D211 candidates talk teachers union at forum

Teacher pay and property taxes were a key focus of questions aimed at candidates for the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 school board during a forum on Saturday.

The four candidates who appeared at the forum, sponsored by the Palatine Township Republican Organization, were asked whether the teachers union had donated to anyone’s campaign.

Candidates Mucia Burke, Richard Gerber, Roman Golash and Bill Robertson all said they didn’t know of any union contributions and said their campaigns had not accepted any teacher union money.

“I am not, but I hope no one else is either,” said Burke, a Schaumburg resident and mother of three.

Palatine-area Republicans have often raised concerns about educators’ pay raises and tax increases. The District 211 teachers union has not publicly endorsed any candidate in the April 5 election.

Seven candidates are running for four seats on the District 211 board. The board appointed Gerber in October to fill the unexpired term of Theresa Tracy, who suddenly died in September. In addition to Burke, Gerber and Golash, Robertson, M. Bryan Neal, Charles Fritz and incumbent George Brandt are running, but they were unable to attend the forum.

Robertson, an assistant principal at Jefferson High School in Rockford, repeatedly told the audience that his post was nonunion. The Palatine resident said given how much teachers make, student test scores need to improve and schools need to provide teachers with better resources.

“I think a lot of us are having a hard time wrapping our heads around some of those numbers because the test scores and the salaries aren’t commensurate, they don’t match, they don’t mesh,” Robertston said.

Retired Army Col. Golash, wearing a suit to the forum rather than his military uniform, said the school board should be more conservative when approving funding for salaries and programs. He said students aren’t being taught fundamentals.

“District 211 has great programs, but you sometimes wonder are we trying to be too much for too many people and by being that are we losing focus when teaching them math, English and science?” said Golash, of Palatine.

Gerber, a Schaumburg resident, said that teachers should be evaluated as individuals, not as a group. He said across the district he sees many teachers staying late and coming in before class to help students, keeping involved in their growth.

“On the other end of the spectrum, there are some teachers that I don’t think are providing good value to the system today,” Gerber said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for us on a recurring basis to re-look at teachers, not as a group, but as individuals and reward the teachers that are providing us with tremendous value and make a change for the teachers who are not.”

Burke received a smattering of applause from some of the 70 plus in the audience when she said the teachers union has too much power during negotiations.

“Right now it’s the teachers union telling us what to do and it needs to be the community telling the union what to do,” she said.

Candidate Neal told officials he could not attend the forum. Trouble with air travel forced Fritz to miss it and incumbent Brandt also couldn’t make it.

Collin Corbett, president of the Palatine Township Republican Organization, said all three will be given the chance to appear at next month’s meeting.

Before the District 211 forum, the candidates for the District 5 seat of Palatine Village Council had their own forum with incumbent Jack Wagner and challenger Kollin Kowlowksi taking questions.

District 211 is the state’s largest high school district, comprised of Conant, Fremd, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg high schools.