District 300 hopefuls debate teacher contract

During the campaign for three open seats on the Community Unit District 300 school board, candidates have touted their legal, educational and financial acumen.

Their claims will soon be put to the test.

In a matter of months, the school board will begin negotiating a new contract with the district's teachers union. The current contract expires at the end of the 2009-10 school year.

Most candidates agree the district should seek minimal increases in teacher salaries and benefits to keep the district's budget in the black during the next couple years.

They disagree over how to achieve a financially responsible contract and whether negotiations should be open to the public - as was proposed in neighboring Huntley Unit District 158.

Challenger Rob Lee suggested a version of merit pay that would reward young teachers for good performance.

"These educators know that they're guaranteed a pay raise. Over time, that tends to build into that routine," Lee said. "Younger educators often go in with a fresh mindset. I think they should be rewarded."

Lee and incumbent Karen Roeckner are the only candidates supporting contract talks that would be completely open to the public.

"I don't know if you need to keep them behind closed doors," Roeckner said. "I think the public should be more aware of what's going on because it's their tax dollars."

But fellow candidate Dave Alessio, a former board member, said public negotiations could be counterproductive.

"It can just drag out forever if there's leaders on either side that want to use it as a stage for grandstanding," Alessio said. "That would probably greatly increase the length of negotiation."

Challenger Dorota Jordan asserted she could be an impartial negotiator although she is teacher. A former Cambridge Lakes Charter School teacher, Jordan now works as a substitute teacher in surrounding districts.

"Is it going to cloud my view? Probably not. Being on the board, I will be a representative of the community. I will not be a teacher at that point," Jordan said. "If anything, I will understand the viewpoint of the teachers and the reasoning behind why they may be asking for certain things."

Anne Miller, who is seeking re-election, proposed joint updates as an alternative to public negotiations, and said the new board needs to lay the groundwork for negotiations as soon as it is sworn in.

"As soon as the new board is seated, we need to work on relationship building and setting our framework for how negotiations should be handled," Miller said.

Challenger Tracey Perez agreed with Miller that contract talks should be more transparent.

"I would support some openness, more in terms of communicating with the public," Perez said. "The whole process can't be open. That would just prohibit any progress."