Dist. 46 board member suggests teacher pay freeze

Grayslake Elementary District 46 board member Michael Carbone says pay freezes for teachers may be necessary in their next contract because officials are running out of ways to save money.

District 46 instructors have a deal that extends through the 2011-12 academic year. They agreed to take a reduced 2.75 percent raise instead of the originally scheduled 4 percent to help the district bridge a projected $2.3 million budget gap this year.

As part of those negotiations, the teachers' contract was extended by one year with the promise of a 4 percent average pay hike in 2011-12.

Carbone floated the idea of seeking a pay freeze or even cuts for instructors in the next round of talks during a Wednesday night meeting at which a school board majority agreed to increase District 46's tax levy. He said the school board has made millions of dollars in cuts during the last two years and is running out of options.

“It has to be seriously looked at,” Carbone said of the educators' salaries, “because you can't keep taxing.”

But board President Mary Garcia said it would be difficult to cut or freeze the salary of a teacher who's on the low end of the pay scale at $34,000. She said the board can find other solutions to trim spending.

“I'm all for creativity in looking for cuts,” she said.

Garcia also said teachers don't get a 401(k) plan and must contribute 10 percent of their paychecks to a state-controlled retirement system that may not be around when they need it. She drew groans from some in a crowd of 70 or so at Wednesday's meeting when she said “teachers also have to put food on the table.”

“Whenever there's a pull in the economy, it's ‘Cut the teachers' salary, freeze the teachers' salary, freeze administrators' salary.' And, as a board member, I look at the whole picture,” Garcia said.

Citing the teachers giving up some of their raise for this year, Superintendent Ellen Correll recently provided an $1,100 bonus to 345 instructors and $5,500 extra in the checks of 10 building administrators. The money came from $733,028 allocated through a federal stimulus program that's been pitched as a way to save education jobs.

Before Carbone spoke about teacher pay, District 46 Chief School Business Official David Tylavsky said the new tax levy likely will result in an owner of a $200,000 market value home paying an extra $292 next year.

Most public bodies by state law are limited in how much they can boost tax levies on existing properties to 5 percent, or the rate of inflation determined by the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower. The CPI factor this year is 2.7 percent, which is what Tylavsky said he based his tax hike estimate on for the owner of a $200,000 home.

Board members voted 4-2 in favor of the tentative tax levy. Carbone and Keith Surroz cast dissenting votes.