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Harrisburg administration addresses union claims

Harrisburg Unit 3 Superintendent Mike Gauch responded to a Harrisburg Education Association statement of concerns Wednesday, in what he described as a "clarification" of concerns listed by the teachers' union.

"Regretfully, the Board of Education has not yet reached an agreement with the Harrisburg Education Association, which represents the teachers of Harrisburg CUSD #3," Gauch said. "While the school district would rather focus on the contractual offers and issues that are currently on the bargaining table, which I will detail later in this response, the district believes it is imperative to clarify some of the comments made by the HEA."

Gauch's response continued.

"The HEA stated that in six of the last 14 years teachers have 'foregone any increases to the salary schedule and/or contractually earned longevity raises.' This implies that teachers have not received any increases in their salary for those six years, which is not factual.

"Teachers did receive increases in salary in 13 of the 14 years as described," Gauch said. "The salary schedule includes what is termed a 'step' or longevity raise each year for teachers with 22 years or less of service. This means that in each of those years, teachers with 22 years or less service received an average raise of $917.64 each year. Consequently, in all but one of those 14 years, eligible teachers have received at least an average increase of $917.64 per year.

"The 'hard freeze' mentioned by the HEA is the one year of the last 14 years that teachers did not receive any increase in salary, including a 'step increase,' Gauch said. "However, there is language in the current collective bargaining agreement that states, 'If state aid meets 100 percent of the foundation level' by the 2020-2021 school year, then teachers will recover the lost 'step increase.'

"The state of Illinois has informed Harrisburg CUSD #3 that it has allocated 100 percent of its general state aid funding for this current school year. However, the school district will not know if the state of Illinois will honor its 100-percent funding commitment until it receives its final GSA payment in June 2017," Gauch said.

"The state has repeatedly reduced funding to schools over the last eight years after informing school districts they would receive a certain stated amount. Should the state provide Harrisburg CUSD #3 with 100 percent of its GSA funding this school year, or any school year before the end of the 2020-2021 school term, then this well-deserved increase will without a doubt be provided to the teaching staff as provided for in the teachers' collective bargaining agreement.

"The community should know that last year, HEA members received a 'step increase' along with a 2-percent increase to base salary, which on average provided for a raise of approximately $1,650 dollars per teacher for most teachers. This was an expense of over $200,000 to the school district," Gauch said.

"Insurance costs have increased for everyone. School districts are not immune to this concern. The insurance committee did agree to take a recommendation to the school board to switch to a different provider.

"That provider told the district that there would be no savings in year one of the plan and could not promise savings beyond that.

"The proposed plan included a wellness program," he said. "With a wellness program members are required to participate in the program with the intent that healthier members will equate in lower health costs and lower premiums.

"The school board considered the insurance committee's recommendation, but due to there being no change in coverage and no guaranteed savings, the school board decided to keep its insurance with the local Harrisburg provider rather than switch to a non-local provider," Gauch said.

"Another insurance plan was also presented to the teachers, which would have reduced premiums significantly, but would have also changed their benefits. The insurance committee voted district-wide not to change coverages and the board of education honored that decision.

"There is less money in school budgets across the state for classroom supplies," Gauch said. "The school district asks parents to provide some of these items, and there is no doubt that teachers have used their own money for their students' needs. I am a former classroom teacher, and I did it myself. My wife teaches in another school district, and she uses her own money as well. This is what teachers do … it is who we are as educators.

"Having said this, we constantly look for unique ways to raise money to help teachers and students," Gauch said. "The HEA is correct, I fundraised, promoted, sold tickets and performed in a wrestling event to raise money for teachers' classrooms.

"My children and wife hung posters and asked businesses to purchase tickets. My central office staff received hundreds of telephone calls about the event, sold tickets and gave up their Saturday evening to work the door for the event," he said. "I have issued a check to each attendance center, and followed up with a district-wide e-mail informing teachers how much the district raised.

"I also informed teachers that their building principals had the funds in their accounts and would facilitate a plan on how those funds could be used most effectively in all of their classrooms. The district raised $5,000 for classroom supplies and the Athletic Department made over $2,000 in concessions for the athletic program. I believe the event was a huge success.

"Teachers in Harrisburg CUSD #3 are deserving of more pay, as are teachers all over this state and country," Gauch said.

"Teachers' jobs are one of the most important and noblest professions in the world. Sadly, communities can only support salaries that mirror the tax base of their local school districts. Although teaching salaries in Harrisburg CUSD #3 remain competitive with the surrounding area, hopefully, state and local finances will improve in the very near future to a point where the district can provide the increases our staff request and deserve."

Gauch said he did not agree with HEA's assertion that the district administration was not dealing in good faith.

"As a superintendent and as an educator, I take great exception to categorize our board of education as a school board that 'breaks promises, spends taxes and forfeits wages in ways that do not benefit educational programming,'" Gauch said. "The school board I have worked with during my three years here at Harrisburg CUSD #3 has been transparent with their decisions.

"The board has made many difficult decisions to remedy some of the past financial issues the school district has faced over the last decade in reducing expenses while always trying to put students' needs first. This school board, without question, is the best board of education I have worked with in my 25 years in the education field.

Gauch also offered an explanation of why the district spent money on a building when the City of Harrisburg offered to donate a building for school use.

"I would also like to clarify the HEA's comments concerning the building purchased by the school district," he said. "First, the cost of the building was $86,500 not $67,000. This structure is used by students for extracurricular workouts and practices. Our vocational classes are also doing light construction and renovation in the building as part of their curriculum.

"The City of Harrisburg did graciously offer the district the use of a portion of a building for temporary storage," Gauch said. "However, the school district determined that the portion of the building offered for temporary storage would not have solved the district's need for space created by the high school construction project.

"The funds used to purchase this building were funds that can only be used to purchase land or buildings or to renovate or construct permanent structures. The funds used to purchase this structure could not have been used for teacher salaries."

Gauch said the district remains committed to forging a new contract with the union.

"The school district will continue to strive for a reasonable bargaining agreement with our teachers," he said. "While the school district must be mindful of its financial limitation, we also understand that no one in our community benefits from a teachers' strike.

"We will continue to present the community with the facts as we progress through mediation so that everyone can remain better informed as to the status of negotiations."

HEA members did not respond to Gauch's claims as of press time.