During my time in District 90, I took on many union leadership roles and also was a part of several contract negotiations. I am writing in support of the RFEA and their ongoing efforts to sign a contract that pays them fair wages. I also have a lot of respect for our principals and assistant principals. Staff and administration alike work exceptionally hard to maintain the high achievement levels of all of your D90 schools.
I encourage River Forest residents to reach out to school board members to ask clarifying questions about the ongoing contract negotiations. It’s my hope that board members truly want to represent their constituency, so your voices matter. I have a few questions I would like residents of River Forest to ask themselves and their school board:
1. How many high-quality teachers have you lost and will you lose to other districts because they could make more elsewhere? Anecdotally, I have heard of several people turning down job offers or choosing not even to apply to D90 in the first place because they knew the salary was lower than they were already making or could make in a nearby suburb. Several former D90 teachers have felt comfortable leaving for other districts or endeavors because our salary in River Forest wasn’t competitive enough to keep us there and the salary increases were barely keeping up with inflation. D90 is definitely a lovely place to work because families are so supportive on a daily basis, but that support simply doesn’t pay the bills.
2. D90 administrators are currently paid wages 43% above the state average, while D90 teachers are currently paid 2% above the state average. Remember, that 2% doesn’t take into account the additional costs of living near Chicago in order to teach in River Forest. Do you really value your administrators that much more than RFEA members, the ones who are teaching your children every day?
3. If the state recommends that school districts have 180 days of cash on hand, why does D90 have 460 days’ worth? I need to say that I do have a tremendous amount of respect for Anthony Cozzi and his dedication to the district, but discussion of how much cash D90 truly needs should be had in an open and honest way. Saving money for the future at the cost of hiring and retaining high-quality teachers is a risky bet.
4. What are the proposed salary increases for teachers that are being offered by each side, and how would each of those scenarios affect future property taxes? I firmly believe in the sanctity of keeping negotiation discussions confidential, but perhaps the second half of that question could be answered without violating agreements on discussion details. Residents deserve to know if their school board members are rejecting proposed numbers from the RFEA for legitimate and substantial reasons. Perhaps asking what the gap is between the two sides’ numbers might also be helpful.
Please speak up. You deserve excellent schools and the RFEA deserves to be compensated in a way that reflects their dedication to that excellence.
Amy McFarlane Balu taught fourth grade at Willard Elementary School for 20 years, and was very grateful to be a part of the larger River Forest and Oak Park community. In the spring of 2024, she moved back to her hometown in Wisconsin to work at a school district near her extended family.