The School Board and Dr. Lechner need to go back to the WEA and ask to reopen the contract.
The Referendum supporters need to turn on their radios and read the state, national and international news. Your nest eggs are already diminished by about 25% (if your home is not underwater). The State of IL is bankrupt, largely because of public sector pensions--teacher pensions are a huge part of this debt. I don't blame the individual teachers at McKenzie or Romona or Harper or Central School--they didn't hold their elected representatives accountable. As a former school board member who voted my conscience and never felt my three children were compromised for it, I can tell you--voting for this referendum will convey to potential buyers in Wilmette that the teachers union is in control of their "nest eggs". Please view the video from the last NEA conventionChanin closed his nearly 25-minute speech by explaining the influence of the NEA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-piPkgAUo0w
“Despite what some among us would like to believe it is not because of our creative ideas. It is not because of the merit of our positions. It is not because we care about children and it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power.

Dear Peg
Are you in Wilmette or VA?

One of the components of Property Taxes is Home Valuation and another is Pension and Medical Benefits for Wilmette public employees. My home valuation went down last year and yet my property taxes went WAY up. This is because of the Pension and Medical Benefits requirement that our village is required to pass on to homeowners. The increase in the Pension and Medical Benefits is UNPREDICTABLE from year to year but I guarantee you it will never go DOWN. Because of this UNKNOWN expense that I will incur from year to year that will never decrease. That means I can't budget for property taxes knowing that I have a WILDCARD expense in the mix (medical and pension benefits). Supporting the additional of another property tax adder via the referendum doesn't make any sense for me because I can't predict how to budget/afford the Pension/Medical obligation that I will be hit with from year to year. If someone could make the Pension/Medical obligation KNOWN or fixed, I could financially budget for my property taxes BUT I CAN'T. Get rid of the the open ended requirement to blindly fund Pension/Medical and we can talk........

No one is arguing that Wilmette has great schools and we want to keep it that way. The real issue (which is never addressed since the administrators are so good at diverting attention away from the real problem and using scare tactics to force parents to rally to support their ever bloated budgets) is that spending on public unions to fund outrageous pensions have become unmanageable and cannot be sustained. We need to fix the problem, not patch over it year after year. More money is NOT needed, change in policy and end to pensions that do NOT promote better employees is what this whole country needs, starting at the local level.

Pensions are irrelevant in the referendum discussion. Pension reform must take place in IL, but D39 has no control over it. Teachers withhold over 9% of their salaries from each paycheck, which gets passed through to the State. Local school districts are not in control of that money and do not set the amounts that are withheld or distributed. The State of IL sets withholding levels, sets formulas for distributions, and is responsible for distributions. No one is saying that pension reform should not take place in IL. But, the pension issue is not relevant or part of D39's financial situation. And, contrary to Concerned Citizen's comments, District 39 has quite possibly the leanest administrator-to-pupil ratio in the State. At 245:1, you can't find another school district operating that leanly (look at Sunset Ridge 99:1, Avoca 136:1, Winnetka 155:1, Springfield 129:1, Bloomingdale 148:1, State average 204:1). Wilmette has great schools, and if we want to keep them at that level, then passing the referendum is necessary.

Comparisons to other New Trier feeder district teachers' salaries usually omit the all important facts: Winnetka is wealthier—residents earn more money and their homes are more expensive—thus more taxpayer money is available to pay for a smaller school district.

Claims that Wilmette teachers are “at the bottom’ of the wage scale simply is not true. Some published statistics include the Romona based “developmental preschool” teachers’ salaries which depress the average and creates an unfavorable impression, compared to districts without preschools. The average Wilmette teacher salary is closer to $59,500.
http://www.teachersalaryinfo.com/illinois/teacher-salary-in-wilmette-school-district-39/

Comparisons of salaries using public information http://www.familytaxpayers.org/salary.php

In Wilmette, 47 employees earned more than $100,000, where in Winnetka, 26 school employees earned $100,000 or more. In Wilmette, 15 employees earned $124, 000 or more—compared to only 9 Winnetka employees earned $124, 000 or more.

If the median salary of Wilmette teachers is less than Winnetka teachers, the negligible amount can only because of the mass hiring of younger teachers by Wilmette between 2000 and 2006.
Concerning Northfield D31, only 7 employees earned $100,000 or more. “Northfield”
D 225 is actually Glenbrook High school with salaries comparable to New Trier, so salary comparisons are not relevant to d39.

Oh yes pensions are relevant and under the control of school boards that negotiated the teachers' contracts' which control salaries and pre-retirement pay "bump ups". While the exact formula for determining the district "share" of the state pension debt is not under control of the district, school districts irresponsibly inflate salaries and pensions "locally" by writing guarantees into the contracts, then that same administration and local union abdicate responsibility for a pension obligation they helped create with "we don't set the amount". Nonsense. Worse, the highest paid teachers on the NorthShore foist their higher pension obligations on the poorer communities' tax payers in Illinois who have smaller operating funds and employ much lower paid teachers. The generous North Shore "community" ends up gifting their retired administrators with money contributed by working class people through out Illinois. Wilmette contributes less than retired Wilmette teachers collect. It's shameful. It's an embarrassment.
If local school boards were required to pay out retirement benefits directly from their operating budgets, I believe there would be much more contract discipline--and less blame to pass.

Some of the highest-paid retirees benefited from pension-padding raises as they headed for the exits.
Howard Bultinck served as superintendent of Sunset Ridge District 29, a 500-pupil district, from 1980 until his retirement in 2007 at age 57.
During his years as superintendent, his compensation catapulted by 600 percent, from $49,000 in the mid 1980s to $342,000 the year of his retirement.
His annual pension, $199,000, is the second highest among New Trier Township educators and the 19th highest in the state. Other top-paid pensioners from New Trier Township include Glenn "Max" McGee, who retired at age 56 from Wilmette District 39 three years ago, and took a job with the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. McGee, who previously served as State Superintendent of Education, is drawing a pension of $184,000 a year.
Though former Winnetka District 36 Superintendent Mary (Rebecca) VanDerBogert was the highest-paid superintendent in New Trier Township her final year -- with compensation of $376,000 -- her annual pension, $164,000, is sixth highest among her New Trier colleagues.

Two former superintendents from Wilmette District 39 top VanDerBogert in pension income: Sam Mikaelian, who retired in 1998 and will draw $175,000 this year, and Joan Hochschild, who followed Mikaelian and will receive $168,000 this year. Two other local educators are among those whose pensions now top $150,000 a year. They are John Sloan, who retired in 2002 as superintendent of Avoca District 37, and Donald Monroe, a former superintendent of Glencoe District 35.
In 2005, the Illinois legislature, hoping to slow the runaway growth in pension obligations, clamped down on what many viewed as abuses of the woefully underfunded Teachers' Retirement System. The legislature put a 6-percent lid on educators' pay raises in the four years preceding retirement, the years that count in calculating benefits.
Local school boards can continue giving their golden goodbye packages, but local property taxpayers have to pay the pension-related costs. The pension pay caps have been slow to kick in because state lawmakers allowed all current contracts to run their course.
Retirees who draw pensions from the Teachers' Retirement System receive annual raises of 3 percent a year compounded, which doubles the pension in 24 years

Any response from "WilmetteCares?" I'm glad my well informed fellow citizens were able to respond to the flippant passing of the buck by "WilmetteCares." If you truly care about Wilmette, channel your energies to what will really make a difference in the long run and stop trying to pass the buck further up the food chain and down the generations to our grandkids. Change can and should start at the local level. If you truly don't have a say in any of the bad state level policies, then perhaps it's time to figure out how to change the policies instead of asking the taxpayers to cough up more money.

Wilmette homeowners and voters will decide what kind of schools they want for their community. A "yes" vote maintains quality. A "no" vote does not, and will change the Wilmette student's educational experience. If the referendum passes, then perhaps reasonable minds agree that the next stop is to lobby loudly in Springfield for swift pension reform. Punishing Wilmette home values, the community, and students is not a reasoned response to pension fury, given that local schools don't have the power to change Illinois' broken pension system.

I'm not convinced. A yes vote will only permit people in power to make the change continue to ignore the real problem. As soon as you get your money, what incentive will you have to advocate for real, meaningful change? You are simply employing the scare tactic and pulling on parents' heartstrings to get what you want, status quo. Real change has to be forced and will only happen when there is no alternative. A yes vote is giving you that alternative. I use "you" loosely to refer to all people who have the same misguided thoughts regarding this issue as "WilmetteCares."

Seems like everyone wants to rationalize their point of view. Property values, teachers' contracts, pensions, the value of 5%, and who's the most fiscally are substantive matters that you cannot seriously expect to resolve on an ad hoc basis. I would like to see the broken public school system fixed, and I would like my property values back up. Let's be serious, though, these are maters if regional if not national scope.
My kids are out if D39 next year, so I guess I could vote no. But - while I was there I got every iota if value out of
16 years, dozens of teachers, four Boards, and three superintendents. I held the schools accountable and while we often disagreed, D39 always delivered. I was an especially large consumer of the enrichment programs that are about to be cut. So, I plan to vote yes. For your kids and, I have no problem admitting, for the teachers and administrators who did their jobs very well.
As for those of you who are so preoccupied with the (admitted) mess the public schools are in - I invite you to spend one tenth of the time i have spent addressing your concerns with people who might actually be able to do something about it. Those people do not include the grade schoolers whose programs are about to be cut.

Margaret Mcintyre,

I am glad we still have some conscientious people on the board watching the tax payers' money. US public school system has been singing the same song for decades - more money means better education. I am surprised to see that there are still people buying into it after decades. Everyone from the private sector knows it is the execution that makes the difference. Without change, more tax dollar simply means more fat cats hiding in north shore school districts. I will definitely vote No and force the school district to change the way they spend money!

Informed: Good luck pushing for real change once they get their cash. Have fun in your forest.

Rational Resident
Who is kidding who? I have no problem paying teachers but the problem with D39 is the bloated bureaucracy, back-ended pensions, and salaries that are way out of line for layers of administrative people. Imagine an "HR" person making $168,000 ?? Are you kidding me? Private industry would pay MAYBE $115,000 for this job with NO pension. And this person is scheduled to get 5 1/2% raises for each of the next 3 years! That brings the pay to $195,000 in year 2014! I bet you could find 100 people to do this job for $85,000. And dont forget, this person doesnt answer their own phone either----they ALL have secretaties that do that! And what do you think they make? The whole system is out of wack. And we have the ability to put our foot down right here and now and start to stem tide. They use the "home values" scare tactic--well, guess what, within 5 years, average tax bills of $20,000+ will hurt home values even more. Call their bluff and vote this thing down. I bet not one teacher gets fires, only "overhead"---which needs to go. Lets end the party.

Note: Administrators are not paid under the WEA contract or subject to WEA raises. D39 administrators have taken a pay freeze. From the State report cards on school districts, District 39 has among the very leanest administrator-to-pupil ratio in the State with 245 pupils for every one administrator (a total of 15.5 administrators in D39 for 3700 students). All this info is online. Look at ISBE report cards for the administrator-to-pupil ratio at Sunset Ridge 99:1, Avoca 136:1, Winnetka 155:1, Springfield 129:1, Glenview 217:1, State average 204:1). D39 looks about as lean as they get as far as administration.

D39 and "Wilmette Cares" all have a credibility issue as the Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday, March 20th, with "tax data" from the Cook County Township Accessors Assoc. The tax burden for passing the D39 referendum is nearly 50% greater than D39 states on the ballot. No surprise there. They have resorted to scare tactics from the start. Just as the D39 board and their William Blair consultant have erroneously stated the impact on Wilmette taxpayers, they have overstated the impact of the referendum not passing. The D39 board went too far in their property tax request. It's time to face reality and cut the fat from the admin. and teachers. I have a simple solution, let's remove any admin or teacher who doesn't work a minimum of 40 hours a week-like the rest of us. The time to stop this nonsense is now.

The ballot language has been publicly discussed ad nauseum. Did you read the Chicago Tribune article? Even the leader of the NO group, Herb Sorock was quoted: "Sorock doesn't blame the school district, because he believes it correctly followed state law." The D39 web site contains info about the tax increase homeowners can expect if the referendum passes ($58.80 for each $1000 paid in property taxes): www.wilmette39.org. The state-mandated ballot wording is exasperatingly confusing, but D39 has been clear & consistent. Because the legally-required wording was so convoluted, the board discussed, voted on, and approved a Statement of Intent at the public & televised January board meeting confirming that D39 would collect no more than the specified amount if the referendum passes. The guy that raised this issue (Mr. ElSaffar from Oak Park) was clearly trying to get his 15 minutes of fame. And Mr. ElSaffar, as of today, issued a press release agreeing that taxpayers can use the same calculation used by D39 to figure out how much a proposed tax increase from a referendum would cost for tax bills. Much ado about nothing, but at least Mr. ElSaffar got his name published: www.op97.k12.il.us/referendum/ballot.html. D39 has been completely transparent on this issue from the get-go -- as I'm sure you well know.

T Cleary-I don't understand complaints of 'scare tactics'. Shouldn't cuts needed to balance the budget be publicly discussed and made abundantly clear? D39 has been planning for what will be needed to balance the budget for many many months at public meetings by going line by line through expenditures and finding cuts to balance the budget if the referendum fails. This has happened at public meetings that are televised and with all documents online. The line item costing document has been at www.wilmette39.org and available for scrutiny for months and months. Cuts & choices have been debated and discussed. D39 has already cut $4.3M (almost 10% of the operating budget). But that's not enough. Cutting 80 teaching positions over the next two years will balance D39's budget going forward without needing a referendum tax rate increase. The exact cuts and where they will take place is a known quantity for anyone caring to look -- as it should be. Those cuts mean larger class sizes and cutting programs, including all K-8 foreign language, reading intervention, library, technology, differentiation support, and instrumental music, plus reductions in P.E., art, music, etc. Informed voters should know all this information, shouldn't they?

D39 has a credibility gap that continues to widen as further analysis (see above and other postings) of the "pro-forma" budget is revealed. The board has been clear about the "probable" cuts to programs and larger class sizes. However, if you listen to them, they are careful to state that these are assumptions based on current tax revenues, and does not consider the strong likelihood that the state will be forthcoming with additional funds. I simply don't believe that the School Board and Dr. Lechner have been truly open with all the alternatives. As Twain said, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

T Cleary- It is a true cry of desperation to contend with a straight face that the State of IL is going to send increased funds to Wilmette. I need to pick myself up off the floor and hold my sides from laughter before I respond. Really? ILLINOIS?

Go to the IL State Board of Ed web site (www.isbe.state.il.us) and look at this press release when contemplating the likelihood of Wilmette D39, on the North Shore of Chicago, getting increased funding from the State: "Local school boards are grappling with decreased revenue and late payments from the state...During any given time over the past two years, the State of Illinois has a backlog of bills owed to schools totaling more than $1 billion and currently owes $4.6 billion to vendors. Given the uncertainty of state funding, many school districts have announced layoffs in recent weeks to meet statutory deadlines and better position themselves for financial stability."

... So... Given the uncertainty of state funding of education in IL, you take solace in the thought that Springfield might be there to fulfill its obligations to D39 on any level in the next few years? Got it. I'll rest easy tonight with that thought.

After noting that IL General State Aid for schools declined by $119.6M from FY 2009 to 2010, and by another $328.3M from 2010 to 2011, here's another sobering overview regarding the prospect of IL state funding for education: http://www.isbe.net/board/meetings/2010/dec/fy12_budget_discussion.pdf:
"If ISBE is required to make reductions in its General Funds budget for FY 2012, it will possibly not only have to make reductions to GSA. It may also be forced to make reductions in Mandated Categoricals, even though this could possibly result in a reduction of federal IDEA funding. It may also need to make reductions to other important priorities such as Early Childhood and Bilingual Education, as it has the past several years. It is unclear, however, whether there will be any discretionary funding available to offset these reductions as was the case in FY 2010 and FY 2011."

In other words, D39 is on notice to expect LESS from the State in the future. In fact, so much less, that Federal IDA funding could be reduced. Is it a giant conspiracy to hide the stash of gold that the State of IL is going to reveal and send to Chicago's North Shore school districts in future years? Or, perhaps is D39 being truthful in noting that State funds are later and later each year, and decreasing annually. T Cleary, it seems you hold the State of IL in great esteem, so perhaps you're in for the conspiracy theory. But, the reality of the situation is painfully clear.

The issue is not the quality of schools but fiscal responsibility.

If we took out most of the school program addotions and staff additions except for the prorated staff increase to cater the increase student enrollment, I'd bet we can have the same quality and save ourselves a bundle to pay for additional school programs.

Send a clear message to the School Board and the Unions that we will spend money we have, not wished we had.

Vote NO to this tax increase because you care.

Putting all the blame on Springfield is simply dishonest and irrational. Throwing more money into the TRS MAW does not guarantee economic security for teachers and administrators. But, excessively inflating the payroll does translate into higher property taxes--WHICH will deflate home prices at a greater rate than will scaling back the District expenditures back to the Excellent Program levels of 2000.
To not take responsibility for the choice and power local voters, local administrations and local unions have, is to deny the moral responsibility to our children. The adults here say they seek more tax revenue "for the children"s benefit" when in fact it will be these same children who will have much diminished young adult employment opportunities and long term career success BECAUSE OF THE CRUSHING PUBLIC DEBT THIS REFERENDUM PROMOTES! Take a look around the North Shore and you will see Morton Grove, and Nile snd other districts negotiating reductions in the teachers contracts to reduce the number of teachers that they must lay off. THAT' is ACCOUNTABILITY and RESPONSIBILITY. VOTE NO to save our children's and grandchildren's futures!

Carol, You are right. I was born and raised in IL, my family and most of my friends and loved ones still live in IL, but my family made the financially rational decision (but emotionally difficult decision)) to move out of Wilmette and IL to save ourselves. My husband and I both were employed in careers which gave us exceptional insight into the labor market and real estate trends. With foresight and luck we were able to see the armageddon that was facing IL and we got out before home prices crashed. Whether IL can save itself is yet to be seen--but referendum actions like this one is a good indicator of whether the situation is hopeless or not. As a former school board member from 1999-2003, I made the best decisions for the District and all of the children and families. I cannot be silent when I see the trajectory of failure being advocated by narrow self -interest in the District. Carol, have some compassion for those residents that will be hurt by this referendum--in cash now and in depressed home values going forward. Have some wisdom about what this excessive public debt will do to our children's futures.

Carol, no longer living in Wilmette, while having enjoyed 28 years of the fabulous community gives me objectivity as well as the motivation to help friends and family who still live there. When I moved I thought I would not find the opportunities for my children like those in Wilmette--but I was wrong. Virginia schools can afford to give their residents as much or more than Wilmette, IL because Virginia is not controlled by public sector unions--plain and simple. I have only the best memories of Wilmette and I wish only the best for families still residing there-and I believe Wilmette can be maintained by using it's creativity and high levels of education to re-allocate all of the resources--including the ART, Music, PE, Theatre, Camps, Preschools and the endless enrichment curriculum offered by the Park District.

I have been reading these posts for a while, and I too find it interesting that Ms. McIntyre is spending so much time and energy on a town that is hundreds of miles from where she lives. Then I found the answer - on Facebook. Ms McIntyre writes to Senator Kirk:

"Margaret Mcintyre-Farina Out here in Norfolk, we are still cheering for you! Hopefully, after you are elected, IL will come back, and we can afford to move back to Wilmette! November will be a tide turner!"

Now I get it. Ms. McIntyre wants to live in Wilmette, but she can't afford it. So now she is trying to drive down Wilmette real estate prices by scuttling our school referendum.

As a former school board member, she knows that 50-75% of all home buyers in Wilmette have school age children. They move here for the schools. She also knows that if she destroys our school system, she will drive 50-75% of the potential home buyers away from Wilmette and thereby cause our home values to decline.

Presto - now Ms. McIntyre can afford to move back to Wilmette.

Margaret, please stop. This is disappointing behavior to say the least.

Carl, well, you are close. When I wrote to Kirk, I thought we might move back and retire in Wilmette--That was before the Referendum push.
As I said in another Patch response, when someone asked "why" would she put so much energy into fighting the referendum....I will repeat my previous response...I still have friends and family in Wilmette and IL and every additional burden on the public debt (TRS -IL taxes--Wilmette taxes) burdens my family and friends. I now realize how much better off we are in Virginia. Why would I want to get back on the Titanic? I already sold my home at the top of the market and watched the taxes increase $2000 a year for the new owners. The referendum will add another $800. The price can't go low enough to compensate for the additional taxes. Interacting here and hearing (again) the "more money spent on schools equals better schools myth", watching the greed of folks increasing the TRS burden, foisting that debt on less affluent people outside of Wilmette-- it's shameful. Our home has a water view, short drive to Williamsburg, in a state that is solvent. My daughter attends the Governor's school for the Arts, is enrolled in the pre-medical-science honors HS track and is headed for University of Virginia. My sons- -also headed for U VA--tuition now lower than U of I-Champaign where they were/would have attended. All of this is for half the taxes assessed on my former residence in Wilmette. Interacting here has given me closure!

PS. Carl, November was not quite a tide-turner. Quinn won the governor's office. Sorry to disappoint you Carl.

Margaret - if life is so good in Virginia, why are you posting that you want home prices to come down in Wilmette so you can move back? You are a radical anti-school, anti-tax zealot who harbors a grudge from your failures in Wilmette. Focus on your new life in Virgina so you don't screw that up too.

Carol it looks like you can’t win your argument through reason that you are now attacking Margaret's motivation, which she said has nothing to do with home prices. Home prices are going to go down or stay the same for a long time no matter what happens and many of the reasons for that have nothing to do with taxes. So why don't you give us a coherent argument instead of Ad hominem attacks.