More than 120 teachers and community members packed the River Forest School District 90 board of education meeting Sept. 2 to make their views known about ongoing teacher contract negotiations.
The key message?
“Our community cares deeply for our teachers and wants the board to compensate us fairly to retain and attract high-quality educators,” River Forest Education Association co-presidents Lauren Baiocchi and Cindy Crannell said in prepared responses to questions posed by the Wednesday Journal. The pair spoke in the public comment portion of the Sept. 2 meeting, along with 12 other teachers and community members.
“In addition, it was clear that the community values the Exemplary ranking our district has achieved and believes our compensation should also reflect this work,” they said. “We heard that message at the board meeting, and we are feeling it in a big way on social media.”
District 90’s teachers have been working without a contract since Aug. 15, and the two sides have enlisted a mediator to move the process forward. The next mediation session was scheduled for Sept. 8.
“Negotiation teams representing District 90 and the local teachers’ union, the River Forest Education Association (RFEA), began negotiations in April 2025 and continue to work toward reaching a final agreement that both recognizes our excellent teachers and responsibly stewards taxpayer funds,” the district said in a prepared statement.
Superintendent Dr. Edward J. Condon and school board president Katie Avalos were unable to answer questions regarding the negotiations.
“To support an effective and efficient negotiations process, district leaders are not discussing the terms of the negotiations outside of the negotiating table,” a district spokesperson said.
All three district schools – Lincoln Elementary, Willard Elementary and Roosevelt Middle School – were designated Exemplary in the annual Illinois Report Card 2023-24 that was made public Oct. 30, 2024.
Exemplary schools are those that rank in the top 10% of the state, while Commendable schools rank in the next 67%.
That, some community members said, is one of the reasons why they spoke at the Sept. 2 board meeting.
“I wanted to convey really that we need to sit and think about the future of the schools and the incredible teachers we have and compensate them,” River Forest resident Emily Brown said Friday. Brown has a freshman at Oak Park and River Forest High School that graduated last spring from Roosevelt. She also has a sixth grader at Roosevelt.
“They aren’t even getting a cost-of-living raise,” Brown said. “The big thing is, if they go to other districts, they could make more money, but they decided to stay in District 90.
“Let’s try to keep the teachers we have because they are wonderful.”
Oak Park resident Bill Bower, whose daughter is a Roosevelt math teacher, said he grew up in River Forest and raised his children there. In fact, he’s considering moving back.
“The school system has always been known for providing exemplary education,” Bower said Friday. “My point was that we don’t want to aspire to be average.”
If teachers begin leaving, Bower said, that becomes a slippery slope.
“Not being able to attract the educators you want, kids suffer, test scores will start to fall off, and as we know in communities, education is tied into property values,” he said. “A high-caliber, well-performing district can attract high-quality educators, but also people who want to live in that community.”
Baiocchi and Crannell said they hoped the public comments will resonate with the board.
“We know they heard us and they heard their community telling them what they want, but we’ll know more about whether or not it resonated when we get to the bargaining table,” they said. “It’s really important to remember our school board members take an oath when they’re elected to office, and part of what they pledge to do is best support all of our students.
“I think we made it clear the best way to support our students and their education is to keep quality, experienced teachers in the district while also bringing in new, talented educators. If our salaries are not competitive with neighboring districts, we won’t be able to do that.”