Principal resigns post for family time

I had a chance to speak to Lincoln Prairie Elementary School's departing principal, Denise Finch, last month.

Finch announced earlier this year she would be resigning her post at the Lake in the Hills school after only one year on the job.

Trent Halpin, a veteran elementary school teacher at Lincoln Prairie, will be the new face of the school starting this summer.

Finch said she is resigning to spend more time with her two young children.

"I spend many late hours here, and I realized that I was taking time away from my family," Finch said. "I need to take a step back, re-evaluate my life."

Finch said she is looking at several options and would like to pursue a position in curriculum development.

"Anything I can do to better meet the needs of kids is what I like to do," she said.

Calling Lincoln Prairie a "home away from home," Finch credited her staff and the response to intervention program, which heads off academic issues before they become worse, with the school's academic success.

"It's a great school," Finch said. "That's why this was probably one the most difficult decisions I've had to made."

Finch said her successor is well-prepared for his new post because of his familiarity with the district, the school staff and the teacher contract.

"I just wish him all the best of luck," Finch said. "I enjoyed working with him, and I will enjoy mentoring him throughout the last couple of weeks of school."

Halpin officially starts his new job on July 1.

Regulating raises: Huntley Unit District 158 has proposed what seems at first glance a fair way to increase teacher salaries.

Under the district's contract proposal, most teachers would get 4.25 percent raises next year.

For three years after that, salary increases would be .25 percent above the rate of inflation.

This seems fair: teachers' salaries would rise slightly more than their expenses.

But I don't think it would work in practice. First of all, the contract language appears vague.

The Consumer Price Index, a widely cited measure of inflation, would seem to be an easy multiplier to use. The district has proposed CPI as the index it would use to calculate inflation.

But CPI can be calculated from January to January, March to March, and so on, and the number you arrive at depends on which one-year period you choose.

CPI also varies from region to region and can be construed broadly to include most consumer goods or limited to just a few.

Unless the district is explicit in the contract about which CPI it intends to use, the proposal will remain vague and open to interpretation and cherry-picking.

The second issue is a problem for the district and its teachers: predictability.

If the district relies on a fluctuating and unpredictable percentage to determine teacher salary raises, it will make it more difficult for the district to accurately make budget estimates.

And it doesn't seem fair to keep teachers guessing if they'll get a small raise or a big raise next year.

Instead, the district should propose a set percentage increase that will make budgeting easier for the district and teachers.