Community Corner

"Board Majority Lacks Common Sense"


The following was posted in the Darien Patch "Speak Out" section. We are reposting it on Hinsdale-Clarendon Hills Patch. Readers who wish to weigh in the Dist. 86 teacher contract negotiations may send letters to the editor at lorraine.swanson@patch.com. 

By listening to the new board majority and its supporters you'd think that the teachers in District 86 have little or nothing to do with the district's tradition of excellence. After all, Mr. Skoda talks about how overpaid the teachers are and how many applicants the district gets and Mr. Corcoran says that teachers should be so honored to work in such a prestigious school district that they should be paid below market rates.

I wonder how this logic would be viewed if applied to coach Joel Quenneville and the coaching staff of the Chicago Blackhawks. 

I'm sure Quenneville and his staff are really dedicated and do a fine job that we all respect, but let’s not forget he has a slew of all-star players on the ice that he is fortunate to coach. It’s not like Hossa or Toews or Sharpe or Kane need coaching! Anyone could coach guys like that. It's the players’ dedication and talents that win the Cup, not the coaches!

Besides, the performance of the Blackhawks has been rather flat of late. Quenneville and his staff only won the Stanley Cup two of the last five years. That's only 40% - how can they justify paying such high salaries for coaches without showing continued improvement!

If Quenneville and his staff left, there would be tons of quality applicants for their jobs. They should be paid well below market rates as people would do their jobs for free given the storied history of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Sound ridiculous? Not to the new board majority when applied to the district's award winning teachers or their consistently high performance.

Emily Polacek
Darien, IL


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