Pension series was spot on

The April 26 editorial, "School boards part of pension crisis," was spot on. Naperville Unit District 203 serves as a prime example of the conflict of interest that exists between school boards and teachers unions.

In 2005, the teachers union secretly spent tens of thousands of dollars campaigning on behalf of its three endorsed school board candidates. The union carefully screens and endorses candidates who will be most sympathetic to union issues - foremost of which are salaries and retirement. Six of the seven District 203 school board members are union-endorsed.

It's not a coincidence that over the past 10 years, these union-endorsed boards have been approving exceedingly generous contracts, and perpetuating 6 percent increases in the four years before a teacher's retirement to pad their pension. Do you suppose these retirement spikes might be affecting the pension crisis?

As a matter of transparency and voter awareness, school board members should be required to disclose all endorsement and financial ties to the teachers union before every election.

Mike Davitt

Naperville