Bloomingdale Teachers' Contract Settled

The 2012-2015 Bloomingdale Public Schools teacher and secretary contracts were approved Tuesday by six board members, with one "no" vote cast by Cathy Gurbisz.

Bloomingdale Board of Education President Lauren Grecco and Board Member Thomas Kroncke enthusiastically thanked members of both negotiating teams for reaching an agreement, including the board, education association, attorneys and administrators.

Gurbisz read a statement she wrote explaining that while she respects and appreciates the Bloomingdale staff, she has concerns with affordability and future sustainability. She compared raises and health insurance costs between Bloomingdale's new contract and Butler Public Schools' contract from 2011.

“[Butler] increased payment at 1.9 percent in the first year, 1.6 [percent] second year and 1.5 [percent] for the third year….[Bloomingdale's] plan … still contains grandfather tiers that use a percentage factor of four, six and eight percent based on the number of years a teacher has been in service," Gurbisz said.

"The collective bargaining agreement before us tonight does not reflect any changes in health benefits or longevity. The health benefit plan in this contract continues to provide costly grandfather tiers, again favoring senior staff.”

Gurbisz said she did not agree with the new contract because it did not reflect a balanced compromise while the district and country are faced with difficult financial times.

“I do not think believe this contract represents equitable financial balance in light of economic times in this community’s financial resources. I respectfully vote no to this proposal,” Gurbisz said.