DuPage District 88 to lose 32 staffers after failing to agree on concessions

As 32 faculty members prepare to lose their jobs this spring in DuPage High School District 88, union officials say they were willing to accept lower raises and reductions in tuition reimbursement to save eight of those positions.

The union and school district, however, were unable to come to an agreement on any of the proposed changes to the current teachers contract that expires in 2011.

Teachers at Addison Trail and Willowbrook high schools agreed last month to reopen contract talks one year early, hoping to save jobs and programs in the face of the district's $5.9 million budget deficit for the 2010-11 school year.

During those negotiations, union leaders offered to accept a 1 percent increase in base pay next year instead of the 3 percent increase contained in the existing contract, officials said. Teachers would have continued to receive additional money based on their educational level and experience, Superintendent Steve Humphrey said.

The union also offered to reduce tuition reimbursement teachers receive for continuing education, said Patti Vendegna, teachers union president. The district pays $200 per credit hour and the program costs District 88 about $200,000 a year.

In exchange, teachers wanted more sick time and a guarantee that the new contract terms would stay in place for two years, Humphrey said.

Humphrey said the final component was problematic.

"We felt the (additional) sick leave made it more complex, especially since we had just finished talking about sick leave in our last (contract) agreement," Humphrey said.

He said the district could not promise to maintain a 1 percent base salary increase for two years in an unstable economy.

"We had financial projections showing deficits ... and we knew financially we ... couldn't obligate ourselves to a two-year agreement," he said.

Ultimately, none of the conditions were part of the final offer teachers rejected earlier this month. Vendegna said even if they were, she couldn't say the union would have passed the measure.

"Even if the board and district agreed to our offer and concessions (or most of them), we still would have needed to bring it back to the full membership for a vote ... so it is speculation at this point," Vendegna said in an e-mail.

Instead, the union voted on a proposal that would have frozen base salaries for next year (raises based on experience and education would continue), Humphrey said.

He said the district offered an extra day off next year, but included no extra sick leave. It also left tuition reimbursement in place for those already approved under District 88 deadlines.

They union defeated the measure 240 to 25.

"It's one those things where we've always had a good relationship and we just couldn't agree on the formula," Humphrey said.

The district announced in January that falling property tax revenues and reductions in state funding require roughly $5.9 million in budget cuts for the 2010-11 school year.

In addition to the 32 teachers, guidance counselors, certified support staff and a school psychologist who will be dismissed in spring, the district also is releasing all part-time employees. That's a standard move every spring, said Humphrey, and the district traditionally rehires part-time staff as needed. The same will happen next fall.

The results of the staff reductions will include larger class sizes, as well as some cuts in programs.

In a prepared statement, union leaders said the ultimate solution to this problem lies in state government.

"The fiscal problems of District 88, and school districts throughout Illinois, are largely caused by the state of Illinois' shortchanging schools to the tune of more than $1 billion this year alone, and $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2011," the statement read. "Cuts in our current contract cannot make up for the lack of revenue from the state."