Strike Notwithstanding, School To Open In Lake Forest Monday
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (CBS) -- Talks are expected to resume Saturday between negotiators for striking Lake Forest High School teachers and the school board -- but strike or no strike, classes are resuming on Monday.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, Lake Forest High School District 115 plans to reopen the school with administrators and volunteers sitting in for teachers if there is no agreement by then.
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Talks broke off on Friday. The district said the union had not responded to the last best offer.
The union said it had offered a written counter-proposal, which contained additional concessions. The district also said it has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against the union for its tactics. The union did the same thing last Monday.
he main concerns have been salary relations and a proposed restructuring of the salary schedule.
Teachers say they accepted a pay freeze last year due to the down economy, and now they say the school board is trying to lock in those sacrifices by creating a two-tiered system of hiring in which new teachers won't be paid at the same rate as current employees.
But opponents of the strike accuse teachers of being greedy.
About 80 Lake Forest teachers earn more than $100,000 a year, in a town with a median household income that's about twice that. But union spokesman Chuck Gress said the new hires start at $50,000, and have much less opportunity for big pay raises.
