Susie Millie
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On the article District 113 Referendum Years in the Making to be Decided Tuesday
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On the article Walmart Seeks Northbrook Location
Susie Millie
10:48 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
ReplyOur family enjoys shopping at Wal-Mart and Costco. We would look forward to a closer location in Northbrook. I think that would be a great use of that property.
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On the article District 112 Teachers Declare a Strike
Susie Millie
1:58 pm on Tuesday, October 16, 2012
ReplyIt is nice to see such great support for the school board. Yes, there are challenges with the administrative staff that need addressing. The union leadership was on radio today showing they are out of touch with our community. They keep comparing us to Glencoe, Deerfield and Lake Forest. However, salary surveys typically include a wider geographic area. I am really sorry that health care costs have gone up. Most families in Highland Park and Highwood have had to pay more out of their pocket. I am sorry that the above average raises of the last few years were not appreciated, when others in the community lost their jobs or had wage increases tied to the cost of living of about 2% or none at all. If people work in our community, they must understand that they can not expect wage and benefit increases that exceed regional standards. I am sure it is not easy for the board or union. I wish them best wishes for a fast resolution.
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On the article District 112 Contract Negotiations: The Story So Far
Susie Millie
5:38 pm on Saturday, October 13, 2012
ReplyMost parents in our district have had to pay increased health benefits. It is time the teachers understood we have to be fair, and they should be treated like the community the serve. I don't like to see my raise be used to cover increased health insurance costs, but that is the national reality. In addition, most parents in our district have had nominal salary increases in line with national, state and local averages. Again, we need to keep all government employees, including teachers at annual increases that mirror the community that is served.
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On the article District 112 Teachers Set Strike Date for Oct. 16
Susie Millie
11:38 am on Saturday, October 6, 2012
ReplyI applaud the Board for drawing a line in the sand. I am confident this is the best approach. I am confident if we kept salaries the same we would still have a long line of quality teachers who wish to teach in Highland Park since the current compensation is much higher than the market. We need to define market as including schools 5 - 10 miles away, the same as an Lake or Cook county salary survey for all other industries. I know of many Ivy league educated teachers who live in our area, teach at schools 5 - 10 miles away and would gladly teach here, and get a raise. The taxpayers can not afford to offer our teachers more than fair market rate. A big thanks and shout out to our Board for doing the right thing and representing our community. And yes, there are other areas of waste such as administration. Keep in mind that the school districts are about 66% of our tax bill, so this is really important to get right. All the best.
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On the article District 112 Teachers File Intent to Strike
Susie Millie
8:44 am on Sunday, September 30, 2012
ReplyHighland Park is a great community to live and raise a family. The answer here is simple - teachers will need to pay more for health care and this may reduce their take home pay. This is a reality for most of Highland Park and most of America. This is an issue for all of us to discuss with Congress. We can not allow a select group, teachers, to expect taxpayers to 'make them whole'. Raises of 4%+ are not normal anymore and we need to give increases that we can afford and represent raises that are typical of teachers and residents in the greater area, not the adjacent area. There are many fine teachers who live in Highland Park, went to Ivy league and top schools and currently teach at schools 15 minutes away 'in the area' who earn less salary, have less resources and would enjoy teaching in Highland Park. It's time to do what is right for Highland Park and the future of our community. We may be the first, but rest assured, we won't be the last to draw a line in the sand and say 'this is all we can do'. It is just a matter of time before every school in the area and adjacent area makes the necessary changes like every other industry.
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On the article Readers React to Strained District 112 Negotiations
Susie Millie
5:29 pm on Friday, September 28, 2012
ReplyHighland Park is a great community to live and raise a family. The answer here is simple - teachers will need to pay more for health care and this may reduce their take home pay. This is a reality for most of Highland Park and most of America. Raises of 4%+ are not normal anymore and we need to give increases that we can afford and represent raises that are typical of teachers and residents in the greater area, not the adjacent area. There are many fine teachers who live in Highland Park, went to Ivy league and top schools and currently teach at schools 15 minutes away 'in the area' who earn less salary, have less resources and would enjoy teaching in Highland Park. It's time to do what is right for Highland Park and the future of our community. We may be the first, but rest assured, we won't be the last. It is just a matter of time before every school in the area and adjacent area makes the necessary changes like every other industry.
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On the article Community Joins 113 Effort in Force
Susie Millie
11:32 am on Friday, May 4, 2012
ReplyI too was 'drafted' on the new committee. I found it frustrating as it appeared to me staff was simply trying to use the survey and new efforts to find a new angle to get this passed. I don't think they want to hear what the community has to say. Take a look at your tax bill received this week, school taxes went up a huge percent; we need to get the schools to show us they can live within their means like the rest of the taxing agencies, the rest of the country and also tackle our future.
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On the article Community Joins 113 Effort in Force
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On the article ComEd Can't Pull Plug on Residents' Anger
Susie Millie
10:01 pm on Wednesday, August 3, 2011
ReplyAll of my clients, relatives and friends who live in Southern Florida after the hurricanes of several years ago experienced outages of 8 days. That is what storm damage can do. It is great politicians are vocal about an issue that nothing can be done about. If we want to have 2 hour restore service from a storm, then we have to agree to pay for that, with higher rates. But folks don't want that. Nor would most since these happen so infrequently. Most AC units break on a hot day. You can have multiple AC units in your home, but that is not always practical. You can pay the HVAC company for priority service, but that is not a typical expense folks want to pay either. I am not defending ComEd, but storm damage was excessive.
Susie Millie
10:16 am on Monday, April 8, 2013
I was on the community study groups. I felt it was the admin selling us why we needed the referendum. I am not positive I saw a lot of sincere community input. As well, the school administration has refused to release the study the community group helped put together. I think a reasonable person can conclude this is because the community did not react favorably to what the school administration proposes. Let's be candid, construction will take the eye off the ball of education, likely cost more (we can all relate to our personal experiences) and can't be tied into an improved educational outcome. I am happy we live in a community and country that supports options an free speech.