Teachers’ strike could last multiple days, CAPA auditions canceled
The teachers' strike continued Friday, March 30, with Rockford teachers continuing to picket outside District 205 buildings. Pictured outside King Elementary School March 30 are, from left, Ms. Keena, Ms. Campbell and Ms. Kerry. (Photo by Stephanie Reid)
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Teachers in Rockford Public School District 205 could remain on strike for multiple days, according to reports.
Meantime, the district announced March 29 that Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) auditions scheduled for March 30-31 have been canceled. The auditions will be rescheduled after a resolution has been reached in teacher contract negotiations.
Rockford teachers began their strike Thursday, March 29, with teachers hitting picket lines at school buildings throughout the district. Negotiations between the Rockford teachers’ union — the Rockford Education Association (REA) —and District 205 are ongoing.
The strike brings to a halt all school functions, with school, sporting events and other activities all canceled. More than 28,000 students are enrolled in the district.
The REA voted 1,500-74 in favor of the strike March 26. Teachers have been without a contract since July 2011. The REA and the district have met more than 50 times over the past 11 months, but have failed to reach an agreement.
About 20 members of the Rockford Tea Party gathered at the district’s administration building, 501 Seventh St., March 29, to protest the teachers’ strike.
In a press release, the Rockford Tea Party stated: “The Rockford school teachers are unhappy with the school district offer to increase their salaries between 2.5 and 9 percent over the next three years and with the additional requirement to pay $700 extra a year for family plans on their Cadillac health insurance plans. An analysis of the top 800 teachers shows that they currently make about $82,000 yearly, on average. That is half the teachers in the district. A strike tomorrow will hurt children and hurt this community. Our community is already facing devastating economic conditions. Many people are very upset about this looming strike, which will put many families in an even more difficult position. Please join us in voicing your disapproval with these teachers’ lack of compassion for the residents and taxpayers of this community.
“If not us … who? If not tomorrow … when?
“We, the Tea Party, are the only organization standing up to teachers’ unions.”
Posted March 29, 2012
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8 Comments
In driving by the 7th street picketers, it looked like there was 11 or 12 tea party picketers yelling nasty stuff to the teacher and the teacher were smiling and waving back. There seemed to be hundreds of teachers if not more then one thousand with two lines walking around both sides of the street around the offices. Perhaps, the truth will come out someday but people this is not good for Rockford. College educated, hard working, people should get paid fairly even if they are public school teachers. Otherwise what type of people do you want to teach your children? Oh, the tea party people didn’t look like people that would have kids, but the teachers did have children with them. I wonder who really cares about the children or who has sour grapes?
@ Mary: What do you think is a fair wage? This is PART TIME work. 180 days per year. Teachers want 5.5 hours per day of teaching. I really have a hard time with HALF the teachers making more than $80,000 and this not being fair.
ps. many of us WORKING taxpayers were not able to be present to demonstrate in support of the administration and board. We have JOBS. We work 8 hours a day 5 days a week ALL YEAR. We don’t get 80 days of paid time off–like the teachers.
We ALL agree that teachers should be paid fairly……but have you noticed the current state of Rockford’s economy?
Maybe YOU have the funds to just throw at problems, unlimitless funds, but Rockford DOES NOT!
It is time we live within the money we COLLECT, not the money we dream we will have if every house in Rockford was occupied by people making a decent working wage!
Its time to collect the taxes FIRST and then budget what is on hand rather than dreaming up a budget and trying to figure out where the money will come from.
I really wish that the media in Rockford would be honest with the people. “Members of the Rockford Tea Party gathered at the district’s administration building, 501 Seventh St., March 29, to protest the teachers’ strike.” This statement is so misleading. It makes it sound like there was a large contingent of Tea Party folks down across from the Rockford Board of Education Bank but in reality it was fewer than 2 dozen, which included a hand full of kids. As for the number of teachers, there were so many of them that not only did they ring the block that the bank building stands on but also the opposite sides of the street from the bank. I’d expect better reporting from the Rock River times.
The Tea Party is basically a party of I want mine and everyone else can suffer. Not really a bunch of thinkers. Any group that would boo a soldier or think someone in their 30’s without insurance should die, does not deserve respect. Putting out false information also does not speak well for the group.
The teachers need a reality check. They need to pay their fair share. Someday when their pension fund drys up the taxpayer will finally stand up and not tolerate the increase in taxes.
Dear mislead taxpayer, please follow the teacher of your choice and see if they work part time! They do not! Teachers put in enough hours during the school year to make up for the days off! As well they have work they are required to do during the time the students are not in the buildings and they are “off the clock.” I am so sorry for you to so mislead, I am sure that in your thinking it makes you angry but I would like to reassure you that teachers do not work part time. As for the school year, if you don’t think it is long enough lobby for it to be longer! Also if you want cheep teachers, lobby for less requirements to become a teacher so that it isn’t so costly to go to college to just be qualified to teach. As well lobby to get rid of the need for teachers to continue to spend out of pocket for classes to be allowed to continue to teach. Make it less expensive to become and stay teaching. As well, do your home work rather then copy the misleading statements you find on line. The teachers can not teach your children for free or part time wages!! This district can’t even fill all their openings at what they currently offer to teachers.
My girlfriend is a teacher in a local high school and her day doesn’t just start at 7:30am and end at 3:30pm she gets to come home and grade piles of tests, homework and projects, finishing her evening creating educational tools for the next day’s lesson. Sundays are spent planning out the weeks activities and creating different models and ways of communicating to suit each student’s potential learning process. While most people I know sit and relax watching whatever trash is on prime time television, truly wasting their money on things that make themselves and everyone around them dumber. We don’t have cable but she does invest in supplies for students not to mention while paying the same local school rate in property tax as everyone else. Her days off in the summer are much needed time spent rebuilding her own mental strength to once again not only be a teacher but a nanny, attendance secretary, disciplinarian, judge, jury, counselor, hope builder, leader, promoter, fund raiser, and the bane of existence of every student whose attitude for education and respect is that it’s all a complete waste of time. Now, let’s discuss year round school again, will tax increases be the first argument? We are all for it!