No Pay Raise in Orland D135's New Budget as Teacher Negotiations Continue
Fiscal year 2011-2012 budget balanced with reserve transfer; drops in state funds, interest income and more.
Orland School District 135 board members approved a balanced 2011-2012 budget on Monday, thanks in part to an expected freeze in administrative and teacher pay, as well as transfer from reserves.
Total revenues are slated at $75.1 million, with total expenditures at $73.8 million. About another $2 million has been appropriated for capital improvement projects, meaning the district will need to move some $800,000 from its reserves to balance the total budget.
For a third consecutive year, District 135’s operating expenditures are expected to decrease. This year’s decrease is estimated around $650,000, according to Asst. Supt. for Business Services John Reiniche.
He credited an initiative by the board to reduce department budgets by 10 percent and attrition, noting, “It’s just proper planning.”
The state’s share of general aid, which is based on enrollment, and transportation funding has of course dropped, which forces the district to pull from its reserves, thereby lowering its source of interest gained from investments—about $1.5 million in four years.
General aid is determined mostly by property wealth and enrollment. Although the foundation level was set last year at $6,119 per pupil, District 135 received $447 per pupil.
Additionally, the Illinois State Board of Education cut two grants—the Reading Block and the Early Childhood At-Risk— totaling $300,000. Even without the grant, the district has no immediate plans to cut the At-Risk program.
Local property taxes make up about 75 percent of the school district’s revenue, which is 20 percent higher than the average school district in Illinois and two percent lower than last year. A diverse pool of residential and commercial taxpayers helps shelter District 135 from cuts in the state’s budget, Reiniche said. However, the district has absorbed more than $5 million in property tax refunds in the past three year.
Meanwhile, the district has managed to double its investment dollars in technology, increasing the fund by $250,000.
This year, the district maintained a bond rating of AA+ from Standard and Poor’s, one notch away from the highest possible rating. A higher rating means lower debt payments, which means more money spent in the classroom, Board President John Carmody said. The school district’s ISAT scores, among the highest in the region, have increased or remained steady seven years in a row, according to the Interactive Illinois Report Card.
The district has yet to settle on a new teachers contract. Although Reiniche wouldn’t comment on the details of the negotiations, he said the district is hoping to keep teachers’ pay steady. In fact, the budget approved on Monday reflects no change for all teachers, administrative, at-will and confidential positions.
Bill
1:35 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011
These teachers should be getting a 15% pay CUT. They are darn lucky to have a job, I saw the stats on what they get at CSHS and they are way overpaid. I graduated there in 1964 and I am amazed at what they make today. Time to CUT pay!
Robert
3:53 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011
It is a shame that this country is taking out their frustrations on innocent teachers. They do a great job here and deserve a raise in pay like any one else. I am not a teacher. The writer of this article thanks the board for the freeze in pay and assumes that residents are happy and agree with this. I wish to keep attracking and retaining the highestest quality teachers in Orland to enrich our community and world. Good job teachers I support you.
John Paul
12:04 am on Monday, October 3, 2011
No doubt that most teachers work very hard and you can make an arguement that they deserve the guaranteed raises anf benefits that they get. The problem is that those raises and benefits are paid by workers who also work hard and deserve more money, but they haven't seen a raise in a few years. Many have had to settle for pay cuts just to stay employed. You can't keep taking more from the private sector workers who are making less and give more to public employees. It's no longer sustainable.
Robert
9:14 pm on Sunday, October 2, 2011
Citizens are manipulated into attacking each other, working class against working class. Politicians manipulated" employees at will" to war on their own teachers, union workers, firemen police, paramedics, healthcare workers...etc... the vary people that provide direct profits to the tax payer in service and saving lives.
Instead of working toward real reform, Politicians are shifting the blame to the men and women that work to keep us safe, teach our children, and provide other essential services. I voted for Bush twice, have worked for republican campaigns, even voted for Liz Gorman. I have since opened my eyes to what is really going on. The big people wanting big things but expecting the little people to do it. When big things need to be done, it's the little people (working class) that get it done. It's time the big people pay their fair share and stop hurting and expecting the little people to bail them out. We need secure jobs, unions provide that, but the big people don't like little people telling them what they can keep. People unite, help each other instead of helping the big people get bigger.
Andrea Williams
10:18 am on Monday, October 3, 2011
My son is in 1st grade in D135. His teacher (love her!) makes $105k, his gym teacher makes $101k, his art teacher makes $104k, and his librarian makes a measly $96k. These salaries are all public record (2010 data) and can be found at the IL BOE website.
Robert, are these the "little people" you are referring to? Just keeping it real folks.
Robert
9:00 pm on Monday, October 3, 2011
You betcha! Did you notice that benefits are included in the salary figure. sneaky and misleading. Our teachers work longer hours for less pay than any other developed country.
Considering the long hours our teachers work, the shrinking salaries they receive and the conditions under which many of them work, it doesn't seem fair or accurate to blame all of America's problems on teachers. Yet that is what Republicans, the conservative movement and their wealthy, financial sponsors are telling the American people.
And Republican politicians across the country are beating that drum as loud as they can. I see you beat that drum Williams. The average mean salary in Orland Park adding to it their benefit package, is no different than these teachers. Many make much less, however, it is very difficult to raise a family making 100k a year.
I am no longer voting for conservative movement. Their movement is to divide our countrymen, and you Andrea are a good example of how it's done. Trying to gain bad sentiment against hard working caring teachers breaking their backs to make a living wage.
Andrea Williams
10:14 pm on Monday, October 3, 2011
Those are NOT loaded labor rates. Those numbers are compensation alone...taxable income.
If we take an expeienced OP teacher and marry her off to an equally experienced OP firefighter, their combined income could place them into the greedy, evildoer status established by president Obama...those making $250k. So much for the "little people." Rum pum pum pum....
paul cervenka
8:11 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The real growth in OP is in fixed income, retired people that have supported the school districts for decades. With declining enrollments now for the last 7 years you would think similar adjustments would be in order. My focus would be on the 700 plus employees that do not work in the class room. A 30% cut here is in order. NOW. We are no longer a growth community, one that can sustain these property tax cost increases. I don't fault teachers for taking the money, I hold the board totally responsible for the lavish compensations that are far above the national averages. Another patronage mess. Education should be about learning, not job creation.
Andrea Williams
8:42 am on Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Paul, I'm with you in that I don't blame the teachers (nor the firefighters), but I'm not going to get my violin out for either of those groups (unions)anytime soon because they may not get a raise this year. My point in listing the salaries of my son's teachers isn't to "pound my GOP drum" rather; I want everyone to understand exactly how fairly these teachers are being compensated and what we are being asked to be appalled about: no raise guarantee? no job guarantee? for the $100K+ "little people" that are struggling to make ends meet? Seriously?? What cave have these folks been living in? Times are tough right now people!
There is nothing new here. D135 suffers from the same plague as the Village of Orland Park, Cook County, State of Illinois, and the Federal governments. The leaders are failing to adjust to changing economic conditions. These huge ships have grown so big that they are impossible to turn – there is only one direction for them to go and unfortunately for us, that direction is down.
paul cervenka
9:30 am on Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Andrea, I have several options to correct the Monopolized OPFPD cost issues. That, will happen. The teachers that except compensation promises that they know they won't see is very similar to what I saw in unionized industry in the last 35 years. It will correct, trust me. If your not the highest quality, lowest cost producer, your DONE. Only when the state, federal Gov. and local taxing districts cannot borrow money any more, will they change their behavior. Watch as Europe implodes who lends them money. Cut off the money and correction soon follows.
If a high cost education assured a living wage job, Orland Park would be one of the most in demand places to live in the nation. Instead, were following the DETROIT plan. Elections are a year away. Lots of trustee positions to be filled.
Robert
11:49 am on Thursday, October 6, 2011
Look at you, complaining and the Liz Gorman who backed your husband sucks over $$100k from tax payers for her PART-TIME job with cook county. Plus all the perks, Gorman, a Republican from Orland Park, admits she used roughly $6,000 in taxpayer money to pay for tuition expenses toward her degree in business administration from the University of Notre Dame. Why are we paying for her to eat or drive or go to a prestigious college? Look at Gorman, in three months billed me for her food $790.73 and gas $ 537.09 for a part-time job. No one pays for my gas. http://legacy.cookcountygov.com/secretary/contingency%20reports/Com%20Gormna%20June%20-%20Aug%202009.pd Gorman's crew, Hickey, Evoy and Dr. Blair roads has the nerve to deprive our fire department flu shots??? What a joke.
JP
6:54 am on Friday, December 9, 2011
What people don't seem to understand is, for every teacher, who after 25-30 years of service who might be at the top of the pay scale, there are 50 teachers who are making $30,000. at the beginning of the pay scale. We will have to soon replace those "highly paid" teachers with new teachers right out of school. Who are we going to attract to our district?
Also, a pay freeze is being published but it doesn't publish the fact that along with that pay freeze, the teachers will have to shoulder the increase in insurance, cost of education, as well as cuts in services at the schools. All the time, the administrators have insurance and pension included as their "perk".