First off I would love to say Thank You!!! Thank you to all the 308 teacher's for staying on the job for so long and trying to work this contract out. Oswego that's how you know you have great teachers!!! Next 308 BOE please be careful because we have lost a ton of adminstrators (in fact you should think about getting rid of a few more in district office and have a fresh start) and I would hate to lose teachers. as well!

As I looking back on some comments made about the high school and the schedule change. I thought I read that the district wantedhe change but I believe I remember watching a ton of BOE meetings online when high school teachers came and spoke about keeping block schedule. I also believe a few of them said this would cost us more money but some how we still changed. I'm not a school teacher but do have kids in the district. I would love to know how one can justify all the wasted spending - lets start at the top, adminstrators, directors, lawyers for negotiations (didn't we pay O'malley a ton of money to do this job but yet from what I've heard it's a lawyer _ that's correct tax payer's money_to negotiate against the teacher's union), lawyers for opening meeting's act being broken, etc...
Anyway, I could go on and on and on but that would just make me a bully like most people that post on here. Why don't you look at other town's patch articles very supportive. So TEACHERS OF 308 THANK YOU. I hope you get something before the holidays.

These teachers work so hard and compared to neighboring districts are being paid 7000-10000 less (up to $30000 compared to a high school district), so even a .5% raise (of course minus the 5% health care increase) is nothing. The fact that we are losing administrators is a red flag-- they can be paid better as a teacher in neighboring school districts. Retaining and being able to competively hire good teachers = good schools = higher property values. You get what you pay for. It's cheaper than having to go to a private high school, like many of my 308 neighbors are starting to do.

Oh brother. Quit blowing smoke up everyone a z z !
They are severely overpaid in salary and benefits. I'd love to see IL. ditch the union teachers. What a bunch of crap.

Best of luck to them. I hope they are all able to come to terms soon. Dedicated, professional educators, and we have many of them in 308, deserve competitive compensation and community support. Best wishes to both sides in resolving this issue quickly.

For all that hate the town and school so much you don't have to stay here. Why did you move here in the first place, the corn fields were plenty and you saw what was here. We all have choices no one has the ball and chain around your leg.

All 3 of my girls are straight A students with 2 of them in honor classes. I've never had tutors or sent them to a learning center. They pay attention in class, do what's required and then some. Maybe it's because we have no T.V. or game systems. If this is the answer then it would be easy for anyone who has these devices in their homes to remove them.

Walt we moved here from Geneva. Consider yourself lucky to have above average kids. One of ours in spite of D308 claiming she was qualified to graduate early yet havung to take remedial math at waubonsee is now doing well at Benedictine. I wonder why she couldn't do well on that test after attending the genius academy of OHS. Anytime you want to buy my place I will be happy to leave. Until then I will be a voice to counter everyone who fails to see both sides of the coin. Not everyone is fortunate enough Walt to have perfect kids and by the way we don't have an xbox either so dig for another excuse.

Jimmy J,
There actually is competition. When families look for a home they look at the school district and the individual schools. There are plenty of private school options and if family would like the charter option there are plenty of them in other districts. Each family had the choice to reside in those communities. You often argue here for charters and vouchers but I have yet to see you provide one example of a charter that is doing a better job than our own schools. In my own research I have found that charters do not live up to the hype. Do our schools need work? Can they do better? Absolutely. Maybe the district needs to look at a Magnet program where they incubate new ideas and give teachers a chance to do what they do best, teach.
I personally cannot support the privatization and selling off our children's education. I would really like to see your stats on where charters succeed and public schools fail.

Maryz I don't argue for charters thia is the first time I mentioned them and I have mentioned vouchers twice. What I do argue against is the notion that teachers are to be gold plated. We actually did not move here for schools at all. It was a geographic compromise. When my last is done we will be gone.

Luckily 308 has a No Strike Clause so at least we're safe there. The kids will continue to be in school while they work this out.

Loreta...No worries. But you are looking at the Oswego Educational Support Professional Association contract. They are under contract until 2015. The Oswego Education Association (teachers) currently do not have a contract.

Walt well we are in agreement on both the school work and the town. If I had a better crystal ball I perhaps would have done things differently in terms of moving here. I do feel for those who have been here longer than I who watched their small town be overrun by wanna be napervillians. The developer signs should have read "attitude without the price". I shouldn't lump everyone into the basket but it is what it is. House has been on and off the market. Not underwater.

Thanks Walt the same to you. Community Resident sorry but since you are not a wanna be you probably don't have the attitude. Lots of nice folks there and outstanding schools. Oswego and D308 tried to keep up with the Jones rather than focus on itself. All the benefits of napervile at half the price. Maybe naperville was behind it. LOL

I would say they need.to cut money from Distance 308 transportation department. Do you really need a director of transportation and a transportation manager and someone over mechanics. Or even have a transportation department. They should out source all there routes and extinguish their union drivers and there benefits they have to pay out to their drivers and save that money and cost. Out source all their school routes. They should also cut a lot of the deans at the schools remember when the principals were in charge of disapline u didn't need 2, 3, or 4 deans at a school. Also why do all the deans need assistants? A lot of wasted salaries in district 308.

The reason that a bird with its head buried in the sand is used for a cop out is because it is very discriptive. Even with its head in the sand, life goes on, progress happens, things change, towns grow. Oswego has gone from a sleepy little village to a pretty big town in the 40+ years I have lived here. I've seen the growth. In the process of growing, I've been able to meet some real quality folks. It has been a good experience. We happen to be in an area that was very attractive and people moved in. New blood, new thinking, new viewpoints. To me that is progress. I still love Oswego, and now I get to share it with new friends. We are not even close to being perfect, but we can get along and keep the community a good place to raise our families. I've always thought that some people seem to think there are only two perfect places to live. 1-Where they just moved from and, 2- Where they are moving next. Where they live now always seems to be a poor number 3