Maine Twp. District 207 lays off 5 tenured teachers

The Maine Township High School District 207 school board Monday night dismissed five tenured teachers from Maine South and West high schools.

The five - three physical education teachers, a librarian and an applied arts teacher - are part of the 75 certified teachers laid off last month in order to save the school district $5 million. The remaining 70 are nontenured teachers.

The layoffs, which are effective at the end of this school year, are part of $15 million in cuts made last month to plug a projected $19 million deficit in 2010-11 budget.

However, District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace said officials hope to rescind some of the pink slips if the teachers union agrees to grant salary concessions to save jobs.

"We would have to bring tenured teachers back before nontenured teachers in a particular area," Wallace said.

The administration has offered the union a deal to save about 40 to 45 of the 75 teaching jobs.

District officials propose spending up to $2 million more out of the district's reserves for two years if the union matches that amount in salary concessions.

The union would have to agree to forego a 3.2 percent salary increase for the 2010-11 academic year. Most teachers would continue to receive step pay increases based on years of experience, and a 3.5 percent wage increase in the 2011-12 school year.

Maine Teacher's Association's roughly 600 members are expected to vote March 9 on whether to begin preliminary discussions with the administration about the possibility of reopening the contract.

"If (discussions) prove favorable, then we could move into bargaining," said Emma Visee, MTA president. "Once we start bargaining, there is no turning back."

The union had rejected the administration's request to forego two wage increases - 3.2 percent in 2010 and 3.5 percent in 2011 - to save 55 jobs.

Wallace said any discussions about salary concessions would be swift. The administration would be open to any concessions the union is willing to offer, to save as many jobs as possible.

"We are not in a position to refuse," Wallace said.

Although there was only one parent who spoke against teacher layoffs Monday, hundreds of students, parents, teachers and community members protested the cuts during a public hearing in January and a school board meeting in February.

"It's overwhelming and they are going very fast, and they are making rash decisions that are going to have a great impact on our children," said Colleen Hirschbine of Des Plaines who has seven children, two currently at Maine East High School. "Everything they say is projections. Nothing is solid. They need to take the time to make sure that they are committing to decisions that are best for our schools, and our children."

Hirschbine said each year, her daughter has a new guidance counselor at East.

"We don't know who it will be next year, because they have slated to remove the two that she's had," Hirschbine said. "Yet, at the end of the (teachers') contract in 2012, there are three counselors who are retiring. They are not telling us what's going to happen in the future, and the students are going to suffer."

Any decision to rescind layoffs likely will be made at the next school board meeting at 6 p.m. April 5 at Maine South High School.