Dear Neighbors,
Breaking News!! Corrupt and Unethical Behavior by Teacher's Union in D86 Referendum. Please vote "NO" to send a clear message to these brazen practices. There is corruption in our own backyard with the teacher's union influence-peddling to raise your taxes. It's unethical and immoral. Further, using the kids in their campaign is equally bad given the teachers' position of power over students. While we love teachers, we despise this unethical and corrupt practice. $32,000 in donations were made - see the election filings, then search "Hinsdale High School Teachers." This is the largest donation ever and is pure political influence and corruption in our local community. The Union waited until the last minute to disclose this.
Facts on Union Influence-Peddling in D86 to Raise Taxes The Union waited until the last minute to disclose $30,000 in additional contributions to the PTO leadership's fund. The PTO wants to raise taxes nearly 1/4 $ Billion. The Union lobbied during the planning process to switch $29.5M over the coming year from operations to the referendum - over 80% of spending goes to employees, now even more. The Union PAC had $4M in funds available to influence elections and they are choosing D86 as they did when this group voted to strike before even negotiating - see their filings.
Corrupt and Abusive Behavior of Students by Powerful Union & Administration Kids/Students were used in the following manner by the very people who have power over them. It's reminiscent of the "MeToo" movement where an entity uses its power over others in an immoral manner. For example:
Handing out trick or treat candy with "Vote Yes" wrappers to little kids
Placing referendum propaganda around the school building to involve kids
Placing students on a committee that is seeking to increase spending from $76M to $166M
Handing out flyers to students
Granting students NHS credits for political activity favoring the referendum
Students manning "Vote Yes" tables in the town center to influence citizen voting
Using student voices for a robo-call campaign
You must Vote "NO" for the D86 referendum to prevent the continued corruption by the D86 Teacher's Union. Please stop the wasteful $166M + interest = 1/4 $Billion referendum and earmarks for the Union benefit.
More Details on Why Teacher's Union Loves the $166M Referendum - see previous email blast. See the sample ballot. Bring it with you. Please Vote! D86 Referendum requires a reset to eliminate the waste. Read the rationale below;
Student population at BOTH Central and South is going down
South is severely underutilized
Central is NOT overcrowded
Taxpayers want the high school boundaries adjusted to remove the need for spending on new classroom space
Please vote NO for the D86 Referendum. After the "NO" vote comes in, C4CH will again put forth what we believe is a reasonable spending recommendation that addresses every major issue while also listing reform measures that will save millions of dollars and protect property values.
Student Population Trend Per Study
South is losing up to 200 students
Central is losing up to 175 students
Note: one classroom is needed for each 25 students so the need for additional classrooms in the future is less and less (ref. D86 Kasarda Demographic Survey 2015) Current Space Per Student
South 310 sq.ft/student
Central 170 sq.ft./student (ref. Building Capacity and Space Utilization Study Jan 2018)
Seat Utilization Rate of School
South 59%
Central 77% (ref. D86 classroom utilization survey - executive summary Jan 2018)
Classroom Utilization of School
South 70%
Central 88% (ref. D86 classroom utilization survey - executive summary Jan 2018
It seems obvious that building more classroom space at any campus is wasteful given the downward trend in attendance and excess capacity at both campuses. The low seat utilization shows that the administration and unions have reduced class size to maintain staffing levels. A phone survey conducted by D86 showed that 80% of the non-parents directed the Board to change school boundaries to settle the attendance imbalance. When asking parents of students, 63% still agreed. Changing boundaries to avoid massive spending is common sense for a public school district. The Board can also just slightly increasing the average class size from 23 to 26 students at Central and create significant funds to pay for improvements. Further, the demographic study and enrollment prediction is for South to continue to have less students, 200 less than now. Also, Central is predicted to have about 175 less students.
The $1.4M Classrooms C4CH recently exposed the $1.4M classrooms - $850/sq.ft is another example of the wasteful spending. The $15M Guidance, Counseling & Special Education Area At $650/sq.ft the 23,000 sq.ft area seems excessive in price and scope, plus it is only done at Central. Rolls Royce for rich kids at Central and Kia model for poor kids at South. Here are other startling numbers from the referendum detail.
$48.4 million on athletic facilities - South pool can be upgraded for $2M instead of $12M
$24 million on administration, counseling and Special Ed. offices - $15M for Guidance, Counseling & Special Ed. overpriced
$29.5 million on operation and maintenance improvement - Diverts funds from operations allowing $29.5M for Union & Administration wage & benefits increases
$11 million on life safety improvements - No Referendum is required for this work
$39.5 million on renovation of common space - Overpriced and excessive
$12.2 million on auditorium improvements - Auditorium needs little, band area easy to expand by moving B&G dept at low cost
Note: EDUCATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS are only 15.5% of the referendum in the pie chart below.
VOTE NO!!
Note: 2017 - a $76M referendum failed in April of 2017, Voters said no 3:1 Overspending and high taxes hurts property values and does not make our kids any smarter. Vote No! Another unaffiliated group is running a campaign against the referendum - District 86 Can Do Better. Visit their site. We respect education and your hard earned money. If you would like to help quietly or actively advocate for fiscal conservatism with C4CH, please send us an email at citizensforch@gmail.com Respectfully, Your Neighbors - C4CH