based on seniority and education in favor of a merit pay program, which the union opposes.
Lewis said the union would not make a final decision on the report until discussing it with members at Wednesday’s special House of Delegates meeting, slated for 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Plumbers Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. It is not open to the public. The report will not be released to the public unless either side formally rejects it.
The union’s ability to use its strike vote as leverage in contract negotiations is at stake, since under state law, the union cannot strike unless it formally rejects the report. State law also stipulates that a strike cannot happen until 30 days after the report is released.
Lewis praised the arbitrator, lawyer Edwin Benn, for his ruling and said it showed he believed teachers deserved “fair pay for a fair day’s work.”
“We commend Arbitrator Benn for his careful consideration of the data,” Lewis said. “Frankly, he had a thankless task.”
CPS appears ready to reject the report—something it is virtually forced to do, since the district has repeatedly stated that it cannot afford a hefty raise. By law, the fact-finder was to consider the district’s financial state, among other factors, in issuing its report.
“Our goal is to have a contract that is fair to our teachers, students and taxpayers. We are operating under the most dire financial situation CPS has ever faced, so any contract proposals made by the fact finder or at the negotiation table with the CTU must be grounded in the fiscal reality CPS faces today,” CPS spokeswoman Becky Carroll said in a statement. “Asking taxpayers to fund a $330 million price tag in year one alone of this contract ignores the gravity of the financial crisis facing the District and would have devastating impacts on our school communities.”
Lewis said she hoped CPS would follow the fact-finder’s lead in determining how much of a raise to give teachers, noting that the district “has publicly stated for months that the fact-finder should decide our raises” and pointing to CEO Jean-Claude Brizard’s June 5 letter to teachers stating that “teachers deserve a raise and will receive one that is fair. How much that raise should be is in the hands of an independent fact-finder.”
“These are his words, this is their process, and these are their results,” Lewis said.
By law, the fact-finding panel was required to consider the cost of living; “the interests and welfare” of students and families; how CPS wages compare to those in the 10 largest urban districts in the U.S.; the district’s financial ability to fund the raises without draining its reserve funds, borrowing money, or getting new revenue from the state; and the impact the raises would have on the district’s ability to educate students.
The panel was composed of chief fact-finder Edwin H. Benn, an arbitrator; CTU Vice President Jesse Sharkey; and CPS Deputy General Counsel Joseph Moriarty.
Well done CTU--go to ctunet.com to see the video
Well said Karen. Shame on Brizard, Cawley and their press corps!
Do you know CPS refuses to give neighborhood schools their repair money, but AUSL schools are getting their schools painted, cleaned-up and new funiture! Even getting new furniture to the new furniture they already had!
Active parents want answers
I am an involved parent and have been told by the best teachers at our school that they were willing to have recess for free--FREE.
They wanted the day ending 20 minutes earlier, but the day was pulled back by the mayor anyway. What is going on with CPS? Stop hurting schools.
Thank you stand on children =now CPS-why 92 new HR positions
why more money for charters?--why $21,500 per month for an education consultant?-why so many over paid administrators?
YOU HAVE THE MONEY FOR THIS! why?
CPS, CTU and the fact-finders recommendation for teachers' raise
It was irresponsible for the Mayor and his hand picked school board to propose lengthening the school day and school year if it is "operating under the most dire financial situation CPS has ever faced" (Marge Carroll, CPS) and extremely foolish of them to think that Chicago teachers, whom the mayor has maligned and disrepected almost continuously throughout his first year in office, would agree with this unfunded glorified free-babysitting- service plan . Teachers want a fair day's pay for a fair day's work and Arbitrator Benn agrees. Would policemen, firemen, electricians, plumbers, and carpenters agree to 90 minute longer days without a commenserate increase in pay?
The mayor's plan goes like this: lengthen the day and the year, not pay the teachers for their extra work, not provide more resources to schools and kids will learn more. Really. Really?
Talk to your teachers
Recess can be done for minimal cost in a 6.5 hour day. But extending the envelope to 7 hours for elementary and 7.5 hours for high schools based on a rudderless campaign promise is an unfunded mandate.
Erase the mess
Give those displaced teachers their jobs back; end the longer day; the board needs to take back over the budget. The longer day has forced the layoffs. This is making larger pensions to be paid. Teachers are running. The young ones will not have a future. The kids will not pass the test. This is a disaster; already. There is no reason all these people lost their jobs to keep from giving raises. For this reason this WILL fail. Lot of people will suffer just because of youthful greed for some. You can turn around whatever; and hire all young teachers; but you can't change the kids. They are the same children under whoever. Until that changes; nothing is going to work.
The thing I find most
The thing I find most fascinating about the arbitrator's decision is that he sees through the opacity and absurdity of the CPS proposed budget.
The arbitrator was required by law (SB7) to base his findings on "the employer's financial ability to fund the proposals based on existing available resources" without resorting to draining of reserves, increasing revenues, extending lines of credit, etc.
The arbitrator determined the Board CAN AFFORD to pay teachers 15% more for the extended school day without draining reserves, increasing revenue, extending lines of credit, etc.
So, the arbitrator says the Board has the money to pay teachers fairly for an extended day without bankrupting the system.
This must be a bitter, bitter pill for the Board to swallow.
Schools already had recess and the teachers covered it as part
the regular school day--no extended day at all. Teachers and students were content and recess was well executed. One could take it from 10 minutes to 15 at most. Most recess took over 10 minutes anyway.
So Rahm adds 5 minutes for student lunch and no one to watch the children as they eat for 25 minutes. Who is going to do this? and do not say parents! Now with Rahm's lunch our school is forced to put teachers on DUTY to watch kids eat everyday for 25 minutes, when they sat around bored with 20 minute lunch now.
Why did you pour your concrete without teacher input-- you fool!
The CPS budget is in large
The CPS budget is in large part about the Mayor's priorities. And those priorities have little to do with the classrooms or neighborhood schools in Chicago.
Selective enrollment schools and charters receive a disproportionate share of the Board's budget.
So, too, does CPS admin for that matter. Teachers salaries used to account for 48% of the budget. In only a few years that percentage has dropped to 41%. While money to the classroom has decreased, money spent outside the classroom has increased.
CPS spends somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 million every year to close neighborhood schools and open up charters or turnarounds. That money could be directed to the classroom.
CPS also spends upwards of $60 per year on high stakes standardized testing. That money could be directed back to the classroom.
CPS has proposed increasing staffing by 420 positions at network offices (293!), Human Capital (59), Payroll (42), and Portfolio Planning and Analytics (26). That's about $42 million that could have gone directly to the classroom.
The CPS budget is about the Mayor's priorities.
And those priorities have little to do with the classrooms or neighborhood schools in Chicago. Selective enrollment schools and charters receive a disproportionate share of the Board's budget. So, too, does CPS admin for that matter. Teachers salaries used to account for 48% of the budget. In only a few years that percentage has dropped to 41%.
CPS spends somewhere in the neighborhood of $350 million every year to close neighborhood schools and open up charters or turnarounds. That money could be directed to the classroom.
CPS also spends upwards of $60 per year on high stakes standardized testing. That money could be directed back to the classroom.
CPS has proposed increasing staffing by 420 positions at network offices (293!), WOW!! Human Capital (59), Payroll (42), and Portfolio Planning and Analytics (26).
That's about $42 million that could have gone directly to the classroom.
Mr. Cawley--you need to speak with -no exaggerations on
charters and their scores please. You are AUSL and you present a bias for in the postion you are in. You also need to move into the city.
Thank you Jackson Potter for your diligence tonight on Chicago Tonight.
Charter ISAT scores--dear catalyst, would you please look at the
prelim ISAT scores of just the plain ol' neighborhood schools, that just came out? Remove from these ISAT scores the ELL scores from grades 3-8 and then compare them to the charters (the ones who do not have a bilingual programs or accept non-English speaking students.) That would be an interesting comparison to really see how well the neighborhood schools are doing compared to charters.
To See-Through
I'm guessing the arbitrator ACTUALLY read the budget , as opposed to what the Board of Ed. will do with it ( but still vote to pass it). Somewhere in that budget, he must have seen MILLIONS of misspent dollars that can be redirected to teachers and schools, where it should go.
CPS says it has no money for raises because it CHOOSES not to put money for raises, while inflating the administrative costs with more personnel, larger staff for already existing offices, and expanding the number of officers that are redundant of others already in place ( like "Chief of Staff" , of which there are about 3 ).
I applaud the arbitrator for taking his job seriously and looking at the data CPS loves so much. Goes to show that without political connections, the data agrees with the Union.
AUSL scores
Pablo Casals School, which is now in turnaround mode with AUSL, had a gain of 8% in its overall ISAT scores this year, its last year as a regular neighborhood school. SO, how did AUSL schools do ? Only 1 of the 14 AUSL schools posted better gains than Casals - some went down in scores, and many others only had gains under 5% this year.
Funny that AUSL is taking over Casals. Seems like the reverse would have made more educational sense. But wait, I forgot , this is Chicago and former members of AUSL sit on the Board of Ed.. Silly me !!
A Noble adn Honorable Profession
The Board of Charters got slapped in the face with a dose of their own medicine. Teachers inherently are understanding, patient and caring but those attributes don't make Damn fools. Teachers took the authorization vote to strike because politics are well and alive in CPS and the use of political and collective power was the only leverage needed to tell the Board of Charters that teachers are professional, well-educatedl, multi-talented individuals who chose this profession and went through rigorous training to work with children. You have NEVER heard one teacher say that he/she chose education as a profession because of money, politics, tenure, pensions, etc. Most chose the profession knowing that they could make a positive difference in the lives of youth. Those Harvard and Yale graduates working for AUSL go through drive-through training probably perceive education as a recession-proof JOB. As soon as these "brilliant and talented minds" fix the economy they will haul you know what getting out of teaching because it is not as easy as those who have never sat on the other side of the desk think. Teachers are tired of being passive and submissive. Teachers were told to get more training, certification and recertification, degrees, endorsements, etc. A done deal but still not good enough. Teachers are bullied and degraded in schools, neighborhoods, churches, bars, etc. There are misleading ads on the radio. Does anyone know if teaching still considered a noble and honorable profession?
I’m not surprised by your reaction,
Cawley said. We’ve closed your schools or will starve them and then close them, laughed at your FOIA requests, stolen millions of dollars, lied to you, lied to the public, lied to the media, paid protesters to denounce you, bribed Chicago clergy, fired veteran teachers and replaced them cardboard cutouts, destroyed opportunities for your children, dismantled your communities, waged negative add campaigns to tarnish reputations, called your comcerns and input ‘noise’, and plan to continue stealing millions with the unveiling of this fictitious budget. I promise I won’t shout at you when we throw you on the street where you can beg for pennies and sell lose cigarettes. I hope you will extend me the same courtesy as I am from AUSL, count my millions, nestled in my huge and luxurious north suburban Winnetka home, when I should be living in Chciago and dream up new schemes for screwing neighborhood children, teachers and their schools and taxpayers of Chicago.
CPS closed the ISBE Honor Roll School- de la Cruz and gave it
to UNO for $1 plus free repairs and utilities. UNO left after 1 year. CPS starving good to great neighborhood schools is not new and will continue under thei mayor and Mr. Cawley.
2012 Retirees
I retired in June of 2012 and took a reduced pension because CPS said it had no money for the 4% raise. This lie is impacting all of the retirees from 2012. That is the thanks teachers get for working 30 + years.
Well said!
Well said!
Noble Street Charters
How about Noble Street Charter network fleecing $200,000 in student fines (Mostly under the poverty line) for DETENTSIONS! What a great example of PRIVATE COMPANIES PROFITING from PUBLIC SCHOOL FUNDS!!
And for those students that could not pay the fines, yep... sent back to the local CPS elementary school.
Unbelievable? Open this link and read the details: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-02-14/news/ct-met-charter-fines-...
Cawley's Bias
I agree that Cawley is biased -- but he is biased AGAINST charter schools. AUSL is not a charter operator. It has no connection to charters. Cawley has been no friend to charters.
Charter ISAT Scores
All charters MUST accept non-English speaking students. Admission is by lottery. NO PREQUALIFICATIONS WHATSOEVER are allowed under state law.
Cawley is Rahm and will do what Rahm says--that is why regular
CPS schools have had the money taken from them that would buy toilet paper and paper towels--Yep! The reduced the money to the traditional schools--this is how they get more money for charters! We cannot even gert things fixed. Do the alderman know this?
But AUSL schools are getting new furniture--when they had it already, new painting and all the supplies they need. Stop killing the neighborhood school! Rahm and Cawley are bleeding them to death.
Please-charter sdo what they want as they want--they do not
take in non-English speaking students, special ed students or behavior problem students. They can kick out low scoring students and students that look at a teacher funny, after they get their money. UNO's rangel makes $250K--he sets his own salary. Where is the accountability for CPS charters? And even if there was, they get a pass-every day.
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