McHenry County Blog

Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!

The sounds come from the Northwest Herald’s editorial Thursday.

Kind of reminds me of the cave women beating on the snake in the cartoon strip "B.C."

The blows are being delivered to District 300 board and teachers’ union members.

The paper sharply criticizes the 17.4 percent 4-year pay hike the school board and the union have agreed upon.

The bottom line is this: Raises for teachers in this district should not be higher than 3 percent a year. Period,

the NW Herald says, adding that approval of that high a pay raise would not make the board members “good stewards” of the 55-cent real estate tax hike that passed this spring.

Speculating on the employee benefits side of the contract, the NW Herald points out the present contact has the taxpayers picking up 80% of employee health insurance costs and 60% of family cost.

Here’s here the editorial ends,

It is time for local school boards to develop a backbone. School officials should stand their ground. If teachers threaten to strike, let them threaten, let them strike, let the walk the picket line until their shoes wear out.

The era of entitlement must come to an end. And it starts with District 300.

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School board members from left to right are Mary Warren, Karen Roeckner, Joe Stevens, Susie Kopacz, Dave Alessio, Anne Miller and Mary Fiorretti. Fioretti is pictured alone.

The woman speaking to the school board before the applause of her members is Kolleen Hanetho, presdient of the District 300 teachers union, LEAD 300. She is a school social worker.