73% of Crystal Lake teachers considering leaving the district

Teachers and community will rally ahead of tonight's federal mediation session

CRYSTAL LAKE - The Crystal Lake Elementary Teachers' Association (CLETA) recently surveyed its members and found 73% are considering leaving teaching and89% of those surveyed say their jobs have gotten harder in the last year.

This new data comes as CLETA and the Crystal Lake Community Consolidated
District 47 Board of Education (BOE) are in federal mediation in the hopes of reaching
an agreement on a new contract. The next mediation session is scheduled for this evening. Crystal Lake educators plan to rally before mediation begins.

"We want to make sure the board understands the gravity of the situation. School is scheduled to start two weeks from today, and we would like to start the year with a contract," CLETA spokesperson Jen Rutishauser said. "That's why we will be out in full force. We want the community to be aware of the gravity of this situation. Our current contract expires on what's supposed to be the first day of school. We need to get a fair contract in place. Our staff, students and community deserve to have this settled."

A recent survey of the CLETA membership showed:

• A total of 73% of Crystal Lake elementary educators have seriously considered leaving their jobs.
• Of those surveyed, 89% say their jobs have gotten harder in the last year.
• Of all District 47 teachers, 37% make so little money they must work an additional job.
• Eighty-three percent of Crystal Lake teachers spend $150 or more of their own money on supplies for their students and their classrooms, and several people spend more than $1,000.
• The majority of our teachers have been working in the district for 10 years or more and many also live in the community.

"When you have almost three quarters of your educators saying they're thinking of quitting, it should sound a massive alarm bell with all parents, Crystal Lake community members and the administration," Rutishauser said. "They're not contemplating leaving because they don't like teaching or because they're close to retirement. They want to leave because they're not making enough money, and they're not being fairly compensated for their years of experience. We love our students. We love that our schools are the heart of our community, but at some point, you have to put your family and your family's bottom line first."

CLETA, which represents the teachers and other licensed staff in District 47, has been bargaining with District 47 BOE since October in the hopes of reaching a fair contract. The two groups entered federal mediation in June. CLETA's current contract expires on Aug. 19, which is the first day of school. There are 670 educators in the CLETA bargaining unit.

There are several topics at issue for CLETA, including making schools safer, adequate plan time, wages and benefits, and eliminating an outside staffing agency that has been used in an attempt to fill open positions.

"For years, we have agreed to hard and soft salary freezes to help the district through difficult financial times. However, because we did that, we have several teachers who are not being compensated appropriately for their years of experience. This means you can have newly hired educators, with the same amount of experience, earning more money than our veteran teachers with commensurate experience," Rutishauser said.

Federal mediation is the first step before a legal strike under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act (IELRA). If an agreement still cannot be reached with the help of a federal mediator, then the public posting process will be initiated. The last best offers would be posted publicly and then the teachers could initiate the strike 10 days later.

Tonight's mediation session starts at 4 p.m. at the CORE Center (300 Commerce Dr.). CLETA members and their families plan to rally in the same location at 3:45 p.m.

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The 135,000 member Illinois Education Association (IEA-NEA) is the state's largest union. IEA represents Pre K-12 teachers outside the city of Chicago and education support staff, higher education faculty, retired education employees and students preparing to become teachers, statewide.

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