Teacher Union Pay Hike Strategy Interrupted

In McHenry County’s Huntley School District 158, something I have never seen before happened Tuesday night.

A contract negotiated by three members of the teacher union’s 2005 ruling Majority Six school board members (one of whom, Glen Stewart, has now gotten a $101,000 school administrative post) went unapproved when the board put off the vote until right before a Thursday morning “board members meet the teachers meeting.”

This came after a 3-hour secret session op what most thought was a "done deal."

While obviously scheduled to bring pressure on any weak brothers, the meeting represents a set back to the ruling clique that I have seen nowhere else…ever.

The reason for the delay can be traced to publication by the Daily Herald’s Jeffrey Gaunt of an article outlining what he found out about the contract.

Angry citizen after angry citizen made the 10-16% raises for selected (many or most) high school teachers the reason they were criticizing the contract and the now Majority Five. (Stewart resigned after getting his new post and was replaced Tony Quagliano, an ally of the only minority member, Larry Snow).

Newly elected board member Snow’s name was brought up in a favorable light again and again by testifying taxpayers.

Others pointed to the School Board President Mike Skala’s wife’s being a high school French teacher and, hence, his having a conflict of interest should he vote for the contract. It may be even worse than that. She was a union representative for the high school last year.

Of course, with its five-vote majority, the Majority Five does not need Mike Skala’s vote to ratify the contract.

What seems to be at work here is the willingness of at least one of the school board members to reveal some of the contract’s contents before the vote...or, maybe, reporter Gaunt found another source.

One might think this is part of the “transparency” that new school superintendent John Burkey, who is from Dunlap, a suburban school district near Peoria, brought to the job.

But Burkey was clearly not pleased to be telling union leaders in the hall that the vote had been postponed.

Only one teacher was among those who spoke to the board. She talked of the unethical nature of revealing the contract’s contents before the board vote.

Now, I’ll certainly admit that it was unusual.

I have never heard of done before.

But, unethical?

How unethical is it for school boards throughout Illinois to decide on the biggest expenditure in the budget without having public discussion on whether the details—or even the total amount to be promised—are fair to the taxpayers.

It strikes me as a lot more unethical to blindside taxpayers.

Needless to say the ruling faction that the teachers' union helped elect will ratify the union contract that three of its members helped negotiate.

To find out what happens at the early Thursday morning, go to McHenry County Blog.

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At the top is Huntley School Board member Glen Stewart offering his thanks to School Board President Mike Skala after being appointed to a $101,000 administrative job.

The head shot below right is of Larry Snow, the man who fought a fraudulently promoted tax hike referendum and then got elected to the school board. Below left is Skala.

Next comes the photograph of Superintendent John Burkey explaining to union representatives that a vote to ratify their contract will not be taken until early Thursday morning.

Finally, regular meeting attender Aileen Seedorf holds up a piggy bank that she said represented the savings of the community's children, which would have to pay for the "Titanic financial iceberg" the contract represented.