Teachers sound off in U-46

At an emotion-filled Elgin Area School District U-46 meeting Monday night, board members officially accepted Superintendent Connie Neale's resignation, and heard an earful from angry teachers.

A week after rejecting a tentative employment pact, an overflow crowd of teachers told the school board they were overstressed and overburdened by large class sizes, new initiatives and sub-standard facilities.

Teachers received resounding standing ovations from their more than 200 co-workers in attendance, the largest crowd to appear at a school board meeting since the controversial decision to redraw attendance boundaries in 2004.

During more than an hour of public comment, the teachers offered myriad explanations for why they rejected the tentative three-year deal.

Large class sizes were cited most often, but every comment had a common undercurrent of frustration.

"More than anything, (the 'no' vote) was a message to you that we have reached a toxic stress level," said bilingual teacher Barbara Gonzalez.

Teachers laced their speeches with sarcasm and barbs at the administration and the school board. They made frequent allusions to new educational initiatives and buzzwords administrators have employed during the past four years.

"Stop spending your money sending teachers to roadmap meetings, and hire more teachers," kindergarten teacher Chris Davis said. "We know how to teach."

Other teachers accused school board members and administrators of being out of touch and invited them to spend a day in their classroom.

"Allow me, if you would, Mr. Kaczynski, to make you aware, since last week in the paper you said you were unaware of teacher issues," Christey Whitney said to board President Ken Kaczynski.

"Come to my classroom one time and you will most certainly be aware of many, many, many things in the life of a teacher."

After more than a dozen teachers had their say, Kaczynski assured them he had listened to their concerns.

"The allegations of lack of respect are one thing I can defend," Kaczynski said, eliciting jeers from teachers.

"That I don't appreciate the work of teachers is just plain wrong," Kaczynski continued. "I'm not going to stand here and defend things said in the newspaper, but I will tell you … that this board is committed to negotiating a contract using the interest-based process we have undertaken."

Most teacher filed out before the board's split vote to accept Neale's resignation, though several teachers during the public comment session referenced Neale's controversial pay and benefit package as a factor in their frustration.

Dale Spencer, Maria Bidelman and Amy Kerber all voted not to accept Neale's resignation, citing a clause in her contract that would have allowed the board to fire Neale after 90 days of absence.

Firing Neale, rather than accepting her resignation, would have been largely symbolic, as the board is bound to pay her lifetime benefits regardless.

"I cannot set aside my personal convictions or ignore the members of the public who do not want to see this board relinquish any legal rights and remedies that may exist in the superintendent's contract," Kerber said.

Though the board officially accepted her resignation Monday, Neale will remain an employee of the district until February.

She will use up a portion of her 448 accumulated sick days -- and will receive a pro-rated salary of $176,185.69, according to the terms of her retirement agreement.

The agreement also stipulates the board cannot fire her, though she will be absent for more than 90 days.

Residents and teachers have chastised the board members for granting Neale a $60,000 raise and bonus in January -- bringing her pay package to more than $400,000 -- and for providing her with lifetime health and disability insurance.

U-46 will pay Neale more than $1 million in post-retirement benefits if she lives to be 80, according to a Daily Herald analysis.

Neale tendered her resignation last week, less than a month after she went on indefinite medical leave for undisclosed reasons.

The timing of her resignation allowed her to collect on her Illinois pension, worth more than $30,000 annually. In Illinois, teachers must work five years and turn 62 before qualifying for a pension.

Neale turned 62 this month. She reached five years of service shortly before going on medical leave and moving to Missouri.