Rod,

Thanks for taking the time to explain the financial details including the reductions in spending. You are right about the other taxing bodies in the area. One of the biggest abusers of the taxpayer dollars is the Plainfield Fire Protection District. It's good to have the public watching or being concerned with how the taxdollars are being spent. The community needs to wake up and look at the number two property tax levied on their bill which is the fire district and start paying attention to how they spend their money. The lack of media coverage to that taxing body is zero and has allowed them to have run wild.

1921 Station #2

Do we need all the administration positions? Such as the Director of Communications? Has anyone done an analysis on what positions are needed with the district administration?

Judi
SO after all these cuts, lack of funds and increased costs where are you going to get the money to pay for the salary increases and all the payroll taxes included with the increase. Thats like saying I can't make my monthly mortgage payment but I will pay $500 more starting next month. I'm sorry you justified why you cannot afford the increases. Just keep living this fantasy and when it crashes there will be nothing left. The state of Illinois is already bankrupt so you will never get your money.

Why do secretaries and other office personnel have to have district vehicles assigned to them?

Speaking as a parent of District 202 for the past 10 years, I definitely understand the need for the Director of Communications. I volunteered in the school running copies in the beginning. Boy did we go through the paper, as did all schools at the time. Not only does our communications program save us in paper, it saves us in ink, copy machine upkeep, and manpower to run copies. Also District 202 was one of the first districts in Illinois to pilot a program to communicate with all of its parents through Connect Ed. I remember countless school emergencies in the country develop through the years while there was no communication with their district parents. I remembered thinking how proactive our district was, when shootings at Virginia Tech and NIU were being reported on the news. I remember talking with my family about how efficiently information is passed in our district. We were the only ones that had it. It also prevents floods of misinformation from running rampant in our district. We all know how the telephone game works. When ever there are rumors circulating in the district, the Director of Communications is right on it, making sure we are informed of the correct information. Thank You District 202 and the Director of Communications Tom Hernandez for keeping us informed!

Always the same, in order to keep quality people.
Bull, let them find a better deal else ware. You act as though they can't be replaced.

I agree that we do not have the money, why spend it. The community should look up what these administrators are getting paid, quite impressive. Also, I remember there was an article during the election about three of the candidates did receive money for their election. One out of the three won, there is also some questions about his honesty recently from a district group he was involved in. HMMMM

I have to disagree with you. District 202 is broke. You folks got duped into thinking you had to build a dozen schools because the population would never stop growing. You got duped into thinking the money would never run out. You hired hundreds of extra staff because the money tree was ripe for the picking. You gave administrators huge raises due to the size of the district. Now it's all come apart. But, for some reason you feel like you have to keep giving the politically connected administrators raises. If they are that good and worth the money then they should move on to greener pastures. But in Plainfield they don't have to because they get what they want because politicians like you are afraid to say no and respect the taxpayer wishes. When John Harper retires the taxpayers of the district will thank him with over $10 million dollars in pension benefits. That's more than most public sector CEO get in retirement benefits.

Rod,

You gave your wife's boss a raise. You probably should have abstained from the vote. The next time, you go visit her - I'm sure Manville will be giving you a nice pat on the back. The real problem is that you are trying to find a scapegoat through the state. The money is not there so deal with the money you have and if that means more freezes for people making good wages - so be it. No one is going to leave the district because if you don't know this or not - unemployment is still at 8 percent. So when you have to make cuts next month - how are you going to do it? That money spent on raises could have saved some jobs.

District 202 has cut 10's of millions from the budget but test scores keep improving. I say keep cutting until the scores go down then some of the old time teachers who are just doing enough to get by will retire because they''ll have to start working harder. Replace the 85,000 a year teacher with a 38,000 a year teacher who will work very hard because they want to keep their jobs. You will save money and get a better product in the end. The private sector does this every day.

Rod,
I appreciate your taking the time to explain your reasons for your decision. I have always admired your commitment to our schools and community. However, I have to respectfully disagree with both your decision and part of your reasoning, as you have outlined above.

You state, to paraphrase, that this 2.5% retroactive raise is necessary to keep the level of talent we currently enjoy in our administrative staff, to keep their pay competitive with other districts or we risk losing them to supposed greener pastures.

The flaw with that argument is that other districts are or would be willing and/or able to hire this level of staff at a higher compensation. Nearly every school district in the state is facing the same issues with non-reimbursement from the State and lower revenues from decreased property values.

For the sake of argument, let's say you and the board members that voted with you are right, and this is a necessary step to prevent 202 losing it's best and brightest. The question then becomes is the relatively small dollar amount that will be seen on the paychecks of these people worth the controversy, anger and appearance of fiscal irresponsibility on the part of the board, and greed on the part of the administrators?

Sadly our District is in a bad place to say the least ! I agree that jobs are hard to find & if it is so bad w/ pay freezes - go look for those greener pastures ! Our children should be the most important thing and their education. Keeping the programs also important ! If one looks around at all the forclosures and bk homes in this district, having a job should be enough at this point. Having Administrators pay into their health care should be a no brainer since we all have to !! What are they special ? Can someone tell me why we need a Head Nurse for every "House"? We have nurses at school - to me that is a waste of $ !!! Did anyone from last year board figure out what the million $ vending machine cost was? Never heard again about it - scary that no one on the board knew what that was and Mr Prince had no clue either !!! Lastly we just sent someone to Washington - bet that came out of the taxpayers pocket and not his own - hmmm !! What good was that visit when the state can not pay us anyway !

Thanks to Greg Nichols and Michelle Smith for voting against the pay raise! If only more of the board would follow their lead! If the administrators choose to leave because we didn't give them a raise...then I say good bye! It's not supposed to be about the money, it's about the children!

Rod, you live in a different world then the rest of us. You are ( or were suppose to be) a representative of the people of your District. You are apparently clueless when it comes to them.

No pay raises! Every level from the State down needs to trim the fat and wasteful spending of tax dollars. Superintendents are paid plenty in every district and there are too many perks for all administrators and their staff. Tax dollars are not Lottery winnings.

Rod,

For someone living pay check to pay check you sure are generous when it comes to spending our money. I also voted for you hoping that you would represent the regular person and not the politically connected. I guess I was wrong.

The last I knew Rod was an administrator for a school district. No wonder he voted for raises.

If we all take a step back and think for a while we should applaud Rod for his empathy of the situation and took action on an issue that we all seem to be complaining about. I have not had a raise in 5 years and work hard as most people do. I'm not alone so I cherish my job because the alternitive is worst. The admins would not have left and if they did, so what we have plenty of talent waiting to be hired. While what Rod did was a nice thing it was not warranted in this environment and will ultimately cost him his position on the board.

Quick show of hands - how many of you voted for members of our school board or have bothered to attend the bi-monthly board meetings? Yes, I thought so...

Funny thing I noticed while reading Mr. Westfall's responses to a few emails - his use (or lack thereof) of proper punctuation was atrocious!! HIs responses to Vera and R. Paxton are horrible - there's no capitalization, no periods to indicate the end of a sentence, no commas. And this guy is on the board for our SCHOOLS?? His letter to the editor/Patch was perfect (perhaps his secretary typed it up for him). Petty, I know, in the grand scheme of things, but seriously, this annoys me. If the guy can't use proper punctuation and complete sentences, it's a little scary that he's on the board of our school district. Just sayin'...

Oh for the love of God, you guys are nuts.

Patch should request Darlene's retirement package via FOIA. That is quite unusual for someone who has not been there that long. Meanwhile, the legal fees for Darlene's female campus monitor mistake are building up. Patch should FOIA that as well. So that means that the board will be looking to replace Harper and Darlene around the same time.

The board voted and approved two retirement contracts. Would like to see the details on Patch. And, what were the votes? Did anyone vote no?
9.02 Approve Terms and Conditions of Retirement Contract for Administrator/Employee A
9.03 Approve Terms and Conditions of Retirement Contract for Administrator/Employee B

So CVS Rich
I guess you think that people are not allowed to retire?

I don't think the question is whether Darlene can retire - the question is why the 6 percent pay raise for the next two years when the district is in a financial crisis. Often, districts will boost the salary for the last couple of years so the employee can get a bigger pension. Darlene has only been with the district a couple of years. It's not like she has been a long-term employee. She is from Canada, I believe and has years of service there. It would be interesting to see what her pension will be thanks to the large raise. Did the contract include extras like unpaid sick leave or cash for unused vacation time? Were there any perks? Hopefully, Patch will sent out an FOIA and get us the answers.

I think CVSRich is upset because the raise will be substantial.
Darlene is making $149,752 this year plus $3,600 travel stipend. She also gets monthly health insurance premium paid for - $1,816 and a monthly dental of $57.23. So the question is - will she be paid for unused sick and unused vacation days, and did the board include an annuity which at this time - only Dr. Harper receives. And, should an employee who has only been there a couple of years - receive such a nice retirement perk?

Another question to ask yourself, how do you think the different topics were put on the Agenda. The 9.02, 9.03 etc., was put on there from the head of our district.
Out of the 7 board members, which ones have been on the longest? This was a LONG TIME in the making, thanks to some of the current board members that have been on to LONG. You can also thank some of the previous board members that voted on Dr. Harper’s contract. It was done underhanded, the last possible meeting before the new board members were sworn in. Why because they new some of the board members that were voted in, would no way vote for the contract offered to Dr. Harper. It made it a sneaky vote. Plain and simple.
Previously when I have asked about certain employment information such as 9.02 & 9.03 I was told that was private information. Only to be discussed in “Closed Session”. Maybe Smith and Nichols like her because she actually does her job.
Vera and CVS Rich what part of the Administration are you that you have insider’s information on the person for 9.02 & 9.03? The name and the other information would ONLY be known by specific employees of the school district. If our board released this information, they would get in trouble. I don't see you complaining about our money man John Prince, and his pay that is extremely close to Dr. Harpers.
Again part of a very impressive and ALWAYS professional group hired by our glorious Superintendant.

I was just going over old papers from some of the previous budget meetings and I found some stuff on Harper's salary. Someone might want to FOIA Harper's raises for school years 09-10; 10-11 and 11-12. He gets a minimum of three percent according to his contract but the board can give up to 6 percent. I totally forgot about that. Something to keep in mind when the board has to cut jobs. He gets a minimum of 3 percent for 12-13 and a min of 4 percent for 2013-14 - his last year.
If someone is going to ask that question they might as well FOIA the amount of money he received in unused vacation days. He can buy back a bunch each year if he wants.
Karen Sorensen you might want to look into that. We know the teachers' pay is frozen and I believe the administrators - but is the board giving Harper more than the minimum 3 percent?
..

Harper only fought one not both. An administration raise will mean cuts to pay for it. Like the pay increase next year for teachers....cuts again. That's the facts H8ter. Darlene has been working for school districts in Illinois for years. She did not just come from Canada as I can remember from her bio.

Straight from www.psd202.org
Totally from Canada. She has only worked in the United States since 2003.

A 33-year veteran educator and administrator will become District 202's newest assistant superintendent for administration and personnel, starting July 1, 2009.
Darlene von Behren, currently the director of human resources for Evanston/Skokie District 65. She will replace Dr. Larie Godinez, who has been named superintendent of the DuBuque Community Schools in DuBuque, Iowa. The District 202 Board of Education approved von Behren's appointment at its June 8, 2009 regular meeting.
Von Behren has served 15 of her 16 years in administration as a human resources director.
Von Behren began her education career in 1976 as an elementary teacher in Alberta, Canada. She has also taught junior high school, served as a principal, counselor and adult education coordinator.
From 1994-2002, von Behren was director of human resources for the Cowhican Valley School District in rural British Columbia, Canada. From 2002-2003, she also served as chief financial officer in the same district.
In 2003 von Behren moved to the United States and worked until 2007 as the director of human resources for the Franklin Regional School District in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. She has worked in her current role since 2007.

Wow you must be 'totally' an administrator... The dislike is pouring out...she has been here 9 years... Your point? Ok she been here for years... She has been a person in the teacher/school field...
Reading all these comments make me wonder if the board should start looking into this information thats been released... This is hateful, wrong, and possibly unethical...A raise was given in a time that there is no money... We will lose people now that is the bottom line...

So you have a problem that our district hired someone out of the box. Evidently you have no problem our current Superintendant that has NEVER worked in any other district makes close to aproximately $330,000 with his perks. He brought ABSOLUTELY NO EXPERIENCE to the table. Other then him only working for District 202 what I believe to be his entire career. Question Vera, the Great and Powerful Harper was he not the one that wanted "Darlene" for the position? Evidently you do not feel she has enough experience with 33 years, does Harper have enough for you?
I do not recall the Board ever hiring anyone without the recommendation from Harper himself.

Oh, there's nothing hateful. Someone said she had worked in Illinois for years. No, she hasn't. Like you said - the district is giving raises - when there is no money. The information on Darlene is public information. The administrators got 2.5 percent raises which was posted on the district website - but Darlene may have received a 6 percent raise to give her a nice Illinois pension, according to CVSRich. I'm sorry if you are offended by that. There was no harm intended. As a taxpayer, you have the right to know how much administrators earn, including retirement benefits.

Dr. Harper or Prince can you tell the public the estimated cost of the two contracts for this year and the increase compared to last year. Also the number of employees this year compared to last - to get a big picture. Vera this women brought alot more experience to the table then Dr. Harper ever did. You evidently have no problem with the teachers that were brought here from another country, then set up with housing. To help teach our ELL program that we are not totally getting reimbursed for our above and beyond what we are supposed to do according to the Feds. And for how many years has Mr. Kelly been traveling to hear from leaders in our Washington, those thousands of dollars add up after a while. In the end the Washington and Springfield are having the same issues or worse, I can't help buat wonder if he can't get some of this information via the web
..

There are numerous questions about the ELL program which also has been audited. Yes, there are also questions about the trips to D.C. and if those questions just can't be answered by a phone call or when the legislator is in town visiting instead of sending one or two board members to D.C. Many districts and companies do not allow travel outside the state. That's a good question to ask - why is a board member traveling - during fiscal troubles.
Again, we'll have to see what cuts are made in March and if the high raises were worth it.
I doubt Dr. Harper or Mr. Prince read Patch comments. You'll need to FOIA whatever information that you want. Good luck!

Just found some notes of mine from last year, I believe this to be true. This is in reference to his salary this year. Is this being fiscally responsible, again thank you to a previous board for this one.
Harper is scheduled to receive a 3-percent raise at a cost of $7,120 and $4,701 for five unused vacation days. He also can cash in 10 unused vacation days for about $9,402. In total, Harper is expected to receive $301,941 which includes $28,382 toward his retirement pension.
Most district offer the unused vacation days, as almost a bonus without labeling it that. How many of us or our spouse are receiving a 3% pay raise plus all those kinds of perks with our jobs? Not your average Joe in Plainfield that is for sure.

She said, years... 5 years here... 9 in in the United States... Yes it iis not forever, but it is many. We hired people from Mexico... Mexico? I have been informed we had them tenured from the start! This picking and choosing who we are going to single out is ridiculous... We have Mr. Prince changing are numbers every other month... We are in a huge deficit... Oh now we are not... raises everyone? But now 'surprise' we will be in the red! We will cut people, maybe programs...for what? To pay a 2.5 percent raise? That couple of thousand a year will now cost someone's whole year? We are in hard times....
I'm offended by this whole thing... one person that will be leaving brings someone more affordable in... That's common business practice everywhere...

It is very easy to state what you would do ... But how many of you ran for the board in the last elections, go to meetings, and get involved.....it is very easy to judge from the comfort of our couches, but until you get involved, stop throwing stones.

In the last election, the turnout was very low and disappointing especially since the new board will be choosing a new superintendent. I think questions are being thrown not stones. Many want to know why raises when the district is facing cuts in March. Good question.

So if people are upset with decisions made by this board it should encourage them to either step up and run next time around or vote. This board was elected to do a job (without pay) and are making decisions, and based on this article, gave their reasoning for the raises.

Wow - some of the questions I asked before are resurfacing with others. Just my personnal opinion is there is more to worry and be disgusted w/ when it comes to our district. There are programs that were cut to "save $" and children are being bullied more and more with Nothing being done. One reason, I know a parent was told was "we didn't see it - we can't do anything about it" - Really? Oh wait the administrators got a pay increase but "they didn't see it". Lunch times our children are not allowed to laugh "too loud" or get up from their seats - but administrators and retired employees are getting more $ but not more lunch room moms/dads to help do to budget cuts. Some students are struggling to keep up but Nope our district cant help them because it is not in the budget !! Don't get me started with the "Our District" testing that I find unnecessary when there are State mandated testing the children have to do anyway. A teacher in our district once told me, "there is not time to master a topic when there always seems to be some type of testing going on. We have to dabble on every topic before testing and then get to try & go back & re-dabble some more after" We ALL and I mean ALL need to stand up for our CHILDREN and their education !! The way this district is going they want to keep us in the dark and running after our tails !! They would not be able to do this if more parents in this enormous district stood up and said "No More !"

I totally agree with MKK.
But to Vera, you have to MUCH inside information. There is a saying about school board closed session meetings... What happens in closed session stays in closed session.
Also, did anyone hear that Mr. Gault ask if we could use the sales tax if it happens on
astroturf? Seriously, that would benefit the majority of children in our district.

Okay Vera, again how do you know how Dr. Harper actually wanted another candidate? In my years living here and reading the board comments, I have NEVER seen Dr. Harper make that kind of statement. Again, makes me wonder if you are someone in the inner circle. Possibly a representative for one of the unions, if so how pathetic.
Also, has anyone noticed that CVS Rich had all his comments deleted. You evidently did not realize that your comments have already been emailed out to ones of us that asked to be informed.
Naughty, Naughty CVS Rich!

Bottom line....teacher - salary freeze......administrator - raise. Did anyone notice that? There was no $$$ for the teacher that is teaching our kids each and every day. Oh... but look....thanks to the teacher taking a salary freeze.....there is now $$$ to providing a raise for the administrator!!! Thank you teachers for taking a salary freeze and allowing us to provide our administrators with a raise! How insensitive and shameful! I applaud the school board members that voted no.

A freeze on a six figure salary, in my opinion, is easier to swallow than a freeze on a 38,000 teaching salary. Or in some cases, an actual pay cut. I'll take a freeze on a 140,000 salary anyday, however, having to take a cut from 22,000 down to 21,000... not so fun.