Dear Neighbors,
C4CH predicts that the pro union D86 Board will NOT cut any core AP Classes, nor will D86 be cutting the Football or Swimming programs nor any other sport or club that hurts the students. Unfortunately, the teacher's union and D86 Board have no problem using the kids as a political pawn to protect their overstaffing and outdated work rules, despite taxpayers generously funding $22,500 per student per year. Rest assured these special interest groups will not cancel sports or clubs. To do that would basically allow the Teacher's Union to steal the funds from core programs and activities for their salary increases, outdated work rules, and benefits. The pro union Board is testing the community in advance of an election to see how much more taxpayers are willing to pay jointly for a new Union contract, quietly under negotiation, and a new referendum tax increase. Don't accept these scare tactics, it is un-American behavior. The sports and clubs are safe.
Scare Tactics are Unethical and Divisive
Threatening to cut sports and clubs is a divisive and an unethical scare tactic. The School Board, Teacher's Union and the Superintendent are supposed to protect students, not use them as political pawns. Students and parents should feel secure about the schools and their future. After all, taxpayers already pay $22,500 per student annually ($20,400 annually per student not including debt per school report card), plenty for every program to exist at a high level. Filling minors and families with anxiety by threatening to cut their sports and activities for Union politics hurt the community. There is zero need to cut sports, clubs, and core AP classes - there is every reason to reform outdated work rules and cut wasteful spending by the Teacher's Union and Administration. See the already generous salaries, where most teachers are peaking at over $150,000 per year and then getting subsidized pensions starting at over $110,000 with free locally-funded healthcare, plus early retirement (often in their 50s) using accumulated sick leave. No sports or clubs are going to be cut to overfund teacher's already generous packages.
List of Unethical Uses of Students C4CH wants to point out specific use of students for political purposes. You can decide what is acceptable and not, but in summation C4CH believes the tactics paint a pattern of unethical behavior;
Robo calls with a child's voice promoting referendum
Teachers telling students to promote referendum
National Honor Society Credits for campaigning on "yes" vote
Students manning tables in downtowns promoting referendum
Halloween candy bars being handed out in downtowns to children with pro-referendum candy wrappers
Poster Boards promoting referendum in common areas during school time at both High Schools when only students and staff are present - programming students for bias
Administrators and Board Members threatening to cancel all sports and clubs - promoting anxiety and fear in minors and students seeking college athletic scholarships for Senior year athletic performance achievements
Placing select students on referendum committees side-by-side with their teachers and special interest groups, versus using an objective student survey
You decide what is acceptable involvement and use of students.
Unethical Behavior by Superintendent Bruce Law
Superintendent Law is breaching the ethics standards by verbally promoting the referendum and mailing out information using the words "need" to describe the referendum. Law should be following the ethics law. Law also verbally advocated for the referendum during his comments prior to the failed votes, shocking even some members of the press. Please note that Superintendent Don White of D181 was fired last year after similar activity to Bruce Law's. An investigation was conducted following the settlement of a lawsuit in D181 where Superintendent White's unethical advocacy for the tax increase was investigated and his attack of the "NO" vote groups plus help of "YES" was raised. White left in disgrace. The D86 Board should have a non-partisan review of Law's behavior. The D181 lawsuit also helped save $3M (approximately) for D181 taxpayers thru cost reductions mostly through a fresh look and bidding of the bonds.
Unethical Use of Union Funds to Promote a Tax Increase
The teacher's union spent $32,000 to promote the failed D86 referendum, see C4CH email with evidence. The largest amount ever spent by the union. This shows the bias by the teachers who in turn influence the students and are heavily involved with the teachers and PTO. The teachers should not be showing political bias in the classrooms nor elsewhere on school grounds. The Union is not a taxpayer in our District and their promotion of this referendum appears to resist all reforms benefiting our property values. The Union zeal to add $29.5M of referendum spending on items previously from the annual budget is but one ploy, not well-publicized by the pro-Union Hinsdalean. The Union strategy to move routine capital spending from the annual budget to a referendum tax increase makes $29.5M of funds available for the current teacher's contract increase (currently negotiations led by Board member Kathleen Hirsman - a union-backed D86 candidate and poor financial fiduciary from our own CH). Children and even most adults do not understand the budget manipulation and tax increase that solely benefits the overstaffing of the teacher's union. With the $29.5M in additional funding in the annual budget the teacher's union would not likely reform the outdated work rules, their free healthcare after retirement, accumulated sick leave, extra preparation periods, etc...
C4CH Supports a Referendum of $45M
C4CH supports a reasonable referendum amount as clearly pointed out in D86's own phone survey. D86 conducted their own detailed phone survey of taxpayers concluding that a $45M referendum was more acceptable to the most voters (page 31). D86 cannot continue the divisive overspending that is damaging property values. Two failed referenda tell the story as does the phone survey. A plurality of taxpayers agree and D86 has the number for a successful referendum, its $45M.
C4CH asks for no further actions which utilize special interest groups, or engage our kids to perpetrate scare tactics. It is un- American, unethical, and divisive for the community.
Stay tuned for our list of reform measures suggested to protect students, parents and property values.
Thank you for your support! Please sign up on our website and refer your friends and family. Visit C4CH Website
Respectfully, Edward A. Corcoran President C4CH C4CH is Your Neighbors - engineers, teachers, business persons, lawyers, home makers, parents of students, etc...